Rapper Lupe Fiasco to serve as hip-hop professor at Johns Hopkins' Peabody Institute

BALTIMORE -- American rapper Lupe Fiasco will serve as a distinguished visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University, Peabody Institute in Fall 2025, the university said Friday. 

Fiasco will teach rap as part of the institute's new 4-year hip hop degree program, led by professor and musical artist Wendel Patrick.

"The new Bachelor of Music in Hip Hop will combine the resources and strengths of Peabody's industry leading Music Engineering and Technology programs with the Conservatory's long history of excellence in performance training," the institute wrote in a program description.  

Fiasco is a Grammy Award-winning rapper, songwriter, and producer. He entered the hip-hop realm with his debut album, "Food & Liquor," in 2006. Fiasco became known for his storytelling, lyricism, and socially conscious music. He later won a Grammy Award for hits, "Superstar" and "Daydreamin'."

"The @peabodyinstitute is one of the oldest music conservatories in America. World renowned for its rigorous training and for producing some of the world's greatest musicians, and I'm honored to contribute to this legacy doing what I love most, Rap," Fiasco wrote in a social media post.

Fiasco also served as a visiting professor and scholar at MIT. In Fall 2021, he led a programming competition for language and rhythm alongside Nick Montfort, a professor of digital media in MIT's Comparative Media Studies and Writing program. According to the institute's website, he later returned for more collaborations during the 2022-2023 academic year.