When co-founder Justin Cunningham and the team at Chance the Rapper’s SocialWorks organization discovered the potential of Rhymes With Reason to help their students, the group was “completely blown away!”

Cunningham explained that “the way [Rhymes With Reason] uses the vehicle of music - the vehicle of hip-hop - to inspire literacy, vocabulary, test prep, bilingualism… it was something SocialWorks knew we had to be a part of.”

The non-profit youth organization invested in Rhymes With Reason’s online literacy development app with the confidence that this hip-hop and popular music-filled program would prove relevant - that students would want to learn from their favorite artists even during out-of-school time, and that the app would spark creativity.

The excitement was immediately apparent; while the goal was to have 1,000 students sign up within the first year, demand for the Chicago Learning Playlist quickly caught on with the app’s spots nearly full within three months! The Playlist - developed from songs exclusively by Chicago artists - works in conjunction with Rhymes With Reason’s full catalog of 2,000 terms to help students develop academic vocabulary, entrepreneurship skills, and more.

We [SocialWorks] believe in [Rhymes with Reason]. Let's continue to bend the lines of what 'cultural curriculum' is, what that relevance looks like, and not be afraid to...really invest in our students.

- Justin Cunningham, Co-Founder of SocialWorks

Rhymes with Reason is a Black-owned educational technology program utilized in over 200 schools across the country and has partnered and collaborated with high profile organizations including the Detroit Pistons and San Diego’s Founders First Capital Partners CDC. 

The program's culturally-relevant, music-powered approach to closing the vocabulary and reading gap serves as a refreshing learning experience for youth in grades 2 through 12.

KUSI

SocialWorks

Rhymes with Reason