Rap Genius, a community site where members can leave in-line annotations analyzing song lyrics, literature, speeches, and news items, recently let us inside its operations.

Rap Genius rocketed to notoriety after raising $ 15 million from Andreessen Horowitz a little over a year ago. 

The company is known for a few things. For one, there’s the controversial statements of its Yale-grad founders Mahbod Moghadam, Tom Lehman, and Ilan Zechory. But on the plus side, Rap Genius has a roster of supporters like Nas and Kendrick Lamar. But it recently made headlines when the National Music Publishers Association called it–and other lyrics sites–”blatantly illegal.” 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rap Genius’ office is as non-traditional as its public image. 

The company’s 40+ employees work in the seventh-floor penthouse suites of an apartment building on Kent Street in Williamsburg (the building used to be the warehouse of a large grocer). In total, the company works out of nine different offices. 

Each of the suites has a kitchen, bathroom, common area, and several bedrooms turned into offices. In some ways, it feels more like a giant collegiate crashpad than an office. 

When you arrive on the seventh floor, you’re in Rap Genius territory. I spotted several employees walking through the halls with bare feet.

Although there’s no reception desk, the company proudly touts its logo on the wall in the main suite.

This space hosts the offices for the Rock Genius and News Genius sections, and the main common area where the company entertains guests.

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