University alumnus and rapper Dee-1 will give a financial literacy talk on Wednesday, Sept. 14 in the Royal Cotillion Ballroom at 6:30 p.m, according to an LSU Media Relations news release. The event will be sponsored by the LSU Cale P. and Katherine Smith Student Financial Management Center, or SFMC.
MPA student John Lewis said Dee-1 will showcase that, while college can be expensive, financial literacy is crucial to staying afloat after graduation.
Lewis said research shows that many millennials don’t know basic financial terms and and have budgets which will sink them into further debt and lower quality of life.
“He’s showing his Tiger pride and helping current students, like a good alumnus should,” Lewis said.
David Augustine Jr., better known as Dee-1, was born in New Orleans and graduated from the University in 2009. To pay off his student loans, he became a math teacher at a local middle school.
Soon after, he left his career in education to pursue a full-time career in music. After signing on with RCA Records in 2014, Dee-1 used the advance given to him to finish paying off his debts.
Dee-1 used this accomplishment as inspiration for the song, “Sallie Mae Back,” which is about students paying off their loans. With more than 800,000 hits on YouTube, the song and video, which features Dee-1 with friends celebrating and dancing in front of Tiger Stadium, went viral.
Dee-1 is set to perform the song after his talk on financial literacy.
The artist’s other popular songs include “The One That Got Away,” featuring New Orleans rap royalty Mannie Fresh. Additionally, Dee-1’s music video for his song “Jay, 50, and Weezy” received more than 1 million hits on YouTube.
The rapper prides himself on making “conscious” and clean rap music, meaning he speaks on relevant issues such as the negative impact rappers can have on the youth, and he refuses to use curse words. He is so dedicated to not using profanity in his music that he turned down a role on a major television show, which he spoke about on YouTube.
Marketing senior Ty Martin said he believes the talk will be beneficial because the rapper has experience not only with student loan debt, but also with being a University student.
“It will be an interesting experience [since] TOPS was just cut,” Martin said.
Kinesiology senior Arielle Parker said she is “really excited” about Dee-1 coming to campus.
“His music is so real and thought provoking,” Parker said.