Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco has been hired as a distinguished visiting professor for the Bachelor of Music in Hip Hop degree program at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore — the first such program in U.S. history.
The four-year degree program will take place at the esteemed university’s Peabody Institute, considered one of the most prestigious music conservatories in the United States.
In an announcement shared with his 640K followers on Instagram, the 11-time Grammy-winning Fiasco expressed his enthusiasm for the role.
“I’m honored to contribute to this legacy doing what I love most, Rap,” he wrote. “Teaching Rap as part of the groundbreaking new 4-year Hip Hop Degree Program led by the visionary Professor @wendelpatrickofficialmusic. [Wendel Patrick].
According to the school’s website, “the innovative four-year hip-hop degree program, designed by award-winning composer and producer Wendel Patrick, blends rigorous performance training with Peabody’s Breakthrough Curriculum, which develops business and career skills. Students will also explore hip-hop’s cultural history, its sociopolitical roots, and its evolution as a global genre.”
During a sitdown with Johns Hopkins’ student newspaper, “The Hub,” Lupe disabused any notions that he will be teaching hip-hop, per se.
“I don’t teach hip-hop,” he said. “My classes are purely the techniques and skill sets involved with rap. That requires an understanding of the canon from different eras, different rappers and different styles in addition to your own.”
Fiasco, — who was born and raised in Chicago as Wasalu Muhammad Jaco — will rack up frequent flier miles while teaching at some of America’s elite educational institutions. In another post, Lupe indicated that he will continue teaching at MIT, or Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in suburban Boston and pursue his fellowship at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, while working at Peabody in Baltimore.
Fiasco is also going to host public master classes, consult on the program’s development and contribute to the broader Peabody community. Classes for the Bachelor of Music in Hip-Hop will begin in the fall of 2025.
