One of America’s most prestigious Ivy League universities, Harvard University, is the new “it” school for the study of hip hop. Harvard announced on Tuesday that they have honored New York City-based rapper Nas with a fellowship named after him. The Nasir Jones Hip Hop Fellowship, established by The Hip Hop Archives and WEB Du Bois Institute, will give students who are interested in the history and cultural significance of hip hop funding to receive their respective degrees.
“I am immensely over-the-top excited about the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship at Harvard. From Queens, NY to true cultural academia,” Nas said after Harvard’s Hip-Hop Archive made the announcement. “My hopes are that greed for knowledge, art, self-determination and expression go a long way. It is a true honor to have my name attached to so much hard work, alongside great names like Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and WEB Du Bois and to such a prestigious and historical institution, and all in the name of the music I grew to be a part of.”
Harvard University professor and founder of the Hip-Hop Archive and Research Institute, Marcyliena Morgan, announced, “Having welcomed various artists and scholars, the Hip-Hop Archive and Research Institute is uncompromising in our commitment to build and support intellectually challenging and innovative scholarship that reflects the rigour and achievement of hip-hop performance.”
Established in 2002, the Hip-Hop Archive strives to facilitate and encourage the pursuit of knowledge, art, culture and responsible leadership through the music and history of Hip-Hop.
Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research adds,”Nas is a true visionary, and he consistently shows how boundaries can be pushed and expanded to further the cause of education and knowledge. The work of the Du Bois Institute is enriched by the addition of the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship.”
