I don't think negative SEO works anymore. Google devalues the inbound links, but doesn't penalize the target site. In the case of Rap Genius I think they made a

I don't think negative SEO works anymore. Google devalues the inbound links, but doesn't penalize the target site. In the case of Rap Genius I think they made a change specifically for them that punished their bad behavior. I stepped out of an SEO project about 18 months ago so my info is probably dated. Google makes several updates a year.