An indepth study of the musical development of Hip-Hop including its artists, producers, instrumentation, content, marketing, and impact. Through lectures, handouts, reading assignments, listening assignments/examples, visual media, and in-depth discussion, this course seeks to provide a solid historical grasp of Hip-Hop as a musical style. Formatted much like an art history course, this class will identify key figures, events, albums, musical inclusions, and musical developments, as well as touch upon the some of the social and cultural climate that inspired its rise. This course is designed for all students, regardless of their level of understanding of Hip-Hop.

An indepth look at production styles throughout the genre. This is not a software and engineering course, but rather one that focuses on producers and their influence on their contemporaries and the genre overall. Topics include producers, production camps, examples of the signature production styles of those camps, plus the songwriting techniques, arrangement, and instrumentation that revolutionized the genre over time. Extensive comparative listening, visual examples, and additional materials.

A workshop style course that examines the lyrical works by Hip-Hop artists from a diverse spectrum of thematic writing styles. Students will also compose and/or perform their own rhymes. The class will share in critique and discussion of content, internal rhyme scheme, flow style, pantameter, and emotive reaction, both of their own works and those of established MCs.