Here's Why Rap Keeps Ending Up in the New York Times Crossword Puzzle
New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz explains why he started putting rap answers in the Times famous puzzle section.
Image via Complex Original
We love it when hip-hop permeates its way into the culture at large. Decades after its inception, hip-hop has infused itself within the DNA of pop culture, it's ever expanding reach can be seen everywhere from Chris Pratt rapping "Forgot About Dre" to James Harden losing his mind to a Bobby Shmurda song. But we take a special joy when rap ends up in unexpected places, like as an answer to a Jeopardy question or when it ends up in the New York Times crossword puzzle. But it often leaves us wondering, how did that happen?
New York Mag actually solved one of those mysteries today when they wrote a piece called "A Brief History of Rap in the New York Times Crossword Puzzle." They noted rap related clues that were all used in the past week like, "46. Rapper who hosted MTV's Pimp My Ride" and "75. Record label co-founded by Jay Z" (That's XZIBIT and ROCAFELLA for all your smart dumb cats) and spoke with Will Shortz, who has been the Times crossword editor since 1993.
“Rap and hip-hop culture in general is an increasingly important part of life,” said Shortz. “And so it should have an increasing role in the crossword.”
Shortz went on to recall the first time he included a rap reference in the puzzle (it was in February of 1994 and the answer was "ICET") and got an immediate backlash from readers who thought he was trying to appeal to a younger crowd he'd never win. However he guesstimates that the average crossword puzzle player is now 15 years younger than they used to be.
“Even if you don’t listen to rap music, you can’t avoid it,” explained Shortz. “You should at least know the names.”
For a longer list of rap related clues and other thoughts from Shortz, head over to NYMag.
[via NYMag]
