A college course on Kendrick Lamar’s impact on hip-hop, providing an “in-depth Africological analysis” of the popular rapper’s life, is set to be taught at Temple University in Philadelphia this fall.
“Kendrick Lamar and the Morale of M.A.A.D City” will be taught at the Pennsylvania campus by Africology and African American Studies Assistant Professor Timothy Welbeck this upcoming fall semester. Lamar, a deft lyricist whose performances at the 2016 Grammys and Super Bowl LIX halftime this past February has provided pointed commentary on the experiences of Black people in America, he said.
"Kendrick Lamar is one of the defining voices of his generation, and in many ways, both his art and life is reflective of the Black experience in many telling ways," Welbeck told NBC10.
"Being able to discuss his art in the environment that helps lead him into being the man that he is in a lot of ways can tell you him as an individual, but can also talk about the journey's towards self-actualization particularly as it is related to the Black experience."
Welbeck says he spent the past year planning the course, though he has previously taught Kendrick Lamar’s material in other classes over the years.
“My current department chair was very open to the idea and received it almost immediately,” Welbeck said. “In a lot of ways, our department at Temple specifically, and Temple more broadly, has embraced the study of hip-hop in academic spaces.”
The professor hopes the class will open up discussions about Black expression in America and that students will walk away from it with “a deeper appreciation for Lamar, hip-hop culture and how art is a muse in which to convey the components of the Black experience.”
Welbeck said, “the course will take a look at various scholarship around the types of urban policies that shift the demographic of Compon and how it helped to shape Kendrick Lamar.”
Students will listen to at least three to four of Lamar’s albums over the course of their studies, Welbeck said.
Welbeck has taught several other classes at Temple on hip-hop and Black culture – and other professors have held courses on other artists, including Tupac, Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
Lamar is currently co-headlining the “Grand National Tour” with singer-songwriter SZA, with upcoming dates scheduled in Europe.
