Why is Clout Rap A Thing?
Explaining how does the new wave of rap succeed
Rap has long gone from being the CNN of the urban environment to being a dominant music genre. The culture of rap, seemed best positioned to take advantage of the internet era as it craved regular output, whether it be mixtape, beefs or gossip.
The new wave of rap -clout rap, seems determined to crash the mainstream and make as many enemies as possible in the process. Causing an endless stream of podcast discussions on why the new kids are disrespectful and why is hip hop is in a bad state. Here some of things from my point of view I believe they use to succeed.
Gaming Social Media
With so many news outlets struggling to keep up with the pace of the internet, The best route for clout rappers to establish their personality is through their own platforms. They can control their content and its presentation meaning they can develop a greater bond with their fans and it is better for explaining and presenting their unique worldview. Not to mention trolling is an effective way to entertain and to generate headlines by antagonizing ‘old heads’.
In this manner their use of live streaming is important. Live streaming cuts out the media to go directly to the fans, providing both intimacy and immediacy to the audience. This enables them to build their brands, invite fans into their lives allowing them to feel as if they are part of their journey.
Short and Simple Music
The short album lengths are mainly to focus on the strengths of the up and coming rapper to an extreme extent. Day69 in particular exclusively focused on showcasing the high energy approach that is trademark of 6ix9ine over anything else. This stands in constrasts with the bloated albums, whose main purpose is to boost streaming numbers.This is probably the best way moving forward as, the main goals is to make sure that the fan’s attention span is best serviced with material that serves the rapper’s strengths.
Lil Pump’s Gucci Gang, is the best example of this era. It’s 124 seconds long, and mentions the title over 50 times. That extreme level of repetition grabs your attention by being interesting. The more attention we pay to it the easier we remember it, the higher its importance is as we focus on it.
Becoming the meme
Before the clout era, becoming a meme was to be avoided. To be a famous rapper, the image had to be cleaned out of embarrasements. Nowadays you have rappers you are chasing the opportunity to become a meme and the butt of jokes.
YBN Almighty Jay’s ‘story’ of meeting Blac Chyna, made him more famous due to its unconventional comedic aspect. Bhad Bhabie (Danielle Bregoli) has cashed in her meme fame by reinforcing the stereotype displayed on her hugely popular appearance on Dr. Phil.
In this sense we can see how Lady Gaga’s influence on rap is huge. As JC DiosMio noted ever since her breakthrough she has been supplementing her talent with attention grabbing stunts, primarily in order to stand out in constrast to other artists. We as fans remember that which stands out from the rest of the crowd because in our heads we are attracted to the unconventional that breaks the social norms.
Rap’s positioning has enabled it to take advantage of the growing importance of the internet. Mixtapes, beefs and outsized personalities are a common theme in every era of rap. Now with the cultural dominance of social media, its meant that the rappers who are extremely talented in playing the game of attention, can rise to the top with little convential rap talent.
The rap game has changed, and in the clout era if you are interesting, good at social media, and able to make an addictive song or two you can become an internet legend.
