
Kendrick Lamar’s cultural and artistic impact is now officially becoming a subject of academic study. The Compton-bred rapper and lyricist had a landmark year, with his 2024 hit diss track “They Not Like Us” sparking waves across the music industry and earning him five Grammy Awards in 2025, including the coveted “Record of the Year.” He also served as the headliner for the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show in New Orleans, cementing his place at the center of popular culture.
While Lamar’s recent accomplishments have dominated headlines, his influence has been well established over the past decade through a catalog of critically acclaimed work. Albums like To Pimp A Butterfly (2015), DAMN. (2017), which earned him a Pulitzer Prize and Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (2022), have redefined the boundaries of hip-hop and storytelling.
“Throughout his career, Kendrick Lamar hasn’t met the cultural moment so much as he’s defined it,” said Rachel Newman, Apple Music’s global head of content and editorial, in a press statement.
Now, his legacy is entering the academic sphere. According to WHYY News, Temple University will offer a new course this fall titled “Kendrick Lamar and the Morale of M.A.A.D. City”, taught by Professor Timothy Welbeck of the Department of Africology and African American Studies. The class will take an Afrocentric lens to examine Lamar’s life, lyrical content, and the socio-political themes embedded in his music. It will also feature guest lectures from professionals who have collaborated with the rapper.
“Kendrick Lamar is one of the leading voices of his generation,” Welbeck told the outlet. “He has a unique ability to articulate the complexities of Black life, the journey toward self-actualization, and the struggle against marginalization.”
This isn’t the first time a major Black artist has entered the academic canon. Beyoncé, long studied for her artistic innovation and cultural significance, is also the subject of new scholarship. Yale University introduced a course in Spring 2025 titled “Beyoncé Makes History: Black Radical Tradition, History, Culture, Theory & Politics Through Music.”
“This class made perfect sense,” said Daphne Brooks, a professor of African American Studies at Yale. “Beyoncé is executing breakthrough after breakthrough. She blends history, politics, and Black cultural life into every aspect of her performance aesthetic. There’s no one else doing what she’s doing with that kind of precision and impact.”
With artists like Kendrick and Beyoncé at the center of both cultural and academic discourse, the classroom is fast becoming a powerful space to explore modern Black artistry and its deep societal reverberations.