Supplemental Information: Episode 5
Teaching Rhythm and Meter through Rap and Hip Hop: An Interview with Mazbou Q
Olivia Lucas (Louisiana State University) and Mazbou Q
Release Date: Thursday, May 8, 2025
Production Credits
Team Lead: Jennifer Weaver
Production Lead: Jose Garza
Peer Reviewers: Danny Jenkins,
Leah Frederick
Music Credits
SMT-Pod Theme Music: Maria Tartaglia
Closing Music: Yike Zhang
Other Original Compositions: Mazbou Q
Bio: Olivia Lucas is Assistant Professor of Music Theory at Louisiana State University. Her work on metal music has appeared in Music Theory Online, Popular Music, the Journal of Sonic Studies, and several edited volumes. Her article “Performing Analysis, Performing Metal: Meshuggah, Edvard Hansson, and the Analytical Light Show” (MTO 2021) won the SMT’s Emerging Scholar Award in 2024. She also co-edited the collected volume Teaching Difficult Topics: Reflections from the Undergraduate Music Classroom (University of Michigan Press, 2024).
Bio: Mazbou Q is an artist, producer, and educator of Igbo-Nigerian descent whose work explores the intersections of hip hop, rhythm theory, and cultural identity. Drawing from classical, heavy metal, and West African Highlife influences, his music and scholarship highlight the complexity of rap flow through concepts such as polymetricism, microtiming, and syncopation. Known widely as "The Rap Scientist," he has guest lectured at institutions including Harvard University, Berklee College of Music, Louisiana State University and NYU Steinhardt. As both a practitioner and theorist, Mazbou Q continues to engage artists, scholars, and educators in the evolving study of hip hop rhythm and flow.
Keywords: Hip hop; Pedagogy; Aural skills ; Rhythm and Meter; Public music theory