Shakespeare was the First Gangster Hip-Hop Artist | Doug Rappaport | TEDxEdgemontSchool

Hip Hop is seen as the music of youth, of rebellion, of urban unrest, of the Street, of today. Yet the stories and themes of hip-hop are as old as literature itself. And if you take a moment to reflect on hip-hop’s central themes, you discover that they match those of another revolutionary artist, none other than William Shakespeare a/k/a the Bard of Avon a/k/a the Notorious . Doug Rappaport and his family have resided in Edgemont for 17 years. Doug’s son Scott is a sophomore at EHS and his son Matt graduated EHS last year. He is a litigation and securities partner at the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in New York, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School. He has also previously served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in Manhattan. Doug serves on the board of Ars Nova, a non-profit theater and performing arts organization in New York City. Doug and his wife Debbie are partners of the New York Public Theater and New York Theater Workshop, and supporters of Shakespeare in the Park. Doug has extensively read, seen and studied Shakespeare’s canon, as well as the works of American cultural icons such as Jay-Z, Eminem, the Wu-Tang Clan and Kendrick Lamar. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at