Massachusetts Institute of Technology

**Massachusetts Institute of Technology** (**MIT**) is a research university established in 1861 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

American rapper Lupe Fiasco was a visiting artist in residence at the Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST) from 2020-2021, and co-hosted the programming competition Code Cypher, related to language and rhythm. As part of MIT's Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Professors and Scholars Program, he taught a course on rap—CMS.S60: Rap Theory and Practice—for the 2022–2023 academic year. During the fall of 2022, Fiasco founded the association, Société Internationale d'Ur, which is currently operated at MIT.

## Biography

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco, is a Chicago-born Grammy award-winning American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and community advocate. Rising to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, *Food & Liquor*, Fiasco has released more than four acclaimed studio albums; his latest, *Drogas Wave*, was released in fall 2018. His efforts to propagate conscious material helped solidify him as *GQ*'s Man of the Year in 2006, and garnered him recognition as a Henry Crown Fellow. While musical genius and ingenuity are at the forefront of Fiasco's achievements, the artist extends his innovation to projects that aim to foster creative discourse and opportunities in underprivileged and impoverished communities.

As the co-founder and co-owner of community initiatives such as We Are M.U.R.A.L, The Neighborhood Start-Up Fund, Society of Spoken Art (SOSA), and Studio SV with Bonnie Chan Woo, Lupe Fiasco proves that he is more than just a mouthpiece for change, but a committed facilitator of intellectual community discourse and outreach.

Lupe Fiasco's conscious efforts to propagate social and artistic change continue to inspire his musical and community efforts, serving as a distinguished example of giving back and paying it forward.

## Background

> I really wanted to be at MIT. I'm a nerd at heart. MIT is the cutting edge of things from research to robotics. So it's always had a place in my mind, and the opportunity to go there in this capacity and then use that as a springboard to at least peek into different spaces and different labs is something that I just couldn't pass up.
>
> Lupe Fiasco, MIT Technology Review

The relationship between Fiasco and MIT began with his educational guild, Society of Spoken Art, which focuses on incorporating academia into rap. He was interested in studying computational poets and tried to find someone in the field, leading to connecting with MIT professor Dr. Nick Montfort. This turned into becoming an artist in residence, then becoming a university lecturer.

He noted in an interview to *Andscape*, "There's periods and phases in hip-hop. So hip-hop goes through its underground phase, then into its recognition, visibility, industrial stage, its commercial stage, its entrepreneurial phase, its cultural phase. Then it's like, 'OK, well, what's left?' It's like, well, the academic phase, when it gets enough experience and enough terminology underneath its belt to now be able to stand in an academic way." He continued, "Also, from a research standpoint, I was like, 'I need new things to talk about.' Then you realize, 'Oh, rapping isn't just songs, it isn't just creating bars. It's the way we arrange ideas in a novel way.'"

## MLK Scholar Presentation

A free one-hour hybrid event was hosted on November 16, 2022, where Fiasco did a presentation on "the intersection of technology and art."

## Rap Theory & Practice

On November 30, 2022, Fiasco held an introductory lecture on Rap Theory and Practice at MIT, open to anyone. Like the MLK Scholar Presentation, it was in-person or livestreamed.

## Gallery

**@LupeFiasco**: "July 1st 2022 1st day of school… @mit\_cmsw @MIT @nickmofo IT #CollegeLife"
* July 1, 2022
* Twitter
**@LupeFiasco**: "First day of school. @mit @MIT\_SHASS IHTFP 💪🏾"
* September 6, 2022
* Twitter
**@LupeFiasco**: "CMS.S60 Rap Theory & Practice @mit\_cmsw @MIT"
* January 25, 2023
* Twitter
**@LupeFiasco**: "No caption. 🌪️"
* May 27, 2023
* Twitter
**@LupeFiasco**: "2 sides to every story. #AddValue 🙏🏾"
* May 30, 2023
* Twitter
**@LupeFiasco**: "FYI I’m still at @MIT too 😅…I’m at @Yale & MIT at the same time Yale + MIT = YIT 👍🏾"
* September 1, 2023
* Twitter
**@LupeFiasco**: "FYI I’m still at @MIT too 😅…I’m at @Yale & MIT at the same time Yale + MIT = YIT 👍🏾"
* September 1, 2023
* Twitter

## References

1. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco's MIT: Academic Rap". *YouTube*. September 7, 2022.
2. ↑ Rodrigues, Ashwin (September 30, 2022). "A GOAT Goes to MIT". *Morning Brew*.
3. ↑ Lamarre, Carl (May 23, 2022). "Lupe Fiasco Announces New Teaching Job at MIT". *Billboard*.
4. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco | MIT"
5. ↑ Hunsen, Alula (August 22, 2023). "The Art and Science of Rap". *Technology Review*.
6. ↑ Ogbunu, C. Brandon (November 1, 2022). "Lupe Fiasco on His Latest Challenge: Teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology".*Andscape*.
7. ↑ ""Optimal Novelty" with Wasalu "Lupe Fiasco" Jaco". Retrieved November 12, 2022.
8. ↑ "MLK Scholar Presentation: "Optimal Novelty" with Wasalu "Lupe Fiasco" Jaco". *MLK Scholars*. Retrieved November 12, 2022.