Professor Greg Thomas thought he had the best-kept secret on campus.

After nearly a full semester of teaching the ETS course ‘Hip-Hop Eshu: Queen B@#$H 101 – The Life & Times of Lil’ Kim,’ Thomas somehow managed to lure hip-hop diva Lil’ Kim into visiting Syracuse University yesterday to witness firsthand the course dedicated to her efforts. The course, in its first semester at SU, focuses on Kim’s rap lyrics, videos and other works of art and relates them to the larger themes of race, matriarch and patriarch, and sexual empowerment.

To his credit, Thomas did his part. He told no one – not even his own students, who were told to prepare the projects they had been working on for a presentation that would be shown to a mysterious ‘guest speaker’ – that Kim was going to be coming to SU for the first time since she performed alongside rapper Fabolous at the Greek Unity Festival in April 2003.

What Thomas had never considered, though, was the power of Kim’s publicist. While Thomas remained tight-lipped, the diva’s management team did not; on Tuesday, the Associated Press ran a story previewing Kim’s trip to Syracuse.

Thomas, meanwhile, was under the belief that the visit was going to remain a secret, without much hoopla from the media. Then, he checked his e-mail.

‘I got an e-mail from one of the kids in the class that said, ‘Your little surprise is all over the Internet, homie,” Thomas said.

So when Kim finally made it to Schine Underground yesterday, it came as no surprise to Thomas – nor the Internet-savvy members of his class – that she entered with an entourage of reporters following her coattails.

Kim, used to the spotlight, didn’t let it affect her pride in having an entire collegiate-level course dedicated to her works.

‘This is going to be a class you are never going to forget,’ Kim said as she sat down at a table in front of the wide-eyed students and fans. ‘Having this class is very important. It’s going to go down in history.’

After a brief welcoming, Thomas asked his students to present the projects they had been working on for the past few weeks, each offering a somewhat different stance on the belief that Lil’ Kim’s works offer more than meets the eye: A student video showed the misconceptions students have on campus for Kim’s lyrics, a collage poster showed the different historical influences of Kim’s looks, and poems showed their gratitude to Kim’s lyrics for opening their eyes to a new world.

A five-page essay by Diana Hazel, a senior computer graphics major, gushed over Kim’s ability to stay strong in the face of the media who constantly try to chop her down and criticize her overt sexuality and candor. Once Hazel finished reading – and the crowd finished applauding – Kim gushed right back.

‘I looked at you, girl, and I saw myself for a minute,’ Kim said, wiping tears from her eyes, and then apologizing to the crowd for her emotional outburst. ‘I really appreciate that. I love it.’

Then Kim – who herself left the Borough of Manhattan Community College while just 12 credits shy of graduating so she could tour with the Notorious B.I.G. – led the audience in a second ovation for Hazel’s essay.

‘I just wish I had written less,’ Hazel said afterward, laughing. ‘But it was cool. It’s great to finally see somebody you’ve been talking about in class for so long.’

‘I was nervous just thinking I’m going to present in front of her,’ said Candace Smith, a senior English and textual studies major. ‘But it was a rush.’

Not all of the students in the class were given the chance to present their projects to Lil’ Kim before time ran out on the class. Mia Armstrong, a junior English and textual studies major, was one of the students who never got a chance to present, but she said she didn’t mind. Armstrong said she was just glad to have Kim visit, even though some friends from around the country offered their disapproval of the class once they had heard about the course she was taking. Still, Armstrong is proud to be enrolled in the course.

‘When we’re in class (Thomas) relates all the things Kim does to other interesting things,’ Armstrong said. ‘It is very beneficial that the university has allowed a class like this.’

Kathryn Wilson, a junior political science and African American studies major who also didn’t get the chance to present her works to the prominent hip-hop artist, said while she, too, agreed the course was beneficial, she was glad students got the chance to meet Kim in person.

‘When I found out, I was psyched,’ Wilson said. ‘It’s cool she took the time out to come in this type of venue.’

But the best part of the visit, Wilson said, was the fact that both Kim and the students had a chance to justify the positive side of the university offering this course. While the students proved they had accomplished more than simply watching Kim’s collection of music videos, Kim got the chance to show she was all that Thomas had cracked her up to be.

‘She showed she was really multifaceted,’ Wilson said. ‘And we got a chance to show her that this class isn’t just about her.’

Published on November 3, 2004 at 12:00 pm