IntroHello and welcome to the history of Genius! Since 2009, this site has been providing lyrics and explanations for them to millions around the world. Genius has evolved in many ways, and it has been through many, many, ups and downs. This is a page dedicated to recording all the major events that have happened. In addition to events, it covers the start of clean-ups, projects, and initiatives, as well as the promotions of the most famous, respected, and remembered Moderators and Staff. The users holding these titles have made this place what it is today so their achievements should be recorded as well. Happy reading!Why is this needed?
History is some of the most important information we should know. History allows us to learn and grow. Without it, we would repeat all the mistakes we have made before. While the purpose of this is not to learn form our mistakes exactly, it is an important part of the thought for it's creation. The main reason is that knowing this site, and what has happened and changed, can help us in the future. You never know if you might need any of this and knowing the past of Genius can help us shape the future Genius.Note: Many links will not work for Contributors.History of Genius2009• On August 27th, 2009, Genius was founded by Tom Lehman, IIan Zechory, and Maboo (aka Mahbod Moghadam).2009-2012Updated in the future if more information arises.
• Formation of Genius Germany with the hiring of Tobias Wilinski as Genius Staff.
• streetlights was given the Editor and Moderator roles and joined Staff.2013Updated in the future if more information arises.
• Brock C. was given the Editor role and made Moderator.2014• EwokABdevito was made Editor and Moderator.
• The Genius Brazil community was formed.
• Genius Founder Maboo was let go.
• Genius teases its rebranding from Rap Genius
• Genius Türkiye was formed by RapGeniusTR.
• Formation of Education Genius by Lucky_Desperado.
• Formation of Genius Arabia2015• Creation of the Mediator Role.
• Formation of Genius Czechia, seemingly by Euro DicK.2016• Product Manager Empath was made Moderator and Editor.
• thebreakup proposed the idea of User Interviews and it was launched.
• WriteNProppa was given the Moderator role.
• Genius Russia was founded by EliVeryaev (November, 2, 2016)2017• Pressburg happened........
• German Editor timoo was made Moderator.
• Editorial guidelines are given a new direction, promoting academic writing and a culture of quality content.
• Genius leadership shifted the company's focus from song pages to video content.
• Dissolution of the Genius Intenational Hubs: most of the international Staff members are layed off.
• Dissolution of "Old" Genius France, paving the way for a newer generation.2018• Moderator Proposal system 2.0.
• polka, the leader of Genius Español, was given the Moderator and Editor roles.
• Genius Korea took off.
• Genius România was founded by XDRUG2019• Staff member EwokABdevito was fired from Genius Staff.
• Ferbinho was made Moderator and Editor.
• WriteNProppa joined Genius Staff as Lyrics Manager.
• Lyrics Edit Proposals were introduced.
• Genius South Asia was founded by shashwatbansal1 and Payre.2020• User Interviews was revamped.
• COVID-19 happened.
• lameframe started the basics of Genius Japan and the community formed and continued with TIKTOKBEEBOP.
• Genius leadership shifted the company's focus from community investment to staff-curated lyrics.2021• The Genius Community Discord Server was opened (Jan 11) under the impulse of Genius Germany; it replaces the Genius Slack Server (Ed+).
• Swono was made Mediator and Moderator, adding a direct link between the international community and the French aisle of Genius.
• Genius was acquired by MediaLab for $80M (mid-September).
• Tom Lehman stepped down as Genius CEO.
• Genius Korea's Forum Articles Initiative launched!
• LGF started Genius France's Récap of the Week.2022• Notables of 2022
• Roll-out of the Transcriber role (Feb 2 or 3).
• naruto joined Genius and gained the Editor and Transcriber roles.
• streetlights's reign as the #1 user with the most IQ was broken by our lovely Chloe!2023• Notables of 2023
• Moderators of the year
• Mediators of the year
• The User Guides were made and adapted by DrJEvans and CG7777.
• Creation of Genius EDM.
• Creation/Revamp of Game Genius.
• Sammy joined Genius Staff as a Product Designer.
• Formation of Underground Genius by zara, with CG7777 and thousandeyes.
• Expansion of Genius Egypt out from under Genius Arabia.2024• Notables of 2024
• Moderators of the year
• Mediators of the year
• Gary joined Genius Staff as Community Manager.
• Reece joined Genius Staff as an Engineer.
• User Interviews was (once again) revamped.
• Community Project: Pressburg Elimination.2025• Moderators of the year
• Mediators of the year
• Revamp of the Mentors Spreadsheet.
• Genius India started their Indian Artist Q&A (on Discord)Events to be addedCredits