In my latest piece for the Huffington Post, I look at the role of colleges and universities in the formation and evolution of hip hop, especially rap music.  As it turns out, many influential performers have gone to college themselves, and the college/university scene has always been important in disseminating rap music, either through radio stations or by providing an alternative touring circuit.

As the mainstream industry increasingly discourages innovation in favor of money-making hits, colleges and universities could play an even more important role in rap’s future as well.

Every once in a while I deviate from hip hop here, and this is one of those moments.  Last week, I wrote this piece for the Huffington Post on the pledge of allegiance–a ritual that I really wish would go away.  I think if more people knew the history and motivations behind the pledge, they’d think twice about letting their kids recite it in school, so my goal here is to provide that history–and of course a little commentary along the way.

The readers at Huff Post were largely supportive in their comments, but as I expected, I got some of the angry stuff too.  I also got a couple of really angry emails after I appeared on the Michael Medved show to discuss this issue…