The announcement last week that Harvard University is establishing the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship has drawn praise from scholars lauding the work of the Queens, N.Y.-born rapper, as well as for the scholarship of Dr. Marcyliena Morgan, who is credited with laying the groundwork for the fellowship.
To his fans, 39-year old Nasir Jones is simply known as “Nas,” and the multi-platinum Def Jam Recordings artist is admired as one of hip-hop’s most celebrated lyricists. The fellowship, a joint project between Harvard’s Hip-Hop Archives and W.E.B. Du Bois Institute, will fund artists and scholars who demonstrate innovative scholarship and creative potential in hip-hop and hip-hop inspired art.
“I think for anybody who grew up listening to hip-hop, Nas is, without question, a pioneer, and as an artist, he is someone who exemplifies the connection between artistry, ideas, ambition and insight,” says Dr. Ruth Nicole Brown, an assistant professor of education policy, organization and leadership in the college of education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).
Morgan, the founder and director of the Hip-Hop Archive and Research Institute, said in a statement last week that “with the introduction of the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship, [the archive] will continue to be the leading resource for those interested in knowing, developing, building, maintaining and representing hip-hop.”
In 2002, Morgan founded the Hip-Hop Archive and Research Institute. Its mission focuses on scholars and artists developing projects that build on the rich and complex hip-hop tradition. Archive projects are expected to incorporate “historically grounded and contextualized critical insights” and demonstrate creative and intellectually rigorous contributions to hip-hop scholarship.
“The Hip-Hop Archive and Research Institute is uncompromising in our commitment to build and support intellectually challenging and innovative scholarship that reflects the rigor and achievement of hip-hop performance,” noted Morgan, who is a professor of African and African-American Studies at Harvard.
