So You’re Saying There’s a Chance (the Rapper)

Chicago Rapper Is Latest Special Guest of Hip-Hop Class at Concordia

Fringe ArtsJulian McKenzie — Published October 26, 2015

It’s quite an accomplishment to get hundreds of students clamouring to be in a class. Such is life for Yassin Alsalman aka The Narcicyst, or Narcy, professor of the Concordia class Hip-Hop: Past, Present, Future. The class meets weekly to discuss concepts and artists within the realm of the genre.

This past week, the class (and then some) sat in on an interview between Narcy and Chicago hip-hop artist Chance the Rapper for his We Are The Medium podcast. The rapper was in town as part of his Family Matters Tour, playing the Olympia Theatre alongside producer Metro Boomin, and rappers D.R.A.M and Towkio.

The rapper discussed his upbringing, encroaching fatherhood, and his collaborations with fellow artists including Childish Gambino, Lil B, and Vic Mensa. He even likened the creative process of his successful mixtape, Acid Rap, seriously, to releasing a fart.

“Everybody was like, wait, timeout,” said Chance. “This is great. This is like the best fart to ever come out. This is the best fart to come out in 2013.”

“I think for students this was a great opportunity,” Alsalman said of the event. “[Chance] didn’t go to university so to be speaking at a university for what he did, I think it’s an experience that he will take away and will stay with him.”

Alsalman was originally a guest for the class in 2009, when it was taught by Concordia instructor Marc Peters. He eventually co-taught the class with Peters, before taking it over solo in 2013. Back then, the class had a capacity of 90 students, but it has since ballooned to 241, according to Alsalman.

“It’s way more responsibility,” he said. “With Marc, it was way more about art history and more about the artistic birth of hip-hop, while my [class] is more about information and the understanding of consumption by the audience through hip-hop.

“This class is endless,” he continued. “If you keep this class open, you might end up with 600 students.”

It is the third time this semester that Alsalman has invited major guests to the hip-hop class. Earlier in the semester, photography/DJ duo Mochilla took part in the class, as well as local producer Kaytranada. In the past, rapper Illa J, brother to late producer J Dilla, as well as Montreal producers Lunice and High Klassified, have visited the class.

“Narcy has mad connections to other hip-hop artists, and just prominent people in the hip-hop scene,” said John Talbot of the Concordia Student Union, who assisted Alsalman in the planning of the Chance the Rapper event this past Wednesday.

The professor/rapper has no plans to invite more guests to the class for the rest of this semester, but still maintains larger aspirations for its future.

“I just want to go bigger man,” said Alsalman. “I want to bring Kanye to this class, [Mos Def] if he’s ever in town, [Talib Kweli]. People that I grew up listening to that I’d love to talk to.”