Genius

Genius (formerly Rap Exegesis and Rap Genius) is an American digital media company founded on August 27, 2009, by Tom Lehman, Ilan Zechory, and Mahbod Moghadam. It was originally conceived as a hip-hop music website. American rapper Lupe Fiasco is a verified artist. Vibe remarked, "Before Genius was a thing, fans were huddling together in message boards to decipher his lyrics."Ketchum III, William (February 22, 2019). "Lupe Fiasco on New World Water, and Changing the World with His Bars Before Leaving Rap Behind". Vibe.
Fiasco told Vulture in 2020, "You're talking to a person who's somewhat personally responsible for building an industry of annotating lyrics. When Rap Genius came out, I met with the owners … That shit exists for the sole purpose of 'Because it's n***as like Lupe who say shit that I don't understand. And I need to figure that shit out.' It's not just rap for Genius—it's speeches, all kinds of shit."Ketchum III, William (August 4, 2020). "Lupe Fiasco vs. Everybody (Even Himself)". Vulture.
Grantland did an interview with Tetsuo & Youths record producer MoeZ'art, who informed them that Fiasco loved message boards. He continued, "That's why he'll never go on a Rap Genius and want to explain his lyrics. He loves to just leave it open and let people go crazy in terms of them thinking what this means or that. It started in the early days with him when people thought "Kick, Push" was about drug dealing instead of skateboarding."Golianopoulos, Thomas (April 28, 2015). "Messiah Music: Investigating the Hidden Meaning of Lupe Fiasco's 'Tetsuo & Youth'". Grantland.
== Background ==
In 2012, Fiasco did two annotation videos on his songs "Bitch Bad" and "Lamborghini Angels" from his Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 album.
On August 8, 2016, he debated over Twitter on whether or not Drogas and Skulls should be on Genius. Fiasco continued to state of the possibility of annotating his own lyrics, and questioned if Genius paid royalties to the artists, as their music traffics to the site. DJBooth wrote an article that mentioned his "history of fighting for artistic rights," and updated when Lupe responded that Drogas "highly likely" won't be on Genius.Bradley, Brent (August 9, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco Is Anti-Genius, Might Self-Annotate His New Albums". DJBooth.
On September 18, 2018, he publicly requested on Twitter for the removal of lyrics of his upcoming album, Drogas Wave, from the site. In 2020, for Genius' For the Record series, Fiasco had an interview with VP of Content Strategy Rob Markman to discuss his EP House.Gebreyes, Rahel (August 18, 2020). "For the Record: Lupe Fiasco Talks Genius, His Relationship with the media & Ahmaud Arbery". Genius.
== Gallery ==
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== References ==
Category:2020 interviews
Category:Companies