Congrats to The Roots’ ?uestlove, as he and Harry Weinger (the VP of A&R over at Universal Records) will be teaching a class at the prestigious NYU come this Spring semester. The 2-credit “Classic Albums” course will focus on “the concept of what it means for something to be called classic or seminal, as well as take a close look at the music, lyrics, production, business aspects — such as promotion and marketing — that informed the release and reception of the album, and try to provide a context as to why these albums have stood the test of time.” More info on the class below!
The class is expected to look at albums by Sly & The Family Stone ( Stand!, There’s A Riot Goin’ On), Aretha Franklin ( Lady Soul), Led Zeppelin ( IV), Prince ( Dirty Mind), Michael Jackson ( Off The Wall), and the Beastie Boys ( Paul’s Boutique), among others.
“We wanted to bring [?uestlove] in because we felt he should really be a professor; in a lot of ways he already is an informal, unofficial professor, not just in hip hop but in music in general,” [Jason King, associate professor of recorded music and head of history and criticism at the Institute] told Billboard.biz. “He’s one of the smartest people in music, besides being a fantastic musician. We thought [this class] would speak to his strengths.”
Source: Billboard
