GHOTIING #1: The Art Of MIT—Lupe Fiasco with the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble

A part of the MIT Artfinity Arts Festival and the inaugural season of events in the Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building at MIT.

Prof. Wasalu Jaco (aka Lupe Fiasco)
MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble, Frederick Harris, Jr., Music Director

Arrangers:
Prof. Evan Ziporyn, Matthew Michalek (G), Kevin Costello, ’21

To close out Artfinity, Grammy Award-winning rapper and MIT visiting professor Wasalu Jaco (Lupe Fiasco) collaborates with the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble to premiere music inspired by MIT's public art collection. "Ghotiing," Jaco explains, "is plein air painting meets field recording meets rap." He elaborates on its role in his MIT Rap Theory and Practice course: "We take a novel approach to in situ rap creation through field activities called 'Ghotiing,' where students brainstorm, write, and record in outdoor settings, expanding their creative horizons.” The concert also includes performances by Prof. Jaco’s MIT rap students and MIT Hip-Hop dancers.

This event marks Jaco's first public performance of his own Ghotiing works. Members of the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble (MIT FJE) will provide arrangements for Jaco's raps and perform additional pieces inspired by visual art. The ensemble and music director Fred Harris previously collaborated with Jaco and his rap students in spring 2024.

About the Artists

Lupe Fiasco https://www.lupefiasco.com/

MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble https://mta.mit.edu/music/performance/festival-jazz-ensemble

Fred Harris https://mta.mit.edu/person/fred-harris

View the Concert Livestream

Seating Policy

Your registration through Eventbrite guarantees you a seat until 15 minutes before the event start time. 15 minutes before the concert start time, we will release open seats to the standby list. If you were not able to register through Eventbrite, you may join the physical standby line in the Kresge Auditorium Lobby up to one hour before the concert start time.

Host or Publisher MIT Music and Theater Arts