6 Musical Geniuses Whose Careers Have Made It to the Classroom

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar’s debut album “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City” was a body of work that quieted down any critics who questioned the young Compton native’s talent, and 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.