Attention student loan debtors: You now have an anthem.
After going into student loan default and eventually paying back his debt, rapper Dee-1 memorialized his triumph by composing “Sallie Mae Back,” a celebratory rap and accompanying music video that captures the ups and downs of education debt. After a week on YouTube, “Sallie Mae Back” was closing in on 100,000 views.
Even if you haven’t yet paid off your student loans, there’s so much to relate to in the video. It starts with a financial aid counselor going through a laundry list of paperwork students will need to get loans (ah, yes, the FAFSA) and touches on several pain points many borrowers experience during their years, sometimes decades, in debt.
Dee-1, aka David Augustine Jr., is a 26-year-old graduate of Louisiana State University, who taught middle school in Baton Rouge for 2 years before pursuing a career in hip hop, according to his website. He eventually repaid his loans using the advance from his record deal.
But before that, he went through the same thing millions of Americans have and continue to experience. In “Sallie Mae Back,” he mentions not making enough money to make his loan payments, defaulting on the debt and messing up his credit. (You can see how your student loans are affecting your credit by looking at your two free credit scores each month on Credit.com.) Then he started getting calls from the student loan servicer: “Let me tell you what I been through when it come to Sallie / She call me at least twice a day / She want her money badly.”
As other student loan borrowers can attest: Yes. Yes she does.
Dee-1 spends much of the video jumping up and down with joy, wearing a T-shirt that says “I FINISHED.” It’s every student loan borrower’s dream.
We all want to do that happy dance.
You bet we’re all taking screen shots of that email saying, “Congratulations, you’ve paid your loan in full.”
When he breaks it down in front of a personified Sallie, we wish to be his backup dancers.
Let us all look forward to our own debt-free celebrations. The day will come. Eventually.
More on Student Loans:
- How Student Loans Can Impact Your Credit
- Can You Get Your Student Loans Forgiven?
- A Credit Guide for College Graduates
Image: Rawpixel Ltd
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