It was recently announced that English teachers, Jay Jay Stroup and Dean Rhoads, will not be returning to teach next year. However, as many Compound Count fans now know, the reason for leaving is deeper than the surface.
On Feb. 25th, it was leaked that Stroup and Rhoads are actually the famous rappers, JJ Swizzle and Remix Roads, from the biggest rap duo, Compound Count. Usually, Compound Count would never show their faces during performances or public appearances and would wear potato bags over their heads. However, while recording their new single, “Metric Meter,” a fan captured a picture of their faces.
Ever since the picture leaked, Stroup and Rhoads have not been able to get away from fans at school. Their students are no longer focusing in class, and they are currently bombarded with students and teachers asking for selfies.
“I can’t focus in class when I know that my teacher is one of the best rappers in the world,” sophomore Giselle Pfeifer said. “I mean, JJ Swizzle is standing right in front of me, how could I not freak out.”
Compound Count has won 2 Grammys in the past 2 years, one for Best Rap Performance and the other for their Song of the Year, “Stanzas,” which hit Billboard’s No. 1 song in 2021. Even with all this success, Stroup and Rhoads never meant to become famous.
“Remix Roads was my teacher, and once I started teaching here, we immediately bonded,” Stroup said. “One day after an English department meeting, we sat down and out of nowhere started writing rap songs. We realized that we had potential, however, we still wanted to continue teaching, hence why we kept our identity a secret.”
Students would often question why Stroup and Rhoads would sometimes miss weeks of school, not knowing that they were actually attending different fashion shows and music festivals all over the world.
“It was hard balancing being an international superstar and teaching,” Rhoads said. “JJ Swizzle and I already started talking about leaving, as we had just become too famous to hide our true identity.”
According to both teachers, they planned on staying at Trinity for at least another year unless, of course, they won another Grammy.
“If we continue to grow as we have for the past 3 years, we are not going to have any more time to teach and have normal lives,” Stroup said. “Remix Roads and I made an agreement that we would quit teaching if our identity was ever leaked, or more likely if we won another Grammy.”
The school atmosphere has not been the same since news leaked that the internationally known rap duo was part of the school’s faculty. The school even had to ban students and teachers from copying the duo and banned them from wearing potato bags around their heads to school.
“I was really upset when I found out I could no longer wear my Compound Count merch to school,” director of speech and debate Benjamin Gaddis said. “I have all three of their album records, and have all the different designs of potato bag merch available.”
Some of the teachers, like Gaddis, were huge Compound Count fans, and were very surprised to learn that the lead rappers were part of their faculty staff.
“I have known Ms. Stroup and Mr. Rhoads for years, and I never imagined that they are international superstars,” Gaddis said. “I mean, have you heard Ms. Stroup sing? I still cannot believe and possibly understand that she is THE JJ Swizzel.”
Rhoads and Stroup said that they will miss teaching, however, nothing beats going to Paris for a fashion show. “We didn’t want to distract the students and teachers from their education,” Rhoads said. “We knew that someday, we would have to stop being teachers and truly accept our two-time Grammy-winning rap selves.”