The Rap Map

I found "The Rap Map" from a Paste Magazine tweet on August 27th. It was made by Rap Genius, a website about the meaning of rap lyrics. The map is meant for avid rap fans but even though I prefer country music, I had a good time perusing this map seeing what rappers use in their lyrics.

The interactive graphic maps out locations around the world mentioned in rap songs. By using Google Maps as the background, the graphic designers gave their audience a familiar map to use. The gray buttons with white pistols on them are easy to click to view information about the location. The user is told what the location is, the lyrics used that reference the location, and the rapper of the song. It also includes some background information on the location or rapper. The information is successfully and clearly conveyed. If clips of the song had been added to the graphic, it would have been further enhanced.

The ease of use and amount of information conveyed is a strength of this graphic. Another strength is the way the different cities and locations are listed on the left side. It allows for the user to quickly change what part of the map they are looking at. Some of the locations are even funny. Go click on "Lil Wayne's Mind" and see what pops up! A weakness of it is that sometimes the gray buttons are so close together, it's difficult to click on a different one than the one in front.

Hopefully this graphic can bring a smile to your face and start a rap jingle playing on repeat in your head!