{
  "id": 9607557,
  "title": "Meet the Philadelphia high school student who won Chalkbeat’s rap contest",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/meet-the-philadelphia-high-school-student-who-won-chalkbeats-rap",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-24T18:21:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Chalkbeat",
    "slug": "chalkbeat",
    "url": "https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2026/09/24/rap-contest-winner-is-germantown-friends-high-school-student-presh-so-fres/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Precious Eshiet, a 17-year-old student at Germantown Friends High School in Philadelphia, has emerged victorious in Chalkbeat’s inaugural back-to-school rap contest. The contest aimed to highlight youth perspectives on education, drawing inspiration from local teen rappers addressing the culture of violence prevalent in the hip-hop industry. Eshiet’s winning entry, under the artist name Presh so Fresh, tackled the feeling of being confined by societal expectations, often based on race and economic background.\n\n\"Eshiet’s lyrics capture the essence of feeling trapped in a predetermined fate, with her refrain, 'Corruption in society, but check it like a list,' reflecting her frustration with the rigid boxes people are placed into. Her journey into rapping began during her immigration to Philadelphia from Nigeria at the age of 11, when poetry became an accessible medium for her to grasp the English language. At Germantown Friends, Eshiet actively participates in the Black Student Union and occasionally performs at school events.\n\nHer winning rap is a testament to her positive and polite demeanor, as she refrains from using profanity—a trait she attributes to her upbringing in Nigeria. Eshiet hopes her winning entry will inspire younger students to strive for positive change and confront the harsh realities they face daily, such as the constant news of shootings in their community. Looking ahead, she plans to explore topics related to the local and national political climate through her lyrics. For now, Eshiet is eagerly anticipating her final year of high school. The rap contest was a collaborative effort between Marsten House Studios, AudioBoi Studios, and Power 99 and WDAS radio stations, as part of a partnership between Chalkbeat Philadelphia and The New York Times’s Headway Initiative, funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.",
  "summary": "Precious Eshiet is tired of what she calls “the matrix.” The 17-year-old student at Germantown Friends High School is the winner of Chalkbeat’s first-ever back-to-school rap contest , which aimed to uplift youth perspectives on education. It grew out of interviews with local teen rappers…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}