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Man Documents Nearly Every Newspaper Reference in Rap

Nas, Newspapers, Rap

Does your mind reel when you hear Ludacris say, “Then he made the front page of the Miami Herald” in Nas’s “Made You Look” remix? Get shivers when Raekwon reflects, “I grew up on the crime side, the New York Times side,” in the Wu-Tang classic, “C.R.E.A.M.”? Well, foliophiles and rap fans, unite! Jeremy Barr of Poynter has now created a list of “almost every” newspaper reference ever uttered in rap. As couple of commenters have pointed out, he missed Beastie Boys’ “Stop That Train.”

Ranging from Pete Rock to Chance the Rapper, the extensive look also includes online outlets and magazines. Top mentions: TMZ and The Wall Street Journal. Why? Because rap would be nothing without fame and fortune, of course. It’s a pretty impressive document overall, comprising over 40 selections, each of which includes a YouTube stream of the track in question, and the lyrics as spoken by these media-savvy MCs. Take Onyx’s Sticky Fingaz, on “Ghetto,” for instance:

“No toilet paper, somebody used the last you had / No problem, just get a Daily News or a paper bag.”

Since you’re already doing your research, find out which parts of the country listens to what with the All-American Music Map, and who holds the musical throne in your particular state with this interactive inf-graphic. Oh, and please don’t let R. Kelly go, er, unignored in this one.