MIT welcomes Lupe Fiasco: Lecture Transcript Notes

Introduction by Nick Montfort

• Hosts: Nick Montfort (digital media professor, MIT) and Mary Fuller (literature, MIT)
• Occasion: Welcoming Lupe Fiasco (real name Wasalu Jaco) as a Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Scholar
• Thanks: Institute Community and Equity Office for organizing and supporting Lupe's visit
• MIT's distributed nature and its rich curriculum including media studies, literature, architecture, arts, and social sciences
• Public gratitude for community attendance and support despite pandemic restrictions
• Mention of upcoming events and campus features opening on December 1st, including MIT Museum, MIT press bookstore, and art collections
• Other notable mentions: Past rap events at MIT including Haitian poet-singer-songwriter BIC and BridgeSide Cypher event

Lupe Fiasco's Presentation

Acknowledgments and Introduction

• Thanks to hosts and various MIT departments
• Aim for a casual session, an intro to his upcoming class
• Request for audience participation with writing materials

Lupe’s Background in Rap

• High school yearbook image and talent show participation
• Performed at MIT in 2005 and recently in Central Park
• Rap as a Scholastic Pursuit:
  • Lupe learned to rap in school
  • Emphasizes that teaching rap at school is a natural progression for him

Class Focus: Rap Theory and Practice

• Activity: Creating acronyms for rap (e.g.,