blueface claims he's the next big thing

blueface claims he's the next big thing...

In a time where going against the grain of hip hop tradition is where a lot of artists are making a name for themselves, I felt compelled to write a quick post on emerging LA rapper, Blueface. After seeing a number of Instagram comments stating he's on a come up, and a snippet of his track "Respect my Crypn" on No Jumper, I took it upon myself to go in with an open mind and see what this guys really about. In a nutshell: his style is blatantly off beat, with a lazy delivery of typical trap subject matter, some pretty amusing and memorable bars over some simple and repetitive west coast beats. It's certainly ear catching but not necessarily in a good way. All I know is I keep coming back. He's been getting traction on the Westcoast for the past year, building a strong local following which has now grown at an exponential rate. I won't lie, I've been known in the past to dismiss an artist because their appearance and/or sound is too far removed from anything that constitutes as traditional hip hop. I couldn't wrap my head around Young Thug for a solid year until one evening I'd stumbled across some of his tracks, and my weed addled brain thought "Damn, this is the s**t!" I also straight hated on 6ix9ine, eventually rooting for him as the under dog of the genre and (hesitantly) liking some of his songs. As a woman of growth, I refuse to come at new artists with the same ignorance again. If I like it, I like it. Sometimes I just think it's hard for me to admit to myself that I don't need lyricism and a beautifully sampled beat to enjoy a track.

So, back to this whole rapping off beat thing. Blueface certainly isn't the first to do it: I've heard Ghostface, MF Doom, Smoke DZA and more predominantly E-40 all do this - but it felt more charismatic... or like it served a specific, artistic purpose on the track. Whatever the case may be, it certainly isn't their entire rapping style and amongst these off beat moments there is still a noticeable attempt at flow, which I imagine actually takes some skill to achieve. When an off beat delivery is teamed with punchy bars and flow, it can work. When the lyrics lack substance, and the verses sound like they just hopped in the booth and read their iMessages out loud, it is somewhat hard to listen to.

They both use this weird mix of flowing and just...talking. On and off the beat. Silkk's voice and flow is way more enjoyable to listen to and I see more variation in the construction of his words than I do with Blueface. DJ Vlad mentioned Silkk's appearance on a few "worst rapper" lists in a 2015 interview, to which he responded: "I had my own style, which I don't think is right or wrong... At the time I didn't really care, I was just doing my thing...[the album went] double platinum...I obviously I must have had some lane if that many people bought the record." I can't argue with that. He also noted that now that he's started rapping on beat, people say they want the "old Silkk" back. That's fickle hip hop heads for ya.

Rapper Silkk the Shocker of No Limit Records has the only comparable rapping style to Blueface that I can find. Check him out below on this classic track and see what you think.

Source: YouTube

In my opinion, it's less about being a whack rapper and more about deliberately coining a particular style for yourself in order to get noticed. This isn't a new phenomenon and has been demonstrated in hip hop for decades. Just look at ODB with his rugged and raw tone, or Lil' Wayne's use of his unusual voice and pitch. Flavor Flav of Public Enemy has his clock chain, MF Doom has his mask, and Tech N9ne has his unpredictability and shock value. Whether it's a physical trait, wild behaviour or part of the music, having a "thing" has worked for so many and may be even more necessary this day and age. Rap music is getting it's shine right now and is certainly the most commercially consumed genre at the moment. As a result of this, it's reaching saturation point. Up and coming lyrical rappers now get minimal air time due to a shift in consumers listening habits, so we are left with an abundance of mediocre to trash musicians who all seem to rock the same dyed dreads, the same drug habits, the same Gucci and make the same music. I'm not even surprised someone like Blueface is blowing up. It's different.

Hip hop heads are expressing some very mixed feelings towards the rapper, with many comparing his voice to Courage the Cowardly Dog or making jokes such as "He's not off beat. The beat is off him." The general consensus is that "he's trash and fire at the same time"and I totally agree. Remember when Migos first came out a few years back? So many, including myself, were calling them trash. Now they are considered influential within trap music and are the face of commercial hip hop today. I could go on to give so many other examples of this in hip hop alone but you get the point. I've learnt to not be so quick to dismiss an artist at first glance, and I suspect that a lot of the people hating on Blueface will be riding his wave very soon.

Source: YouTube, skip to 1:16 for song

If we take away the beats, there are certainly some redeeming qualities in his sound I've managed to pick out. He has some funny one liners that'll make you crack a smile, but it's his hooks that will keep you coming back. They're ridiculously catchy and end up circulating your head for days at a time. I can imagine with some long stretches in the studio and input from others in the game, his sound really has the potential to be refined into something rap listeners in general will really f**k with. I can already hear this happening when comparing his latest song "Studio" (above) with any of his other tracks. Whether he's aware of Silkk the Shocker I am unsure, as it seems a lot of these new rappers know very little about their predecessors in the game. During a report covering his rapid rise on Genius, he stated: "I write the song to the beat. So whether you think I'm off beat...I made the song to the beat. Or at least the beat I heard, s**t." I call bulls**t. He knows what he's doing. A Blueface x Drake collab is incoming very soon, after Drizzy slid in his DM's just last week, and he's also been in the studio with Quavo and E-40 himself. So, whether you like it or not, you may be looking at 2019's next big thing. Just watch Drake cop that off beat flow for himself. I called it.

Hope you enjoyed this quick one, I'm keen to hear peoples opinions on this guy so hit me up! Next post will be looking at the rise of rock & emo influence within hip hop culture.

Miya xoxo

Instagram: @bluefacebleedem