Gregory Scruggs holds a B.A. in Literature from Harvard University, where his thesis on cultural aspects — including audio culture, namely funk carioca — of Rio’s favelas won the Kenneth Maxwell Thesis Prize in Brazilian Studies. He also has a certificate in urban planning and design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and was a 2011 Fulbright Brazil study/research grant recipient, focusing on urban planning and development. He A&Red “Pancadão do Morro: O Funk do Flamin Hotz, Já É?” (Flamin Hotz Records, 2008) and authored the blog Beat Diaspora from 2006-2009.