I want to take the opportunity to recognize and thank these three men who have shattered stereotypes, defined technology through music and made people who “hate” hip-hop and rap music think twice.

Mistah F.A.B. (@mistahfab)

“Hit Me On Twitter“

So the internet is all buzzing because of the new video by Mistah Fab. All I can say is, “about time!”. I loved how each new person had their Twitter name featured. I think it’s one of the best recent examples of how to teach someone without teaching them (Randy Pauche). By the end of the video, I bet you could ask people:

• What is Twitter?
• How do you use Twitter?
• What is Mistah Fab’s Twitter name?

Now while I don’t need to be seeing all the “booty” shots of the video chicks, I was happy to see folks of all shades and genders using mobile devices to communicate via Twitter.

Dale Chase (@daleochase)

“Coder Girl“

Now this video just made me blush and smile at the same time! Dale talks about all the wonderful qualities his “coder girl” has. He uses all sorts of technology concepts to describe how awesome this coder girl is:

• “Her class makes a brotha’s back buffer wanna flip”
• “it ain’t hard to like how she writes”
• “She’s got a data stack that’s straight stunning”
• “When we compile she’s easy to interpret”

Chuck The SEO Rapper (@Chuck)

“Paid Search 101“

My first hip hop technology video experience was through Chuck (@Chuck), the SEO Rapper. I left a comment on Chuck’s blog but think I was too shy still about blogging to put something up about him. I was awestruck that there were Brown people in the internet talking about technology!

As you may know, nearly everyone who:

• Works in technology
• Runs a technology company
• Attends technology conferences
• Is a technology venture capitalist

is a White guy!  It can get really old being in IT and feeling you don’t belong.  This year I’ve been able to connect online and offline with folks who are active in changing the race and gender makeup of technology by participating and it’s caused me to do the same.  I did reach out to Chuck via email though and he was one of the very first people I started following on Twitter! I just loved his video about how to get Search Engine love, improve your PPC click through and use “strong” instead of “bold” in your markup!

I hope people out there who claim to “hate rap music” think twice about how they can enjoy one of these songs yet swear off all other music. Music is made up of the beat, the sound and lyrics. I personally don’t like most country, bluegrass and polka music BUT, I’m willing to try new things, especially in the advice of a friend. So friend, I ask you to open your mind and know that not all “rap music” is about violence, drugs and getting rich. Listen to Talib Kweli on iTunes to get a taste for strong positive lyrics over a nice beat.

So Chuck, Dale and Mistah F.A.B, I thank you for being pioneers and I look forward to more music that shakes up the Internet