Lost In Vegas
If I told you I am a big fan of “Lost in Vegas” you probably would not know what I am talking about, unless you are a big hip-hop head like myself. Lost in Vegas is popular channel on YouTube. The channel is hosted by two individuals who go by the name Ryan, and George. There are a lot of YouTube channels out there, so what makes this one so special to the digital age we live in today? Well, this YouTube channel is a reaction channel. Ryan and George get suggestions from their fans, these suggestions are music to do a reaction to. My argument throughout this analysis is: Reaction Channels like Lost In Vegas are important to Hip-Hop culture.
When Ryan and George are dissecting a song we get to see their facial expressions. As well as the cover art, or the music video of the song they are dissecting. We start to listen with them as well. Allowing us to see their reaction as the song progresses.
What is so special about this reaction channel is that they focus on the idea of free-thinking. Now, “free-thinking” can be taken a lot of different ways. There are a lot of different influential forces when it comes to social media with music today. We are going to dive into a deeper example later, but for right now here is a more simple concept. If you take a look at Twitter, and search “Nickelback” you will see a lot of people shitting on Nickelback’s music (with words or memes). Ryan and George made sure that this was known in one of the reactions they did the band. They were able to put the outside influences aside and judge the music for what it really is. It is a safe place for viewers like myself who want to separate themselves from people who are just riding waves. Ryan and George do their best to dissect the lyrics, meaning, and overall message of every song they react to. Sometimes they react to the video graphics as well. It allows their viewers to get two different perspectives on a piece of art.
There is a bigger question here though, why would people watch other people react to music they can just listen to it themselves? Possibly the same reason why a lot of people watch shows like First Take or Undisputed. People will watch a football game Sunday night, just to watch two guys give their perspective, and analysis of that same game Monday morning. Hip-Hop has overtaken Rock for the top music genre in the U.S. Hip-Hop constantly in motion with streaming services. Artists will drop a surprise song or an album out of nowhere, and the next thing you know your favorite artist is trending worldwide on Twitter. After the “listener” has listened to the song once or twice, that is when reaction channels like Lost In Vegas come in. Allowing the listener to see other peoples reaction to song they either loved or hated. The listener gets to see if someone else shares their point of view on the music.
Now, what makes this YouTube channel so special in today’s age of technology? What about what Ryan and George are doing could not be done with the digital media we have had in the past? Well, I will tell you what is so special. Back in the day, before YouTube, there was no where anybody could put content like this. The copyright issues would be insane. The closest thing we had to something like this back in the day was MTV. The thing about MTV is they only played the videos. No one was pausing or dissecting the content of the music.
I would like to refer to Shirky. Shirky focused a lot on the idea of culture “But the anxiety at the heart of “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” doesn’t actually seem to be about thinking, or even reading, but culture.” Now, Shirky was referring to the aspect of reading, but I feel the same concept can be applied to music. As a society we have all these new forms of media when it comes to music. Streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud and Tidal. Not only that, but back in the day to listen to radio personalities, you had to listen to the radio. Instead, now radio shows will upload their content to Youtube. Streaming services and radio have been widely recognized as a part of music culture (especially hip-hop culture). It is time now to put “reaction” videos in the same category. (Here is a link to Shirky’s article down below) http://blogs.britannica.com/2008/07/why-abundance-is-good-a-reply-to-nick-carr/
Reaction channels like “Lost In Vegas” have become a big part of hip-hop culture. Lost In Vegas does not just do Hip-Hop music reactions. They also react to freestyles, rock and roll, country, etc. Essentially all forms of music. This is what is so amazing about the channel. There has never been a media outlet, with a prime audience in one category (hip-hop), blending that audience with a whole new audience. For example, a rock and roll crowd. Showcasing mass amounts of different music to people who would have never even thought of listening. That is the biggest meaning and significance behind this new form of media. As the reader of this analysis are you starting to catch my drift? Because if you’re still not convinced that reaction channels like Lost In Vegas are not important to Hip-Hop culture, maybe this next example will have a more significant impact.
Continuing on the notion that reaction channels like “Lost In Vegas” have a decent sized impact when it comes to hip-hop culture. Here is the biggest example that can put it into context. Back in 2017, a hip-hop artist, who I am sure everyone has heard of, who goes by the name of Eminem. Eminem dropped his 9th studio album “Revival.” Revival was first time it ever felt like the ball was being dropped on Eminem. People hated his roll out, and they hated the album. When I say “they” I am referring to critics, and fans on social media. Reaction channels like “Lost In Vegas” would do reactions to some of the songs off of the album. The main song that all of the channels did was “Walk On Water.” Pretty much every channel appreciated the art, but there was no real positive feedback.
Now, where am I going with this? Eminem is arguably the biggest Hip-Hop artist in the world, he certainly is the top selling hip-hop artist of all time. Here is the kicker, the reaction channels got a reaction out him. In response to all the negative backlash from his album Revival, Eminem came back with a remix to a song called “Chloraseptic.” Eminem raps: “And do your little reaction videos, and talk over songs.” When he dropped this tracks reaction channels all over YouTube were jumping around with their eyes wide open.
Next thing you know, Eminem dropped his surprise studio album “Kamikaze.” Instantly reaction channels reacted a song called “The Ringer.” In this song Eminem also continued to fire back at his critics. Reaction channels like Lost In Vegas got the biggest hip-hop artist in the world to respond to them. A new form of media did that. If they can get a reaction out of “arguably” the biggest hip-hop artist in the world, reaction channels like can get a reaction out of anybody, and has officially been solidified in hip-hop culture. (Below is the Link, to “The Ringer” Reaction).
Lost In Vegas (and other reaction channels alike) serve a big importance in Hip-Hop culture. They are a new form media that people didn’t have back 20 years ago. Lost In Vegas in-depth dissecting of lyrics, and overall meaning of songs allow hip-hop to expand. It keeps Hip-Hop alive, because the goal is to get people talking. Even in the comment section you will see people discussing back and forth on what they thought of the music. Reaction channels is something that no music genre has ever had at their disposal. Until now.
