• John Legend Pens Education Reform Op-Ed

    John Legend has always been one of the more socially conscious individuals in pop and R&B, not just asking questions of society in his music, but also taking action in the world around him. This morning, Feb. 17, the "All of Me" singer penned an op-ed on cnn.com discussing the education system in the United States and offers a few solutions he is a part of.

  • A-Trak Looks Back on Hip-Hop in '14 with Op-Ed

    A-Trak has become associated with the dance music scene over the past few years, but his roots in hip-hop are deep. He started out as a hip-hop DJ, winning the DMC DJ Championships at age 15. He was Kanye West's touring disc jockey in 2004 and has been a frequent collaborator with other DJs and rappers like DJ Craze, Wale and Cam'ron. He recently penned a new editorial on Medium on the state of hip-hop and how he thinks the genre has shifted so rapidly over the past year in new and fascinating ways. The main shift has been the fact that the status quo in hip-hop has been challenged and it is being broken down. He uses "Yeezus" as his primary example, as "it broke formats of song structure and challenged the industry. One year later, the left field seeped out of the margins and into the mainstream." One of the primary ways the genre has shifted directions is a move online and how new types of sounds and artists are able to get a voice. "More than ever, rap and tech go hand in hand. 2014 was the year of SoundCloud rap — why hasn't anybody pointed that out?" he said. His best example is Drake, who has found OVO rappers on SoundCloud and releases the bulk of his music through the platform.
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