Gregg Michael Gillis, better known by his stage name, Girl Talk, might've been the first. The former biomedical engineer from Case Western, raised in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, began producing mashups on his laptop in high school and continued his self-made music career throughout college.

Now there's a generation of young musicians self-producing albums from the comfort of their dorm rooms and finding mainstream success. A far cry from the Eminem comparisons many have been drawing (being Caucasian and fans of spoken verse are the only real similarities), this new breed of rappers hail from some of the nation's most competitive universities. With catchy original beats (though many sample established hits), newly relatable lyrics (these guys rap about dollar slices and Coors, not rims and gang violence), and devoted campus followings, these hardly-struggling artists are rerouting the path to success.

And If they don't make it? Well, they've got those degrees to fall back on.

If Eminem paved the way for white rappers, Asher Roth arguably cleared the path for the privileged with his ubiquitous anthem, "I Love College." The album hit No. 1 on iTunes, and its first single was the soundtrack to my senior year. Raised in a suburb of Philadelphia, Roth was signed during his sophomore year at West Chester University after sending some tracks via MySpace to an Atlanta-based promoter for Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label.

"I Love College" by Asher Roth feat. Chamillionaire

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Mike Posner, currently a senior at Duke University, spent much of his underclassman career holed up in his dorm room, writing and producing his three mixtapes. He's only recently found mainstream success with his radio hit "Cooler Than Me," although he's been on college-kid playlists and on the radar of collaborators like Wale and Kid Cudi for years. Posner signed a major deal with J-Records last year, but chose to return to Duke and complete his dual degrees in sociology and business.

"Drug Dealer Girl" by Mike Posner and The Brain Trust

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Kinetics & One Love, more commonly known (at least to their mothers) as Jeremy Dussolliet and Tim Sommers, are Sigma Alpha Epsilons at Cornell University whose hit "Airplanes" is getting tons of radio play. Their debut album, Fading Back to Normal, was released last summer. As with these other artists, Kinetics & One Love's college experience factors heavily into their sound. Their bio reads: "It doesn't hurt that the two go to an Ivy League university: One Love's extensive training in music theory and classical composition is evident in the beats, while Kinetics's lyrics breathe socially conscious and provocative themes, topped with a touch of frat boy humor and sarcasm."

"Fading" by Kinetics & One Love feat. Christine Dominguez

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The latest college-bred bad boy to blow up my iPod is Sammy Adams, a Bostonian who first gained fame with his sample of/response to Asher Roth's hit, entitled "I Hate College." Born in Cambridge, Mass., Adams (born Samuel Adams Wisner) played soccer at Trinity College before releasing his self-produced EP, Boston's Boy, which hit the top of iTunes' hip-hop digital albums chart. He's being courted by several major labels and recently signed to be represented my William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.

"Driving Me Crazy" by Sam Adams

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