The school of Hip-Hop has now entered the Ivy league. Harvard University "s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute and the Hip-Hop Archive announced that they have established the Nasir Jones Fellowship, giving selected scholars and artists the opportunity to "show that "education is real power. ""

According to a press release, the mission of the Hip-Hop archive is "to seek projects from scholars and artists that build on the rich and complex hip-hop tradition; to respect that tradition through historically grounded and contextualized critical insights; and most importantly, to represent one’s creative and/or intellectually rigorous contribution to hip-hop and the discourse through personal and academic projects." The fellowship will honor the work of the Queens MC among other prominent contributors to the genre.

Nas, a multi-platinum rapper responsible for such prolific musical works as Illmatic and It Was Written, says, “In my rollercoaster of a life I’ve endured good and bad for sure, and I’ve truly been blessed to have achieved so much thru art in my short life thus far. But I am immensely over-the-top excited about the Nasir Jones HIP-HOP Fellowship at Harvard. From Queens, NY to true cultural academia."

He continues, "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 W.E.B. 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.”

Fellows are chosen by a selection committee comprising members of the Harvard University faculty.

vibe.com