Sunday, November 11, 2012

16. "Yale Graduates Seek a Hip-Hop Degree"

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/fashion/yale-graduates-seek-a-degree-in-hip-hop.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=technology&adxnnlx=1352653701-2nC0SI4Qyr6S7JdW/p4YHw

Joshua Brustein wrote an article on November 9, 2012 about Yale graduates going after a hip-hop degree. It started in 2009, when one of the graduates, Tom Lehman, did not understand a lyric in a rap song called "Family Ties". His friend, Mahbod Moghadam, guessed that the part of the lyric "jamaican clothes" signified the poor people in Jamaica. Although his guess was wrong, it was enough to inspire both of them to start a site, Rap Genius, in which explains lyrics. This site also works a little like Wikipedia  anyone can add what they want to say, pictures, or videos. This site has 2 million viewers a month and a capitalist from Silicon Valley has even invested $15 million into the site. One problem this site deals with is race and authenticity. Lehman, 28, is very grammatical and wears a different pair of sunglasses everyday with the money he received. Moghadam, 29, is always trying to show off his muscles and brags a lot about meeting Gucci Mane or Big Boi. Zechory, 28, says that his friends are pretending to be someone they are not. He said "I have never seen them break character." The thing that made this site big is the fact that famous rappers have gone on the site themselves to explain their lyrics. The site has been accused of providing the wrong description though.

Brustein does a good job on providing information of this site and how it began. He uses many quotes in how the site has had some racial problems, providing the reader with examples that happened. Brustein also gives a little history as to the minds behind this soon to be famous site, more than it already is.

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