Earlier this month, we reported that rapper Bun B was expanding his resume beyond music and into the classroom with the teaching of a religion and hip hop course at Rice University. Now, with the intention to take the course outside of the classroom and into the online space, the Texas native is opening up more about what the course entails, his role in teaching the course, and what it’s like being a well-known rapper who teaches on a college campus.
In an interview on Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning, Bun B, whose real name is Bernard Freeman, says that once he steps foot onto campus he is conscious about keeping his identity as rapper Bun B and teacher Bun B separate.
“In over the four years that I’ve been associated with the
university, I’ve turned down over six figures worth of performances from the university because I want to maintain the integrity of the class and my standing on the university,” says Freeman, who serves as a distinguished lecturer of the course alongside professor Anthony Pinn. “So I won’t rap at the school. They’ve asked me to do their spring fest every year since I’ve been there and I’ve turned it down.”RELATED: Rapper Bun B Teaches Religion and Hip-Hop Course at Rice University
Professor Anthony Pinn, who has been teaching a version of the course for over 20 years, revealed that he’s a huge fan of UGK and wanted to meet Bun B once he got to Houston.
“It seemed criminal to me to be in Houston, teach a course on religion and hip hop and not have these major players come to the classroom and I couldn’t think of anybody better than Bun B,” professor Pinn said in the interview.
To learn more about Bun B and Professor Pinn’s course, which will made available online for free beginning March 24th, visit www.edx.org and search the courses title, “RELI157x.”
To watch their Hot 97 interview in full check out the video below: