Frank Ocean is kind of a big deal. Besides creating a distinctive, seriously sultry sound, Ocean has used his lyrics and persona to drive important cultural conversations forward.
His nuanced explorations of social concepts like toxic masculinity and sexuality have broken new ground in RnB and hip hop.
His music has spawned a throng of think pieces, dissections, and now, an entire university course.
That’s right, the prolific Frank Ocean will join Beyoncé, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar in the world of academia, thanks to an approved class at the University of California, Berkeley.
UC Berkeley student Preya Gill recently tweeted that her school approved a proposal for a course based around Frank Ocean, aptly titled “Brain Like Berkeley”.
I proposed a course on Frank Ocean @ UC Berkeley and it got approved! Very stoked to be teaching it in the fall. Come sign up~ @katonya pic.twitter.com/FAuzzbdq0h
— preya (@PreyaaGill) June 15, 2018
Gill developed the course with her roommate and fellow second-year student Deborah Chang. The pair bonded over their love for the alt-R&B musician and both agreed Ocean’s body of work belonged in the Berkeley curriculum.
“We want to encourage a deep literary exploration of his artistry both in lyrics and through his visuals and live performances,” Preya and Deborah explain in an interview with The Fader.
“We hope to provide a safe environment where students can discuss his poetry and music with sensitivity, creative respect, and open-mindedness.”
So, we’re not only going to be thinking ’bout you, Frank. We’ll be learning ’bout you, too.
Gill’s announcement piqued the interest of many Frank Ocean fans, including his mother Katonya who, according to Gill’s recent tweets, has expressed her support for the course.
good morning, Frank Ocean's mom thinks our course is amazing. HIS MOM Y'ALL!!!!!!!!!!! ??
— preya (@PreyaaGill) June 16, 2018
It’s certainly refreshing to see Ocean’s work being afforded the full high-brow treatment and intellectual respect which it wholly deserves.
There is just one glaring problem: the racial inequality that’s present within America’s college system means that the minorities who’d gain the most from these course will likely miss out.
Last year, the New York Times reported that black and Hispanic students are even more underrepresented in top colleges than they were 35 years ago – even with affirmative action.
And at UC Berkeley, the numbers are even bleaker: a Los Angeles Times story from 2017 put the proportion of students who are black at just 3% of the student population.
Expanding the curriculum to explore and centre the culture and experiences of non-white people through innovative new courses is the first step. But if white people are overwhelmingly the ones sitting in those classes, some of the people who most need to see themselves represented are still missing out.