Hip-hop fans, this one is for you! If you've scoured the curriculum at all the local schools and found nothing that entices you to spend four years at college, we may have the answer you've been looking for. How does learning about the art of rap sound? Not only that, but you will be taught by the Chicago hip-hop legend Lupe Fiasco. No, this isn't cap - it's the real deal, and we've got all the details you need to know.
On May 20, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced its MLK Visiting Professor program for the 2022-23 school year. Alongside Grammy award winner Lupe Fiasco, theatre professor Eunice Ferreira and documentary filmmaker Louis Massiah were listed as the three art and humanity experts teaching on the course. They are expected to be part of the curriculum itself and professors.
In response to the announcement, Lupe took to Twitter. "I been holding this for a while. I'll put together something more sophisticated later that really captures the nuance and gravity, but for now, I'll just say it straight and raw: I'm going to teach Rap at @MIT." The rapper is no MIT freshman. A few semesters back, he ran a "Code Cypher" programming competition, where he worked with Professor of Digital Media Nick Montfort to teach rapping cyphers in a "computational way."
Sponsored
So what's expected to be taught in this new course? "Syllabus isn't built yet, but I'm thinking its fruit to be had in looking at neuromorphic computation through the lens of Rap as a lossless data compression model with a dash of energy efficiency via refining Landauer's principle applied to cytoarchitectonics... and some rapping," Lupe tweeted in response to a fan who doubted the validity of a hip-hop degree. The tweet has since been deleted. For the lucky few who make it onto the course, this is set to be the ultimate musical learning experience. All the rest of us will be waiting anxiously for June 24, when his next album, Drill Music in Zion, is set to drop. Stay tuned.
