5 Musical Geniuses Whose Work Entered The Classroom

As more universities bridge music and academics, we rounded up today's hottest artists whose careers have been turned into college courses.

Originally Published Aug. 24, 2014.

From Grammy wins to world tours, clothing lines, sports ventures, and more, musical artists have long been expanding their brand beyond just the music. Each new career move evokes praise and criticism, making their longevity on the music charts and in business one to be examined, and college professors are taking notes.

Over the past few years, more and more universities across the nation have taken a closer look at some of today’s musical greats, with professors examining song lyrics and their messages with greater detail to combine academia and pop culture to educate the next generation.

From Beyoncé to Jay-Z, Nas, and more, we’ve rounded up some of today’s hottest musical geniuses whose creativity and unmatched talent have landed them a spot in a university classroom.

Beyoncé

Earlier this year, Rutgers University announced that it would bring the entertainer’s work and career to the classroom with a course called “Politicizing Beyoncé.”

“This isn’t a course about Beyoncé’s political engagement or how many times she performed during President Obama’s inauguration weekend,” class teacher Kevin Allred said, according to Rutgers Today.

The course will compare the singer’s music portfolio with important works from the Black feminist movement, including writings of Alice Walker and Sojourner Truth.

“It’s important to shift students away from simply being consumers of media toward thinking more critically about what they’re engaging on a regular basis,” Allred said.

Jay-Z

In 2011, Georgetown Professor Michael Eric Dyson brought Jay-Z’s life and career into his classroom for a course titled “Sociology of Hip Hop: Jay-Z.”

The course examined Jay-Z’s career and tied it to lessons on African American culture and business. Students had a midterm, final exam, and required readings, including the rapper’s book Decoded.

“I think he’s an icon of American excellence,” Dyson tells Fox News.

Nas, Rapper, Broadway, Hip-Hop Film — (Photo: Burak Cingi/Redferns)

Nas

Nas may not have completed high school, but the message behind his music certainly provides content that’s worthy of being studied in the classroom.

Last year, Harvard University introduced the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship, which will help pay for visiting scholars’ research and hip-hop-related academic programs.

The rapper, who constantly pushes the envelope with his music, says music is a great resource for educating our youth.

“Hip-hop is important like computer science,” the rapper tells Rolling Stone. “The world is changing. If you want to understand the youth, listen to the music. This is what’s happening right underneath your nose.”

Ye, Yeezy, Super Bowl — Photo by Gotham/GC Images

Jay-Z and Kanye West

In addition to Jay-Z’s career being studied at Georgetown University, students at the University of Missouri can now study his music and career alongside the career of his “Watch the Throne” partner, Kanye West.

Professor Andrew Hoberek first taught the course in fall 2013, and after the class filled up quickly, he decided to bring the course back for the fall 2014 semester.

According to the course description, the English course “looks at the career and work of Jay-Z and Kanye West from three perspectives: (1) Where do they fit within, and how do they change, the history of hip-hop music? (2) How is what they do similar to and different from what poets do? (3) How does their rise to both celebrity and corporate power alter what we understand as the American dream.”

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar’s debut album, “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,” quieted down any critics who questioned the young Compton native’s talent. Now, with a college course inspired by the album, it’s safe to say that Lamar’s work has earned him a spot in the hip-hop history books.

Thanks to instructor Adam Diehl, students at Georgia Regents University in Augusta, Georgia, can now examine Lamar’s music portfolio with a closer eye, using the rapper’s debut album, James Joyce, James Baldwin, Gwendolyn Brooks and the 1991 movie “Boyz in the Hood” as primary coursework materials.

“I decided to center the class on Good Kid, m.A.A.d City because I think Kendrick Lamar is the James Joyce of hip-hop—i.e., in the complexity of his storytelling, in his knowledge of the canon, and in his continuing focus on the city of his upbringing—Compton,” Diehl tells HipHopDX.