Professor By Day, Rapper By Night

Watching him lecture to his African-American studies noon class in blue jeans, a loose-fitting T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap - it's easy to see that Jason Nichols is not the conventional college teacher.

So, students shouldn't be too surprised when they find out that their teacher drops a different kind of knowledge outside of the classroom.

He's a rapper, who goes by the name Haysoos.

Nichols dream of becoming a rapper was born the day he first heard KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions' My Philosophy.

"Something moved me when I first heard that. I realized that hip-hop was a way that I could express myself," Nichols said.

Growing up, he honed his rap skills listening to 12-inch vinyl records at his Columbia, Md. home.

He would spend summers in New York with family, where he was able to study the underground mix-tapes of his favorite northern artists.

But, his path to hip-hop stardom hasn't quite led him to the kind of success that he once thought he might achieve.

And, he's okay with that.

"When I first started doing music, I tried to make music that people wanted to hear. Now, I make music that I want to hear," Nichols said.

Like many aspiring musicians, Nichols once thought that his golden-ticket to fame would come in the form of a contract with a major record deal.

Eventually, he landed that major deal - with EMI records.

At first they treated him well, according to Nichols.

They brought him out to New York, to popular nightclubs and to exclusive parties.

Once it came time to promote and distribute his album, things changed.

"A whole lot of people got paid for a whole lot of nothing," Nichols said.

"A lot of people don't understand that most artists pay for their own albums."

When records stores would run out of copies of his album, EMI often wouldn't ship more copies, according to Nichols.

He received minimal support by the way of advertising and promotion.

And, the company, Nichols claims, still owes him a substantial sum of money.

"My label is charity now," Nichols, who is now an independent artist, said.

He has a deal for his new album through ITunes.

A portion of his proceeds for each album sold goes to charity.

Nichols says that his new album, entitled Standing Tall: A Life Changing Experience, allowed him to express himself again - personally and politically.

"I address issues on the album that no rapper has ever addressed in the history of hip-hop," Nichols said.

On the track, "What You Gon' Do", Nichols raps about disabilities.

And, he talks about sexual assault on the album's title track, Standing Tall.

Nichols makes it a point to make sure that all those songs have a positive message.

The songs encourage listeners to persevere through struggle.

Nichols' music is indeed inspiring and ambitious. But, where does it fit in the mainstream?

"It's difficult for rappers with a positive message to breakthrough," sophomore Letter and Sciences major Joel Barnes said.

"Most people want to hear music with a hot beat that they can dance to."

Nichols doesn't seem to be looking for fame anymore though.

"I have understand that my career is here - teaching at the University of Maryland," Nichols said.

But he's still making music for himself.

And, he's currently working on an album tentatively entitled Everybody Hates Soos.

"If nothing else," Nichols said, "years from now I'll be able to look back and see where my head was at the time."