Jasmine “Jazz” Young Explains Cardi B Course At Howard University

Jasmine Young reshaped higher learning by linking a chart topping rap release to career training at Howard, turning pop culture success into academic fuel.

Jasmine “Jazz” Young built a Howard University course around Cardi B to show how Hip-Hop business wins in real time.

What began as a conversation about education and culture has now become a Fall 2026 course examining the blockbuster campaign behind Am I The Drama? and how it can prepare students for careers in the music industry. 

The three credit interdisciplinary class, developed through the Warner Music Blavatnik Center for Music Business, uses Cardi B’s chart topping success as a modern blueprint for marketing, branding and cultural influence.

The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 after moving more than 200,000 units in its first week following its September 2025 release. The Bronx-bred rapper is now touring the nation to the glee of sold out crowds.

Young, also known as “The Hip Hop Professor,” said the idea came from a forward thinking discussion about how Hip-Hop education should evolve. In a statement to AllHipHop, Young explained how the whole thing came about.

“The idea for the Cardi B class came to me while brainstorming with Chuck (Creekmur) from AllHipHop about the next level of Hip-Hop Education- from a place of purpose and responsibility—to not just talk about real Music Industry Education and Hip-Hop, but to activate it. I saw an opportunity to empower my peers, mobilize culture in real time, and build something that reflects the living, breathing energy of the industry. Because the truth is: you can only be a leader if you lead. Students deserve a proactive, immersive learning environment where the lessons are current, culturally relevant, and rooted in real strategy—not just textbooks. That’s why this groundbreaking course matters right now. At Howard University, we are pushing Hip-Hop education to the next level—bridging artistry, business, and cultural impact through the lens of one of the most influential artists of our time. Cardi B is the prototype for Music Business Success. I’m truly grateful to co-instruct this course and continue building a legacy where Hip-Hop education doesn’t just exist—it wins.” 

The class goes beyond lectures. Students will analyze alternative cover art, grassroots promotions in New York, fan engagement tactics and how public legal moments became part of the album’s narrative arc. 

Young said the goal is to close the gap between theory and execution.

“’The Cardi B and My The Drama: The Art, Production, Marketing, and Cultural Impact of Hip-Hop’ course at Howard University is more than a class, it is a cultural reset and a foundational moment in Hip-Hop education. As a three-credit, interdisciplinary experience, it bridges music, business, marketing, media, gender studies, production, and cultural theory, placing one of the most influential artists of our time at the center of academic inquiry. This course is groundbreaking because it validates hip-hop as both a scholarly discipline and a living, breathing global economy, while giving students real-time access to the strategies, storytelling, and brand architecture behind a superstar like Cardi B. Students are excited because this isn’t theory alone, it’s access, it’s proximity, it’s the REAL playbook. It represents everything we stand for at the Warner Music/Blavatnik Center: educate, excite, and empower. Most importantly, this course will change the trajectory of hip-hop education by institutionalizing the study of contemporary artists at the highest level, proving that culture is currency and that the classroom can and should reflect the REAL pulse of the students.” 

Young framed the program as both academic and personal motivation.

“We will change the face of Marketing, Music Business & Hip Hop Education with this. I am grateful to use this class to educate our students while pushing the culture forward. I am the Hip Hop Professor for a reason!” 

As universities continue to recognize Hip-Hop as both scholarship and industry, Young’s effort signals a future where classrooms move at the same pace as the culture they study, turning case studies into career playbooks and ambition into opportunity.

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