Grammy Award-winning rap star and business entrepreneur Jay-Z is helping to cultivate the next generation of music industry leaders in his hometown of Brooklyn.
The Roc Nation School of Music, Sports, and Entertainment, created by the mogul, offers five undergraduate programs in music, music technology, entrepreneurship and production, and sports. The school recently added another program plus a graduate degree offering in sports management.
Since it’s partnership with Long Island University (LIU), the program has provided students with a world-class education in downtown Brooklyn, just two miles from where Jay-Z was raised in The Marcy Projects.
“Roc Nation has been an incredible partner, and I think that’s the benefit of having an active partner,” said Roc Nation School Dean Tressa Cunningham. She added, “The courses are rooted in theory.”
“We’ve benefited from partnerships with Wieden+Kennedy, Condé Nast, VFiles, and JPMorgan Chase to create courses that are relevant, interesting, and applicable to students’ day-to-day lives and future careers.”
Cunningham says leveraging Roc Nation’s connections with industry leaders like Sony, iHeartMedia, Paramount, and Live Nation has created valuable internship opportunities.
”The program is four years and is very hands-on,” he added. “Our professors do a one-on-one assessment of all students and then pair them up individually with the right people to help them advance their craft,” he said.
Every month, students engage with industry giants through the Speaker Series, held in the Kumble Theatre, which accommodates more than 300 guests.
53% of students are from out of state
“In addition to quality academics inside the classroom, students participate in programming outside the classroom, like our industry speaker series. We’ve been fortunate to have Adam Silver from the NBA, Michael Rubin from Fanatics, Fat Joe, and many more.”
Driven by a passion for music and sports, Cunningham notes that 53% of students are from out of state. The Hope Scholarship provides full scholarships to 25% of each incoming class, a goal Cunningham says the university has exceeded every semester.
Producer Gimel “Young Guru” Keaton, the man behind infamous engineering sounds for Jay-Z spoke about the program during the 2023 Black College Expo. He serves as the Director of the MTEP program.
Young Guru said the program is not just for established artists but for up and coming artists as well. “We are representing everyone here with the school in NYC. From music producing to sound engineering, our program is for those interested in sports, music and the entertainment world.”