It was back in 2010 that producer 9th Wonder properly assumed the position as Professor when he began teaching a course on music from the Civil Rights and Black Power movements at Duke University alongside Professor Mark Anthony Neal. Since then, the super-producer’s accolades have grown in number, eventually landing him at his alma mater of North Carolina Central University (NCCU), teaching a History of Hip-Hop course.
“It’s just the way to reach this generation,” he said in a recent sit down with the local WRAL news station about his class. “I think this generation speaks in a certain language that the generations before did not … Hip Hop is now a 44-year-old art form. Within it is life. It’s fashion. It’s journalism. It’s law. It’s definitely technology when it comes to deejaying and producing and recording and the things that we use.”
In this interview, 9th Wonder went on to reveal his role in NCCU’s plans to launch a new “Hip-Hop Central” project in yet another stride in embracing Hip-Hop culture. “Hip-Hop Central” will include a library database, a studio, and an annual conference that will cover topics that include hip-hop education, entrepreneurship, and much more. “Hip Hop speaks on what happens in America,” 9th went on to say. “It may speak on a side of America that you may not be privy to. But they need a voice as well.”
In the same interview, 9th Wonder uncovers his origins as a student at North Carolina Central as well, revealing that his name was inspired by a Digable Planets’ track of the same name, and detailing the beginnings of Little Brother as the inception of his career. It continues to be a fruitful year for the Little Brother member and Jamroc honcho.
So far, he’s had his hand in several major releases of the year, including Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. (“Duckworth”), and handling most of the production on Jamroc/Roc Nation signee Rapsody’s Laila’s Wisdom, and lending a hand on Problem’s Selfish, and Masta Killa’s Loyalty is Royalty project.
Be sure to catch the full extended interview below.