TED Talks Daily
TED Talks Daily
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In defense of hip-hop | Roland Fryer
13 minutes Posted Feb 2, 2026 at 4:03 pm.
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Hip-hop often gets blamed for its controversial lyrics. What if there was a way to actually measure its impact on people's lives? Analyzing 40 years' worth of radio station data and lyrics from rappers like Tupac, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar, economist Roland Fryer puts one of culture's most notorious debates on trial.

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