Lupe Fiasco To Teach New Hip-Hop Major At Johns Hopkins University

BALTIMORE, MD — Grammy-Award-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco is slated to join the faculty at Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute, where he will teach students in the school's new four-year hip-hop program.

Lupe Fiasco, whose given name is Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, will be a distinguished faculty member in the first-of-its-kind Bachelor of Music in Hip Hop program, the school announced on Instagram on Wednesday.

The program will be led by composer, producer, beatmaker, pianist and professor Wendel Patrick.

In an interview with Johns Hopkins’ "The Hub," Wendel said bringing Lupe Fiasco on board was a "no brainer."

"My aim has always been to bring on board practitioners of the highest level to instruct and guide the students in our program," Patrick said. "Not only is Lupe one of the finest, most deftly skilled rap practitioners in the world, he also has a deep commitment to artistic and personal discovery that can serve as a model for what a student artist can strive for in their own professional artistic life."

According to the school's website, the hip-hop program will blend rigorous performance training with Peabody’s Breakthrough Curriculum, which focuses on business and career skills. Students will also explore hip-hop’s cultural history, its sociopolitical roots and its evolution as a global genre.

Lupe Fiasco told The Hub he plans to have one-on-one lessons with students

"I don't teach hip-hop. I want to be specific about that," he said. "My classes are purely the techniques and skill sets involved with rap. But that requires you having an understanding of the canon from different eras, different rappers, different styles in addition to your own style as you develop it in the course."

Learn more about the program.