Temple University is adding a new offering to its growing catalog of hip-hop-focused academic courses, this time, centered around Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar. Titled “Kendrick Lamar and the Morale of M.A.A.D City,” the course will debut in the Fall 2025 semester and will be led by Professor Timothy Welbeck, a seasoned faculty member in the Department of Africology and African American Studies and Director of the Center for Anti-Racism at Temple.

The class will examine Lamar’s career, artistry, and cultural influence through the lens of Black American identity, social justice, and urban policy. According to Welbeck, the course will not simply dissect Lamar’s lyrics but will dive into the deeper narratives surrounding race, self-actualization, and the systemic forces that shaped both the rapper and his hometown of Compton, California.

“Kendrick Lamar is one of the defining voices of his generation,” Welbeck said in an interview with NBC10, which first reported the course announcement. “In many ways, both his art and life reflect the Black experience in complex and telling ways. Being able to discuss his music in a scholarly environment, particularly one that shaped his own development, offers students a rich opportunity to examine contemporary issues through a cultural lens.”

This won’t be the first time Temple University explores hip-hop in the classroom. The school has previously offered courses centered around artists like Tupac Shakur, Jay-Z, and Beyoncé, embracing a broader movement in academia that treats hip-hop as a legitimate and vital cultural force worth rigorous analysis. But for Welbeck, Kendrick Lamar has been part of his teaching material for nearly a decade. Developing a course specifically devoted to Lamar, however, took nearly a year of preparation and received enthusiastic support from university leadership.

“My current department chair was very open to the idea and received it almost immediately,” Welbeck noted. “Temple has truly embraced the study of hip-hop in academic spaces, both in our department and across the university more broadly.”

The timing of the course couldn’t be more relevant. In 2025 alone, Lamar has made headlines for a historic string of achievements: emerging victorious in a highly publicized lyrical battle with fellow rapper Drake, earning multiple Grammy Awards for a chart-topping diss track, performing a celebrated Super Bowl halftime show, and winning Album of the Year at the BET Awards. In addition, he’s currently on a co-headlining national tour with SZA, further solidifying his position as a leading figure in contemporary music.

But the course will go beyond accolades. Students will engage with three to four of Lamar’s albums, exploring the socio-political commentary woven into his lyrics. They’ll also study urban development policies and demographic changes in Compton, shedding light on how systemic shifts in Lamar’s community influenced his perspective and storytelling.

Welbeck also plans to bring in guest speakers, including potential collaborators and industry professionals who have worked alongside Lamar. The goal is to provide students with not only a deeper understanding of Kendrick Lamar as an artist but also of the broader societal structures that inform his work. “The hope is that students leave with a deeper appreciation for Lamar’s art, hip-hop culture, and the ways in which music becomes a medium to explore and express the Black experience,” Welbeck said.

“Kendrick Lamar and the Morale of M.A.A.D City” begins in August 2025 and is currently open for enrollment.