"And in a few years, you will see
a Dr. Jekyll Mr Hyde University
With mixing as a minor and rapping as a major
be on your best behavior (owwww!)" -Dr. Jekyll (aka Andre Harrell) and Mr Hyde, "AM/PM"
When that song came out in 1984, none of us would have imagined those lyrics could come true. But it has already become a reality, and Jam Master Jay was leading the way into this new frontier with his Scratch Academy, profiled on today's AP wire: DJ School Teaches the Art of Scratching. And I'd bet it won't be long before programs like this aren't even newsworthy, as it becomes commonplace for established schools to include hip-hop in their curriculum. We've come a long way.
"Stephen Webber, a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, believes deejaying is moving toward widespread musical acceptance, much like jazz overcame its rejection as unstructured folk music, and rock its dismissal as amplified noise.
"We have crossed a threshold," Webber said. "It's just starting to make the transition, much like jazz once did, into a legitimate part of the conservatory curriculum."
