Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Motto	Mens et Manus (Latin; "Mind and Hand")
Established	April 10, 1861; 164 years ago
Type	Private land-grant research university
Founder	William Barton Rogers
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Website	mit.edu

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."

Date		Time	City
Wed	November 16, 2022	12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M.	Cambridge

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.

Date		Time	City
Wed	November 30, 2022	7:00 P.M. - 8:30 P.M.	Cambridge

Gallery

Year	Title	Video
2021	"MIT CAST Visiting Artist Lupe Fiasco: SOSA (The Society of Spoken Art)"
Lupe Fiasco speaks about SOSA (The Society of Spoken Art), an educational guild that brings established and aspiring rappers together to hone their verbal prowess and master the fundamentals of linguistic and semiotic methodology. In its educational dimension, SOSA fosters connections between established rappers and some of the most well-respected minds in academia. A comprehensive curriculum provides lyricists with the guidance and resources they need to deepen their linguistic and rhetorical understandings of spoken art. In this conversation with his MIT collaborator Professor Nick Montfort, Fiasco covers the history, structure, academic and artistic programming, methodology, and goals of the organization.
2022	"CAST Visiting Artist Lupe Fiasco: Code Cypher"
In fall 2021, Grammy award-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco and Professor of Digital Media Nick Montfort came together to engage the MIT community at the intersection of rap, computing, and activism. Together, they led “Code Cypher,” a programming competition for language and rhythm that engages teams of MIT students in a one-day creative coding event in fall 2021. Fiasco's work as a rapper and producer is informed by his interests in cognitive science, linguistics, semiotics, and computing. During his CAST residency, he shared insights from his work as an entrepreneur and community advocate, for instance working with the Society of Spoken Art (SOSA), an educational guild for aspiring and established rappers, of which he is a co-founder.
2023	"Lupe Fiasco Presents "Rap Theory & Practice: An Introduction""
An exploration into the underlying fundamental functions, structures, and principles of rap. Wasalu Jaco, professionally known as 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, Lupe has released eight acclaimed studio albums, his latest being Drill Music In Zion, released in June 2022. His efforts to propagate conscious material garnered recognition as a Henry Crown Fellow, and he is a recipient of an MLK Visiting Professorship at MIT for the 2022/2023 academic year.
2023	"Lupe Fiasco"
Wasalu Jaco, 2022-2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Comparative Media Studies/ Writing & Literature
2023	"Lupe Fiasco and Carl Holt - "The Coldest Cuts""
Two MIT officemates. Submitted as part of MIT in 3:00, a competition to show "your MIT" in less than three minutes.
2023	"Lupe Fiasco, Fox Harrell, & Nick Montfort: AI, Computational Creativity, & the Art of Teaching"
Video Director: Rachel Gordon Videographer: Mike Grimmet

CMS.S60 - Rap Theory and Practice.jpg

@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