Serving as a professor for the University of South Carolina, he’s made it his goal to center hip-hop conversations in college and the world properly.
Hip Hop is the driving force behind the music industry and is so influential that it has pierced through every facet of society, including church, politics, and the school system. Often people try to use the expressive components of rap and ignore the beauty and brilliance it contains in its beats and lyrics. Jabari Evans, known to the music world as Naledge, has made a career championing the power of rap and academia.
Part of the influential blog-era group Kidz in the Hall, their first album, School Was My Hustle, softened the landscape for intelligent rap in the post-millennial time. Now a college professor at the University of South Carolina, his work and upcoming book seek to restore the role of rap music as a driving force for dialogue in our conversations, both in and out of the classroom.
Born on Chicago’s Southside to a family of professionals, Naledge’s parents raised him to value the arts and education. School came easily to him, as did his love for rap music. The golden era music of artists like Mobb Deep and DMX played a pivotal role in his development as a youth. As a teenager, Naledge was a part of a rap group, Famous from the Chi, and by sixteen released a book of poetry known as The First Jab.
While in high school, Naledge focused mainly on achieving academic excellence, following in the footsteps of his parents and also his sister who attended Brown University. After visiting the University of Pennsylvania in high school, Naledge moved it to the forefront of his choices, edging out Howard University.
At the time, school remained his major focus. Rap was important to him, but he still pursued it as a hobby.
I was in hip hop and writing rhymes, but it wasn’t serious. It was open mics, freestyling, but it wasn’t about the music industry just yet, says Naledge.
College changed Naledge’s mindset, though. After high school, Naledge attended the University of Pennsylvania where he met a crew of movers and shakers on campus. He credits his time with the crew for helping him see the power that music held.
We were throwing parties on campus and hosting shows and that was my entry point to believing this could be more than a hobby. Out of that group, I met Michael Aguilar or Double O.
The two became quick friends and, over the course of their college career, the two crafted songs on campus, with Double O serving as the group’s producer and Naledge as the emcee. After graduating from college in 2004, Naledge got on his grind and moved to LA with the mindset that he’d make his dream come true.
Though social media was still in its infancy, the growing internet movement that promoted mixtapes and music through blog sites aided Naledge’s ascent.
We were one of the first groups to use blogs to circulate music. We were on the internet making videos and putting our music out for free. It’s commonplace now, but those DIY guerilla tactics came from our cohort which I’m proud of.
Eventually, storied producer and tastemaker, John Monopoly, heard his music and offered his help.
John Monopoly, who was Kanye’s manager discovered me. He walked me into Sony and got me a deal. I was signed as a solo act to Rawkus Records and they were known for working with backpack rappers.
Naledge’s solo project morphed into a free mixtape with Double O called Naledge + Double O are Kidz in the Hall. Rawkus then repackaged the mixtape into what we know now as School Was My Hustle in 2006.
The duo was one of the blog era’s most successful groups, and over the course of their ten-year career, they created five albums and worked with countless artists from David Banner, Bun B, Pusha T, Estelle, Marsha Ambrosius and more. Despite his success as a musician, the work he was doing with local schools in Chicago influenced him. Besides his community mindset, knowledge remained an integral part of Naledge’s identity.
As a result, he pursued his Master’s and Ph.D. at the University of Southern California and then Northwestern University. From there, Naledge stepped into the second half of his career, serving as the Assistant Professor of Race and Media. He also hosts his own podcast, Uncommon Knowledge and serves as a visiting scholar for the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.
Most of all, Naledge began writing about his experiences in the school system, calling the book Hip Hop Civics. His insight on the viability of rap music remains popular. One of his pieces, Chief Keef Changed the Music Industry still generates its fair share of attention from academics to journalists and casual rap fans who consistently discuss the impact of the Chicago Drill sound.
With only one year left before hip hop’s fiftieth anniversary, the world is trying to figure out where rap is going next. As uncertain as it is, it’s refreshing to know that scholars like 9th Wonder, Bun B, Regina Bradley and Naledge are around to articulate the nuance of the genre and preserve it.
Wright World 