Harvard Is Now Accepting Applications For The 2026-27 Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship – AfroTech
Rapper Nas is behind a first-of-its-kind academic fellowship at Harvard University.
Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship
In 2013, the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship was established at Harvard University through the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research. It is reportedly the first academic fellowship named after a Hip-Hop artist, according to the Ivy League school’s website.
The rapper, born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, is known for “his lyrical skill, social analysis and commitment.” His works include a debut album “Illmatic” (1994), followed by “It Was Written” (1996) and later the “King’s Disease” trilogy (2020, 2021, 2022). He also is investing $2 million to establish The Hip-Hop Museum in The Bronx, alongside the Resorts World New York City casino, as AFROTECH™ perviously told you.
The fellowship reflects what Nas said he always recognized in Hip-Hop. It is a form of education.
Fellowship Details
The Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship welcomes writers, journalists, filmmakers, musicians, and visual artists as well as fellows and scholars in the humanities, social sciences, arts, sciences and technology. Each year those from Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, Europe, North America, the Caribbean, and Latin America will work on projects that are “advancing research and creativity in African and African American studies and across the African diaspora,” according to a post shared by Nas on Instagram.
Through the W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute with support of the Marcyliena H. Morgan Hip Hop Archive & Research Institute, fellows are encouraged to study in areas that include Hip Hop, art, art history, Afro-Latin American studies, design, education, African and African diaspora studies, African American studies, Indian Ocean studies, literary studies, and creative writing.
They are also asked to engage in orientation activities, a weekly fellows colloquium series in which work under development is presented, fellows workshops, and social hours, as well as to utilize their office spaces in the W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute, according to information on the fellowship’s website.
Apply Today
People can apply for the fellowships for the fall, spring, or full academic year. Twenty scholars will be selected, and fellowships are “frequently funded.”
For those interested in applying to the fellowship, visit hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/apply.
The application deadline for the 2026–27 academic year is Jan. 30, 2026.
