New Jersey entrepreneur Larry "Lak" (pronounced LOCK) Henderson is the co-founder, CEO, recording artist and co-producer of Smart Music Entertainment. Since 2007, Smart Music has created high-quality educational hip-hop music.Their blend of educational lyrics and underground hip-hop beats makes learning fun, accessible and more modern for a new generation of young people who are drawn to hip-hop music. Their new CD, Lesson One: Hip-Hop and Education, uses rap lyrics and today's hip-hop beats to teach students U.S. history, geography, health, politics and African and African-American history. Larry has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a specialization in Africana Studies and Labor Studies from Rutgers University. During our interview Larry talks about various subjects including his hip-hop journey which started in the third grade, the importance of knowing the business side of the music industry, why did he decide to combine education and hip-hop, his thoughts on the effects that hip-hop has on young people, his he thinks about the current American education system, messages for Black men and the future of hip-hop.
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