BanT vs The Culture
Ban T was undoubtedly the breakout star of 2015 with a hit radio single and a legion of tween fans eating off his palm. His follow up singles continued to satiate the cravings they had for his music based on how he had branded himself as leader of the new cool. I would be remiss to mention the impact his background had on his journey. As a running joke that led to members of his camp catching stray lyrical bullets, his background of an apparently well off family raised rumors of payola and kickbacks. One thing is for sure, there are certainly other artists more talented than Ban T but with his sheer perseverance and force of will he managed to parley mediocre bars into a seemingly solid career.
Trashing his music was a favorite pastime for residents of The Twitter, the motivation of music lovers like me was a raising of standards which we felt were lax on his end.
However, an injustice that we see more often than not is the audience demanding of the artist more than he/she can give. In this case I believe a lot of expectations were placed on Ban T that he simply could not fulfill. Simply put, the public, most of whom wield a powerful microscope, wanted him to be more than he is. Instead of seeing him as an upcoming 19 year old talent working towards finding himself and carving an identity, we either saw what others who jumped the gun marked as a fully-fledged superstar or a talent-less hack that caught or at worse, manufactured a break.
Music journalism all over the world is about to cross the Rubicon. In a delicate exercise of contextualizing music and weighing in on it, how can that this be done without being a boot on the neck of the culture as a whole? How can writers & tastemakers be inclusive of the range of artistry without losing the markers which make the culture great? How will this story be told factoring in Ban T’s achievements and the grumblings of individuals who hold sway over public opinion? Maybe he should tell the story himself. After 2 years of being a major drawing card on lineups, his first full length release, The Bantastic Experience, provides an opportunity to truly measure his worth and talent. This project should tell us who Ban T is.
It is a shame that the EP is short and the stories are not as expansive as one might hope. Music writers, particularly rap writers, should ideally be reporters of the culture from the periphery but as their influence grows, their position evolves to become individuals who maintain standards and Kingmakers thus ironically negating their role as overseers. Writers and other individuals who hold sway over public opinion should, in Ban T’s case, let the public choose their favourite as they have done with him in order to fully do their work as documenters of history as it unfolds.
Music writers can fault artists for their background and the ease at which they get opportunities because of money injected into their careers and huff and puff till they turn red. What we should be worrying about is if their talent speaks for them and if we document the immediate as well as future impact they have, if any, on the culture. Herein lies the problem of being bastions of the culture: our status and titles put us in a position to alienate voices from different demographics. BanT’s story is as important as one from a kid from the other side of the tracks. Both stories deserve an ear as long as the story is factual and articulated and emoted well. While BanT struggles to articulate his story owing to fear of reprisal or judgment which is evident in the EP, his music has been accepted by an age bracket that identifies with him.
A song like Validation from the EP, is an incredibly enjoyable song churned from the radio friendly BanT stencil. The song, which sees BanT writing checks his rhyme book can’t cash, is easily the best song on the EP with its bold statements on his effect on the game. The song is believable because for the first time you can feel the conviction and certainty in his voice, a confidence not based on pumped up chest rapper clichés laid in his previous singles. That I could appreciate.
The Bantastic Experience captures a fledgling career of an artist that embodies the Hip Hop attributes and values of courage, hustle and resilience ironically against a not-so-accepting company of guards determined to scrutinize any artist that dares to show face at the castle’s moat. At the end of the day the criticism and truth talking about BanT is a necessary evil meant to motivate and encourage him to do better because he clearly had the whole establishment, the media and public behind him - a reality which some people still feel is undeserved. Maybe it’s time we let people enjoy their favourites. The Bantastic Experience is here, a surprisingly enjoyable ride for a rapper his age.
Download & Stream The Bantastic Experience EP
