Including hip-hip in the curriculum is not a new thing at universities, but Harvard University is taking its collaboration with the art form a step further. MTV is reporting that the prestigious Ivy League school has partnered with the organization Hiphop Archive to create the Nasir Jones Hiphop Fellowship in honor of legendary rapper Nas.
According to a statement, the Fellowship will give those who showcase academic excellence as well as creative ability the opportunity to show that "education is power." The receipts of the Fellowship will be carefully selected by the Harvard University administration.
Marcyliena Morgan, Founder of the Hip-Hop Archive believes that this fellowship will help the selected scholars represent Hip-Hop. "With the introduction of the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship, we will continue to be the leading resource for those interested in knowing, developing, building, maintaining, and representing hip-Hop," she stated.
The fellowship — which will come from Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute, chaired by The Root's editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates Jr. — was made possible by a gift from tech entrepreneur Ben Horowitz.
Read more at MTV and the Hiphop Archive.
Jozen Cummings is the author and creator of the popular relationship blog Until I Get Married, which is currently in development for a television series with Warner Bros. He also hosts a weekly podcast with WNYC about Empire called Empire Afterparty, is a contributor at VerySmartBrothas.com and works at Twitter as an editorial curator. Follow him on Twitter.