Berklee Adds Hip Hop Production Course

Though not a major announcement, I think it's indicative of hip hop's growing presence in higher ed that Boston's Berklee College of Music has added a hip hop production course to their online curriculum.

The course will be taught by Mike Hamilton, a "Berklee grad and assistant professor . . . who has been producing, writing, recording and performing music for more than 20 years, was a member of the late-night band for the BET television show, Live from LA, where he wrote and produced hip hop pieces for guest artists such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Warren G, Method Man, P. Diddy and Mystikal."

Hamilton states:
"By studying interactively to create striking hip hop sounds with the right effects, EQ and mixing styles, I feel the graduates of this course will have that critical edge over the competition."

The course is available through Berkleemusic.com as one of their Online Courses for Producers. However, registration for Hip-Hop Writing and Production ends on the 15th, so you better hop on it if you're interested in this round and have at least $795 for noncredit registration as well as the prerequisites:
"MIDI Sequencing Basics course or equivalent skill set, along with a basic understanding of music theory."

The course is intended to teach you the following skills:
"Use writing and production criteria to analyze and recreate hip-hop songs
Program your own drum beats and loops using Propellerhead's Reason software
Create bass, guitar, keyboard, and horn parts for hip-hop arrangements
Use proper mic placement and production techniques for recording rap vocals
Apply hip-hop mixing and mastering techniques to your songs"

You know, education is big business and we're just at the start of hip hop's appearance in educational settings. However, I find it interesting but unsurprising that hip hop has already made a strong appearance in community youth programs, dance programs, education about other topics for little kids programs and college lecture/discussion courses but is barely present in actual music performance programs. The reality is that music departments are some of the most conservative settings in higher ed and the likelihood of hip hop ever having a strong presence is rather small, though I think we will see more courses such as this one in for-profit educational institutions.