I created the song [Fly Nerd] in 2009 because as a teacher at a low-income elementary school, I realized that our black babies know Lil Wayne lyrics better than they know their multiplication tables. Deeply troubled I made a song that glorifies intelligence rather than sex and money, and most importantly highlights the importance of a good education.

Now two years later Black Students United [a group of which I’m proudly a former co-president] from my alma mater Cornell University has developed an idea entitled SWAG [Students Working Ambitiously to Graduate], which promotes the retention of black males at Cornell through peer mentorship.Currently they are #21 in the Pepsi challenge, making them just a few votes away from being eligible for the 5K prize. With our help they can at least make it into the top 20. You can text [vote 107225] to 73774 or go to http://www.refresheverything.com/swag. Please vote several times until July 31st. Let’s do it!