Can Genius Become The Next MTV By Doubling Down On Its Rap Roots?

Peggy Noland and her physical interpretation of Nicki Minaj’s lyrics — one of several such creations at the recent Genius-Dropbox collaboration in Los Angeles — are all part of a bid by the company formerly known as Rap Genius to double down on its musical DNA.

About a mile down Sunset Boulevard from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, artist Peggy Noland sits in her ground floor studio on a furry couch shaped like a pair of lips, surrounded by a pastel panorama of equally wooly stuffed bears. Per...