The inclusion of Hip Hop studies in academia has become a growing trend at colleges and universities around the country. Just recently, one Virginia university has invited a homegrown rapper to co-teach a Hip Hop course that is scheduled to be offered to students in the spring.
The University of Richmond announced that rapper Mad Skillz will be an artist-in-residence at the institution starting in January 2018. He will partner with Dr. Erik Nielson, an associate professor of liberal arts, to co-teach “The Voice of Hip Hop in America,” a course that explores the music genre’s evolution and influence on social and political culture.
“My expectation for the residency is to be able to teach the students a lot more about this culture than they might know,” said Mad Skillz in an interview with Diverse. “I’m super stoked to get started and bring something exciting and fresh to the university that will benefit students for years to come.”
Born Donnie Lewis, Mad Skillz has worked with Jay-Z, Nas, Dr. Dre, Missy Elliot and The Roots among many other notable artists in the genre. His 1996 album “From Where???” references his upbringing in Richmond.
The residency will serve as a homecoming for Mad Skillz, who credits his start in Hip Hop to working at the university’s radio station. Nielson said that the rapper will be a great partner for the course due to his “deep connections” to the university in addition to his knowledge about the industry and about Hip Hop as an art form.
The two met last year through a student taking one of Nielson’s Hip Hop courses. He said that he immediately knew that he wanted the rapper to join him in the classroom.
“He’s done so much for the industry but he’s also done so much to open up the industry to the Richmond community,” Nielson said.
