Ryerson students can learn about Drake, The Weeknd in new course this year

By Lucas Casaletto

They started from the bottom; now they’re here.

Students at Ryerson University will have the privilege of learning about Canadian music icons Drake and The Weeknd as part of a media course.

It’s called “Deconstructing Drake and The Weeknd” and will be taught by well-known author and Rogers Media podcast host Dalton Higgins. Two of Higgins’ four pop culture books, “Hip Hop” and “Hip Hop World,” are used in classrooms across North America.

“Real talk, I’ve been lecturing about hip hop and popular culture at North American universities – including all the local ones: University of Toronto, York University, etc.- for the last decade,” Higgins wrote on Instagram.

“When I wasn’t doing that, I was pushing Hip Hop Pedagogy in high schools, writing chapters and lesson plans for various hip hop textbooks. But the real fun and deep learning has only really just begun as I’ll be teaching a course about two Toronto-born music titans; Drake & The Weeknd in early 2022.”

The course will expand on Drake’s, named Aubrey Graham, and The Weeknd’s (Abel Tesfaye) rise to fame and how their impact is felt across the globe after arriving on the Toronto music scene.

The pair of Canadian legends were frequent collaborators early on in their respective careers, with The Weeknd eventually appearing on Drake’s 2011 “Take Care” album. The Weeknd holds several music chart records, being the first artist to simultaneously maintain the top three positions on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart with “Can’t Feel My Face,” “Earned It,” and “The Hills.”

His most recent album, “After Hours,” was critically praised and universally lauded as his best work to date. In March 2020, the album broke the record for the most global pre-adds in Apple Music history, with over 1.02 million users.

Drake, meanwhile, is ranked as the highest-certified digital singles artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), winning four Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, a record 29 Billboard Music Awards.

His most recent album, “Certified Lover Boy,” was a major commercial success, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200, setting the record for most first-week sales of 2021. CLB also broke Apple Music and Spotify records for the most prominent streaming debut within a single day.

“Why Drake & The Weeknd, one might ask? Well, there are great courses out there being taught about numerous rock, folk and pop stars like Miley Cyrus, Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, so why not The Weeknd and Dizzy. Also, I’ve been kicking around the Hip Hop Ed scene for years and have seen some great courses being taught in the USA about Jay Z (Georgetown University), Outkast (Armstrong State University), Beyonce (there are MANY Bey courses; Arizona State, University of Texas; Rutgers University). Plus, the University of Arizona offers a minor in Hip Hop Studies, and Mcnally Smith College in Minnesota offers a hip hop diploma,” Higgins said.

“Nevertheless, it’s time to get our Canadian rap & R&B icons recognized and canonized academically or otherwise. And it is CRITICAL for scholars, historians, to examine the Toronto music scene that birthed Drake/Weeknd and helped create the conditions for them to become mega-successful.”

Ryerson students can register for “RTA 950: Deconstructing Drake and The Weeknd” for the 2022 winter term.

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