Professor: Make a music video over any subject we’ve covered and I’ll curve your overall grade.
… pic.twitter.com/uO6IBMl2CS— Julien Turner (@VSJulien_) November 3, 2017
A student-athlete at Morehouse has gone viral after creatively completing an extra credit assignment in biology class. Julien Turner, a linebacker at the historically Black college in Atlanta, used Lil Uzi Vert’s “XO TOUR Llife3” to write and film a music video for “XY Cell Llif3.” It resulted in an educational and musical explainer of how cells reproduce, which Twitter can’t get enough of.
“If my genes are left unread, all my cells are dead,” Turner raps as he dances in the halls of Morehouse and demonstrates Uzi’s famous shoulder roll in the library.
Since Turner’s Thursday, Nov. 2 tweet that his professor, Dr. Dwann Davenport, offered to curve student’s grades if they made a music video on a bio topic, the clip has been retweeted more than 150,000 times. It has more than 720,000 views on YouTube.
“I just kept hearing the ‘all my cells are dead’ verse in my head,” the 19-year-old marketing major told Mashable of his song choice. “My classmates have been lobbying for my grade since it’s blown up,” Turner said. “My professor said she heard about the video before I turned it in. It’s hilarious.”
Twitter users have been eating up the clip and issuing their own humorous responses.
DNA starts to unwindddd pic.twitter.com/oTIwvTaZUK
— rü (@runextdoor) November 3, 2017
trying to remember the lyrics while taking the final pic.twitter.com/e91jvPbWc4
— Axel (@axel_serna) November 3, 2017
“If my genes go left unread.
All my cells are dead.” pic.twitter.com/a2eQtVHF24— Gucci Ma’am La Flare (@_CakeBawse) November 3, 2017
His mitosis line really spoke to me. Give him all the Grammys and a Nobel Prize in Biology pic.twitter.com/R0KpGLpwD9
— Autumn Moon (@MonkeyMoon93) November 3, 2017
Turner has also received praise from Morehouse.
Men of Morehouse are Innovators, Creators, and Motivators! 🔥🔥💯 https://t.co/pMYpb4Wh2K
— Morehouse College (@Morehouse) November 3, 2017
“I didn’t expect anything less,” Davenport told “Good Morning America” Monday, Nov. 6 of Turner, who did indeed receive extra credit. “He’s an excellent student, he’s already doing well in the class, minus the extra credit.”
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It’s not just national news outlets that have picked up the clip, either. Rapper Common retweeted Turner’s video to his millions of followers. Turner created the video with his 15-year-old brother, Justen Turner. Together they own a film production company called Dreadhead Films, LLC. Its mission, according to the “XY Cell Llif3” video description on YouTube, is to “create stories that entertain, inspire and uplift.”
While Turner tweeted that the clip isn’t the duo’s “best work,” he appreciates the spotlight it has put on their award-winning production company.
We have an announcement coming soon! We believe it can inspire and have just as much impact as #XYCellLife. 🎥 Follow @DreadheadFilms!
— Julien Turner (@VSJulien_) November 6, 2017
