Jay-Z 101: Defending The Georgetown Class

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Last month, I journeyed to our nation's capital to see with my own eyes a popular Georgetown University class. It wasn't another grand strategy offering, nor did it explore the latest advances in quantum physics. But "Sociology of Hip-Hop — Urban Theodicy of Jay-Z" was impressive nonetheless.

The course's instructor, Professor Michael Eric Dyson, had invited me to give a guest lecture (my book, Empire State of...