A one-on-one conversation with the student behind the westfield.rap account to gather inside information on why the account was created and how it has come to be so popular.
Ava Boedeker
Lead Photographer
September 13, 2021
Westfield.rap is a student-run Instagram account that features posts containing students, events, and faculty members from around the school. It was inspired by the actual rap account on Instagram that contains satirical and untrue stories that are meant for comedic effect. The posts on westfield.rap are intended to come off as a type of news that students are surprised to hear about. In reality, nearly all the posts are satire and are used for comedic effect. After the amount of attention that the account has received since its creation, I interviewed the person who runs the account, who revealed himself as Aidan Wright (12). Here is the dialogue from a few of our conversations.
What inspired you to create the account in the first place?
“I follow the actual RAP account on Instagram, and I remember seeing a really stupid post late at night. I laughed really hard, and honestly and I thought ‘I should do this, it’s so stupid.’”
What influences the posts you make?
“Nothing in particular. I take images and ideas from friends, but usually [ideas for the posts] just randomly come to me.”
What is your favorite post you’ve done?
“Either the vending machines being empty, football medieval armor, or the controversial Guerin post. It’s a tie. The vending machine was the real first stupid post I made. I thought it was pretty funny, and the Medieval Iron Armor post blew up. It’s one of my favorites because of how many people were talking about it. Of course, the Guerin post is one that blew me up...that has to be one of my best, even though I archived it.”
How do you choose what students from Westfield to include in your posts?
“They usually ask me to include them, or I’ll just ask my friends if they want to be in one.
When do you make the memes?
“I make them whenever I can, honestly. Sometimes before school starts, other times in the middle of class or at 10 p.m.”
What do you use to create the memes?
“I create them all in Google Slides.”
Did you expect your account to blow up? What was your initial expectation?
“Honestly, not at all. I expected maybe 100 followers in a week. I didn’t think it would catch on at all, though.”
How did you feel when it did get popular?
“I felt great, but it was really surreal. Kids I don’t even know were coming up to me saying hey and calling me out in the hallway. I think it’s funnier though because everyone knows it's satire.”
What was your reaction to hearing people around school talk about it not knowing you were the one who ran it?
“A lot of people already knew it was me, but hearing people talk about it not knowing it was me made me laugh. Sometimes I would play along and act like I didn’t run it.”
After interviewing Aidan and scrolling through his page, I can see why people enjoy his content. So, to finish this interview off, I have decided to include my personal favorite Westfield.rap post: Naas Watch. If you are interested and want to see Westfield.rap for yourself, check out their Instagram at westfield.rap.
