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Looking At The World Through Rhyme: Meet Rapsody

photo of Rapsody
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Marlanna Evans, aka Rapsody, developed a love for hip-hop music while attending North Carolina State University.

This program originally aired July 11, 2016.

Growing up in the small town of Snow Hill, N.C., Marlanna Evans, a.k.a Rapsody, wasn't exposed to much hip-hop music. She would listen to the songs her older cousins played in the car, but she didn't develop a love for rap until college.

While attending North Carolina State University, Evans helped a hip-hop culture grow on campus with a student music group that would meet in a dormitory lounge to rap battle. She eventually started making her own rhymes and met producer and Jamla Records founder 9th Wonder.

Her work as a solo artist includes collaborations with top names in the hip-hop industry like 9th Wonder, Common and Kendrick Lamar. As a rapper, Evans delivers messages about feminism and colorism, and she strives to be a role model for future lyricists.

Host Frank Stasio talks with Evans about growing up in a rural community, cultivating Raleigh's rap scene and looking at the world through rhymes.  ​

Check out the music featured in this program below:

"The Man" by Rapsody

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC6ai3OudJk

"Hard To Choose" by Rapsody

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_tyknmZhFs

"Complexion (A Zulu Love)" by Kendrick Lamar, feat. Rapsody

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH6qPuPSZHU

"Every Ghetto" by TalibKweli, 9th Wonder and Rapsody

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeRp34Uol7Y

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Charlie Shelton-Ormond is a podcast producer for WUNC.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
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