I'm not a hip-hop fan, but NYU third-year law student Eli Northrup could change my mind. Northrup and Josh Raff, members of the band Pants Velour, just produced a fantastically hummable, danceable video called "Charlie Sheen: Always Winning" that's become a bit of a YouTube sensation (see below for video). 

I thought it was terrific--fast and saucy--especially amazing coming from a serious law student who'll be clerking for a federal judge (Robert Patterson of the Southern District of New York) this fall.

I was so intrigued by his rapping talent that I tracked Northrup down in Greenwich Village and cornered him for a cup of coffee. Let me just say that he wasn't what I had expected. In person, he seemed quite sweet--a sort of fresh-faced Conan O'Brien without the annoying smirk.

But under that mild demeanor beats the heart of a real rapper. Despite the demands of law school, Northrup has regular gigs. Pants Velour, which has seven members (pictured above from left to right are Northrup, Niki Darling, and Raff)), has played at the Hard Rock Cafe in Philadelphia and clubs on New York's super-cool Lower East Side. "We have a manager, and we're fairly serious about our music," Northrup told me.

Until Above the Law ran a short blurb about the Sheen video recently, Northrup kept his rapping under wrap from the NYU law school community. "I was a bit concerned about the racy subject," he said about the video. "Besides, I'm not sure the professors know who Charlie Sheen is."

And what about that nice judge he's clerking for in the fall?  "He's 89, so I don't think he's seen it," said Northrup. "He still uses books--he doesn't use a computer."

Someone, please clue the good judge in so he can start learning the beat!

Anyway, I loved the video. Here it is:


 

Related post: Lawyer Behind YouTube Hit

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