Melissa A. Weber — known worldwide as DJ Soul Sister — has joined the faculty of Loyola University in New Orleans. Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of music, she has worked for 25 years as a WWOZ broadcaster in addition to her work as a music scholar and performer.

Weber will teach a course in the “History of Urban Music,” which falls under the Urban and Electronic Music Production undergraduate degree program at Loyola’s College of Music and Media. According to a press release, Professor Weber’s course “will provide students an historical overview of Black popular music in the United States from the turn of the 20th century to the present, with a focus on genre-driven movements beginning in the late 20th century. Discussions will highlight the music, musicians and music makers, audiences, business practices, recording and distribution channels, technological and media advancements, and issues of race and gender, as well as the definition of ‘urban music’ and the sociological and political context that surrounds it.”

Of her new appointment,Weber said, “I’m excited to be a part of this new and important course offering at Loyola, not only because of my passion for the subject, but because the history of this music is something that young people are hungry for. It’s important to me that people have a foundation in learning where the music they create and partake in comes from, and that they understand the continuum, lineage, and roots of Black popular music in America.”

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