Welcome to the JustMisterESQ!  And per the tagline, this is the place where law and hip hop meet!  My name is Akeem Parsons, Esquire, otherwise known as…(duh-duh-daaa!) JustMisterESQ!

(Yes, that was ‘sposed to be music there before the dramatic pause.  You absolutely MUST read that sentence with trumpets, flutes, and/or a small mariachi band playing in your head before my name.  Read it again if you didn’t.  I’ll wait…)

For those who don’t know, I’m an attorney licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, based out of Philadelphia, and for the past 5 years I’ve been practicing in a whole host of areas, handling primarily matters dealing with real estate, bankruptcy, mortgage foreclosure defense, landlord tenant, family law, and more.  And as you may have guessed, this page is aimed at hip hop heads with an interest in the law—especially those of you who are either in law school, or may have an interest in attending law school in the future.  And through hip hop, we’ll be touching on legal principles, current events, and MORE!!!! 

A little bit more about me:  I was born and raised in Philly, attending elementary and middle school at the now-defunct YMCA Academy in West Philly and the afrocentric Lotus Academy located in Germantown.  From there, I attended The Haverford School for high school, graduating in 2001, before moving on to Temple University, where I received my B.A. in 2005, majoring in English and minoring in Criminal Justice.  Prior to and while attending law school at North Carolina Central University in Durham (Class of 2015), I worked as a paralegal, dealing in most of the areas listed above before passing the PA bar in 2016.  I love black folk, hate possums, like zebras, I’m indifferent to ostriches, and if I have kids, at least 3 of them will be named Rufus.  Hip hop head.  Pro wrestling nerd.  Alleged social justice warrior and conspiracy theorist.  Apparently a reputed mob boss in an alternate timeline according to a psychic reading.  I once did a line of sugar when I was 9.  And for random and completely unascertainable reasons, I *REFUSE* to listen to anything made by Jhené Aiko.  (AT ALL!)

[I]f I can use this page to get one person interested in law who wasn’t interested in it before, then I’ll be happy!

This site’s goal is (simply put) to use hip hop to make the law easier to understand for everyone, but especially for young people.   This was something that was extremely helpful for me in law school, when, to deal with my then-growing anxiety around “cold calling” (that is, the practice by law school professors of calling on students at random in class, usually to recite the particulars of a case from the previous night’s reading while your (at times snickering) classmates watched on).  The process could be nerve-wracking to say the least, particularly when I began struggling to remember the details of the cases.  Noting my ability to recall rap lyrics (you know, the whole “how come y’all kids can remember Jay-Z’s whole album word-for-word, but can’t remember…” thing that I’m sure a lot of us have heard at some point), I began experimenting with writing short rap songs about the cases in my reading assignments.  This started a process that resulted in me making of “The Open and Notorious Biggie Bird” in 2012, among other songs.  And it worked for me.  It not only helped out in class, but it helped me remember legal concepts on law school exams, and even the bar exam.

This site should be fun, educational, and (hopefully) thought provoking.  I like to cuss sometimes, too – I’ll try to keep that shit to a minimum.  But if I can use this page to get one person interested in law who wasn’t interested in it before, then I’ll be happy!

Be on the lookout for new videos, articles, and more here at…(play my music, damn it!) JUSTMISTERESQ!!!!