Rap Lyrics Database Now Online

The first public searchable database of rap music lyrics from past 20 years. Experts applaud this comprehensive, easy-to-use resource for serious research or fun searches

“This is a gold mine for anyone who wants to determine the educational, social and creative influence of hiphop.” — Marcyliena Morgan, Founding Director of the Hiphop Archive at Harvard University

“For the first time, we now have the ability to cross reference key terms and identify trends in rap lyrics that persist over the last two decades.” — Bakari Kitwana, author of The Hip-Hop Generation, CEO of Rap Sessions

WHAT:        Rap Lyrics Database ( http://www.blackyouthproject.com/byp-presents/raplyrics/ ) — A one-of-its-kind cyber storehouse that lets rap and hiphop fans, youth, scholars, and teachers search through all the lyrics of Billboard Music’s top rap songs from the last 20 years.

“The Black Youth Project’s Rap Lyrics Database is an important new tool in the arsenal of hip-hop research,” says Bakari Kitwana, author of The Hip-Hop Generation and CEO of Rap Sessions. “The insights it virtually places at the fingertips of hip-hop aficionados, casual listeners as well as those who study hip-hop and street culture is unprecedented.  For the first time, we now have the ability to cross reference key terms and identify trends in rap lyrics that persist over the last two decades.  With this important new addition, Dr. Cathy Cohen and the Black Youth Project move us deeper into the matrix of Black youth culture.”

“The Rap Lyrics Database is a rich resource for anyone interested in knowing what is important to urban youth,” said Professor Marcyliena Morgan, Founding Director, Hiphop Archive at Harvard University.  “One can search the top hiphop recordings of the last 20 years to reveal trends in lyrics that reflect various attitudes and crises among our youth.  Searches like “teacher,” “education,” “prison,” “justice,” “death,” etc. result in graphs and lyrics that suggest that the best MCs addressed the major issues affecting their communities.   This is a gold mine for anyone who wants to determine the educational, social and creative influence of hiphop.”

WHO: The Rap Lyrics Database is part of the Black Youth Project’s new website — http://www.blackyouthproject.com

WHY: “We’ve heard so much about what rap music does and says.  See if what you’ve heard is true.  Discover that rap music is a critical medium that needs to be researched just like jazz, classical music—and you can do it here.” — Leigh Richie, Website Coordinator for Black Youth Project

WHEN: NOW

WHERE: http://www.blackyouthproject.com