Though we hardly need another reason to think that Professor Tricia Rose is cool, she has once again reinforced the notion that actually showing up for lecture will reap rewards. Instead of lecturing this morning, she surprised class attendees of her Hip Hop Culture(s) class with up-and-coming rap artist and role model from New Orleans Dee-1. The first half of class consisted of an interview with the young LSU graduate from New Orleans East, followed by an exclusive performance of some of his more well-known songs. [Read more →]

BlogDailyHerald likes study music, so over the next few days we’ll offer a different album/mixtape/playlist for students of all tastes and attention levels. When the studying gets tough, let the speakers earbuds get bumping.

Ever wondered what happens when the guy who wrote and produced Feist’s hit song “My Moon My Man” decides to record a live piano track to back the vocal track from 50 Cent’s immortal “Many Men?” Chilly Gonzales’s 2010 mixtape Pianist Envy, that’s what. In what might be his most enjoyable piece of work without Leslie Feist’s voice, Gonzales mixes sampled hip hop beats, live acoustic piano tracks, arrogant interview sound bites (Gonzales is a predictably self-obsessed music producer) and, of course, rap verses into a very solid mixtape. At 30 minutes, it’s the perfect length for banging out a round of practice problems before taking an hour to procrastinate on the Internet. For some beautiful, densely dialogic pop music, get access to the free tape via Gonzales’s website by entering any email address here.