theory and practice: “Rake It Up” edition

While listening to Yo Gotti’s “Rake It Up” featuring Nicki Minaj, the words started to have a different meaning. If you have been reading my pieces, my lenses are always tilted to a degree. My view of last year’s summer banger from the Memphis rapper is no different. Even though “Rake It Up” is a “strip club anthem,” it can definitely be applied in other ways, such as academic and professional pursuits. Let’s say you have to write a business plan or an essay, here are a few simple instructions on how to do so using the chorus of “Rake It Up”:

Rake it up
Collect: Get your resources (primary and/or secondary; digital, audio and/or print; interviews…)


Break it down,
Analyze: What is being said? Who is saying it? What have others said and/or done? What themes emerge? Is there a market for this product or service? Who is the audience? Who or what is the competition? What is missing that you can provide? Is the information relevant? Are you working with new or old information? How does the resource bolster your argument?

bag it up
Organize: What works where? Make sure your work flows from the introduction to the conclusion, semantics and syntax are crucial. The flow of the narrative cannot be disjointed and all over the place. Cohesion is your friend. Another important element is quality over quantity. You want to be clear and concise don’t add what you don’t need.


Eff it up, Eff it up (eff it up, eff it up)
Sell: Now that you know what you’re working with, add some “extraness” like Salt Bae, sprinkle your flavor on that project within the respective context, of course. In advertising, that “extraness” is what some would consider your unique selling point. Make the reader want to read until the last sentence. I know I said to be clear and concise, but it is not what you say, it is how you say it.


Back it up, back it up (back it u-p, back it up)
Save and Cite: Backing it up has three meanings in the hook. The first two are saving and citing your work. I cannot stress this enough. You want to keep your hard work and have your receipts. Even the greatest have lost some of their best work because they didn’t hit “save.” Don’t be a statistic, trust me. In addition, being able to point to some research, theory or expert shows that you are invested and knowledgeable. In other words, you have credibility.

Rake it up, rake it up (rake it up, rake it up)
Get it!: This is how you rake it up! You don’t just show up, but also stand out and by doing so you get the grade, get the scholarship, get the funding, get the internship, or get the bid.


Back it up, back it up (back it up, back it up)
Repeat: The third way of backing it up is doing it more than once. Can you do it again? (Even if you don’t have back-to-back success the first time, keep going. Make your mark as  more than a one-hit wonder.)
Yo Gotti also rapped, “respect ya hustle, get ya [paper] baby, win with us.”

Listen, maing: There is room for alluh us and ain’t not fun if my peoples can’t have none. Rake It Up!


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