Afrika Bambaataa Named Visiting Professor at Cornell

Hip-hop godfather Afrika Bambaataa has been named a visiting scholar at Cornell University, the University Library's Hip-Hop Collection announced today.

Throughout Bambaataa's three-year term, the pioneering South Bronx DJ and MC will visit the Ivy League school's campus in Ithaca, New York, several times per year to speak in classes, meet with students and community groups and perform. Bambaataa's first visit will be in November.

According to the school, Bambaataa's role marks the first time a hip-hop legend has been appointed a faculty position at a major university.

According to Cornell officials, their library houses the country's largest archive of hip-hop culture, one that documents its birth and continued growth by preserving recordings, flyers, photographs and other artifacts.