Hear how a songwriter, music business insider, and professional educator connected the dots across his work to make sense of his love/hate relationship with Lil Wayne, pop culture, and the man in the mirror.

Ali is a musician, writer, and social entrepreneur from Dearborn, MI, and a Lebanese, Muslim-American. Ali recently earned his Doctorate in Education Leadership from Harvard University, as well as his Master's in Business Administration from Emory University. Ali runs Rima Records, an independent record label that supports top performers in the music industry who are passionate about social change. Ali is a musician, writer, and social entrepreneur from Dearborn, MI, and a Lebanese, Muslim-American, and a doctoral graduate from Harvard. Ali runs Rima Records, an independent record label that supports top performers in the music industry who are passionate about social change, and top reformers in the education sector who are passionate about career-focused schooling within arts, media, and entertainment. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx