Ryerson University’s The Creative School is now offering courses that will delve into the lives and musical talents of Toronto-born musical artists Drake & the Weeknd, the university announced in a news release.
The course is titled ‘Deconstructing Drake & The Weeknd’. According to Ryerson Professor-in-Residence Dalton Higgins, who will be teaching the class, these courses on Drake & the weeknd will be offered in the Winter semester beginning January 2022.
“It’s time to get our Canadian rap and R&B icons recognized and canonized academically or otherwise,” Higgins told CNN. “And it is critical for scholars and historians to examine the Toronto music scene that birthed Drake/Weeknd and helped create the conditions for them to become mega-successful.”
The class will be offered as one of the flagship courses for The Creative School’s Professional Music BA program, Canada’s “first transdisciplinary professional music undergraduate program,” according to the university.
“Even before registration opens, the enthusiasm for the class is already quite significant so I have a feeling it’ll pack up very quickly,” The Creative School Dean Charles Falzon told CNN.
In addition to lecturing at numerous universities about black music and hip hop, Higgins has written six books on the topic. According to Higgins, part of the purpose of the course is to analyze the lyrics of both artists who have had a profound impact on the music industry.
“What people tend to forget about Drake is that he’s actually a great writer,” the professor told CNN. “In his rhymes, he employs all kinds of literary devices like metaphors, iambic pentameter, similes, so we’re going to deconstruct his lyrics and examine how he puts his songs together.”
‘Deconstructing Drake & The Weeknd’
Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, and The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, will be thoroughly discussed in the course.
“When you have these two Black Canadian artists from Toronto who are performing rap, R&B, and pop and are arguably on their way to becoming billionaires at some point in the future, there is a lot to learn from them,” Higgins said. The class will also examine the entrepreneurial side of both musical artists, who Higgins said have to be strong business people to succeed after rising “from humble origins.”
“When you peel back the layers, you’re going to notice how their branding and entrepreneurship is actually insane,” he said. “For example, Drake with his OVO clothing line, which generates a ton of revenue, or his role as the global ambassador to the Toronto Raptors, Canada’s NBA team.”
To Higgins, the most important thing for his students is to leave his class asking the tough questions about life, race, music, and how it all comes together.
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Story Courtesy: CNN
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