Danette O'Neal, PhD

Dee-1 -Sallie Mae Back
Few rappers likely know Louisiana’s education system as well as Dee-1. The New Orleans-raised rapper, whose real name is David Augustine, used to teach middle school in Baton Rouge. Then, in 2015 he signed a major label record contract with RCA’s Inspiration imprint and went on tour around the country.

Still, New Orleans is home and with many questions about the future of TOPS and higher education on the table during the special legislative session at the Capitol, Dee-1 used his music to draw attention to one of his concerns: student loans.

In a new music video posted to Facebook on Feb. 11, Dee-1 celebrates paying off his student loans, dancing at a toga party, celebrating in front of Tiger Stadium, rhyming Equifax and eating ramen noodles.

Since posting to Youtube and Facebook, “Sallie Mae Back” has been viewed about a million times.

In text excerpts in the video, Dee-1 explains what inspired it: “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.”