Now Rappers Are Rhyming About Paying Off Student Loan Debt

New Orleans artist Dee-1 is in the mood to party after getting lender Sallie Mae off his back.

Feb 27, 2016·

Culture and education editor Liz Dwyer has written about race, parenting, and social justice for several national publications. She was previously education editor at Good.

Forget about rappers who rhyme about bling or popping open champagne on yachts. Dee-1, an up-and-coming hip-hop artist from New Orleans, is spitting bars about a subject plenty of Americans can relate to: out-of-control student loan debt.

“I finished paying Sallie Mae back,” says Dee-1 in the chorus of his catchy new track “Sallie Mae Back.” In the video above, the rapper can be seen celebrating being debt-free, jumping up and down with friends at a toga party.

“The goal was to make an anthem that would allow people to feel the excitement that I felt, but hopefully it would also begin a bigger conversation about the student loan debt crisis,” Dee-1 told CBS Market Watch. “Student loan debt is out of control, and I do think that college should ultimately be made more affordable,” he said.

Dee-1, whose real name is David Augustine Jr., details in the song how, after he earned his degree from Louisiana State University, he began working as a teacher. The artist doesn’t disclose how much he borrowed or what his starting salary was, but according to the song lyrics, he struggled to pay back his loans. Dee-1 rhymes about avoiding phone calls from Sallie Mae, which serviced federal student loans until 2014, and how his credit was damaged after he defaulted.

College graduates in the United States owe a collective $1.3 billion on their student loans, more than total credit card debt. That makes Dee-1’s lyrics about needing loans to pay for books, supplies, and living expenses on campus relatable.

Indeed, as college costs trend upward, students are borrowing more money than ever. Between 2004 and 2014, the average student loan debt for a graduate of a four-year public or private college increased 56 percent. The problem has led to student debt being a hot topic on the presidential campaign trail. The state of New York rolled out a program this year that forgives debt for recent grads who earn less than $50,000.

So how did Dee-1 finally get out of debt? As text shown at the beginning of the music video explains, “After making the minimum payment on his loans each month (well, some months lol), Dee-1 signed a record deal and decided to use a chunk of his money to completely finish paying Sallie Mae back.”