Skip to main contentAbout a year ago, on his radio show Northwest Breakout, Portland hip-hop ambassador Cool Nutz enthusiastically declared "We Eat," by 16-year-old local rapper Yung Mil, one of his favorite new tracks. As if it wasn't obvious before, Mr. Nutz clearly has an ear for talent, as Mil -- known to his parents as Ezekiel Jones -- has been announced as the winner of Def Jam's Rapstar Video Contest.
The contest, sponsored by Def Jam, BET Networks and the Get Schooled Foundation, asked entrants to create a short rap video around the theme of education. In his submission, titled "Leaders of the New School" -- which might be a reference to the group that gave us Busta Rhymes, though they broke up a year before Jones was even born -- Jones tells fellow teenagers they should be taking school seriously and "not just blogging on YouTube." Says the Parkrose High School senior:
âI have supportive teachers who have throughout my academic career continually stressed the importance of putting my education first. Me and many of my friends have really cracked down and have started to recognize the importance of graduation and moving forward to the next step of life. Leaders of the new school means that the youth of today has the power to mold the future and set the standard.â
WWeek 2015