Kendrick Lamar course syllabus
Music

The syllabus for Concordia’s Kendrick Lamar course is here

by Lorraine Carpenter

“Kendrick Lamar — King Kunta, the prince of Compton — showed us it was okay to work on yourself in front of the world and find yourself internally, that family always comes first, that community and collective missions are central to growth and that sometimes, you have to break free.”

Montreal hip hop artist and Concordia Professor Yassin “Narcy” Alsalman has dropped the syllabus for his winter semester course on Kendrick Lamar, hip hop and beyond, which begins on Jan. 19, 2023. Titled It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop: The Power of Us: Kendrick’s Class, the course — a follow-up to Alsalman’s controversial Kanye West course last semester — will examine the work of the revered artist as well as adjacent social and political issues, also promising activities including film screenings and a group visit to the ongoing Basquiat exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts.

“‘It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop: The Power of Us – Kendrick’s Class’ is a celebration and critical analysis of Lamar’s Canon of Work, visuals and the concepts on his albums. We will be tackling everything from the Policing of Black and Brown Bodies to a deep dive lyrical breakdown of the Heart series by Kung Fu Kenny.”

Alsalman explained that his goal with this class, as with the Kanye course, is to dig into America’s long history of racial injustice while exploring key concepts found in Lamar’s work, such as loyalty, fatherhood, love and language.

“No artist speaks to this ethos louder and more intricately than King Kunta, the prince of Compton, Kendrick Lamar, 10 years after Good Kid Madd City dropped. He showed us it was okay to work on yourself in front of the world and find yourself internally, that family always comes first, that community and collective missions are central to growth and that sometimes, you have to break free.”

See more details about the Kendrick Lamar course syllabus in the slider below. For more, please visit the Concordia Fine Arts department website.

The syllabus for Concordia’s Kendrick Lamar course is here

To read our feature interview with Yassin “Narcy” Alsalman, please click here.

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by Lorraine Carpenter

Editor in chief
Lorraine Carpenter was born in Montreal and studied communications and journalism at Concordia. She co-founded Cult MTL in 2012 following 12 years at the now-defunct Montreal alt weekly the Mirror, where she worked in editorial as copy editor and music editor. She’s dedicated to supporting the cultural scene in Montreal.