Rap Genius has been named No.1 in the music category of Fast Company's 2013 list of the world's most innovative companies, with streaming service Spotify coming in second.
The self-named "hip-hop Wikipedia” has been given the top spot for “explicating the rap canon, then moving on to everything else”. The site crowd-sources annotations of rap lyrics while deciphering slang and unpacking references.
Last October, Rap Genius scored investment of $15 million from Silicon Valley venture firm Andreesen Horowitz. It has since expanded its focus beyond the rap genre to explicate pop songs, legal decisions and the Bible.
Spotify is second on the list for “turning constant product improvements into annual revenues of nearly $1 billion.” Youtube is at No.3 for “putting the best of 1970s FM and 1980s MTV into the service used most by neophyte music listeners.”
Rounding off the top five is concert film maker Pulse Films and independent label representative Merlin Network at fourth and fifth places respectively.
Source: Fast Company
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