On the SoundCloud Charts (5–26–2017)

If one follows me on Twitter then it is no surprise that I never stop thinking about the SoundCloud charts. Spotify’s PR machine is may be powerful enough to swindle most of the music industry into thinking they’re the Alpha and Omega of music discovery. Except that’s bullshit, radio still matter, YouTube is bigger, and SoundCloud even with it’s many many issues is the go to space for kids that just want to effortlessly upload new music. I guess that makes it the 2010s Myspace equivalent, which, lol, if that’s the case then might as well chronicle this moment before it fades to digital dust.

Every week I’m gonna try and observe a few trends in the mains SoundCloud Top 50 chart. Don’t worry, one day I’ll get into how “Basket Case” is a Top 10 Alternative Rock song in 2017 according to Soundcloud, but in due time. If you got any feedback feel free to hit me up on Twitter, but otherwise let’s get to it.

• Travis Scott is currently owning the charts with all three of his most recent singles at the top four. My friends are probably tired of me mentioning this fact, but prior to “XO Tour Llif3” Lil Uzi Vert was already releasing songs in clusters where it was fairly easy to see which songs were going to be the most popular within the first 24 hours — and I bet SoundCloud could even be more precise or at least I’d hope. That fact remained true here, because “Butterfly Effect” quickly shot past “A Man” and “Green & Purple” and earlier this week the song was promoted to the Major Leagues of Spotify, Apple Music, etc. Personally, I liked that song the most as it sounds like Travis might’ve finally hit a creative groove that is equal part swagger jacking and pompous epicness scale that no one else is touching, at least while Kanye is sidelined. The last Travis note is that “RaRa” his Birds of The Trap Sing Brian McKnight leftover with Lil Uzi Vert is back on the chart after never making a huge splash when it was first released. I wanted to mention this, because that song got stuck in my head so much that I’m constantly saying “RaRa” in *Travis Voice* and geniuely always forget that this wasn’t included on the album. It might’ve been a bit lightweight on the album, but happy it was given a life on SoundCloud.
• Last night at a show, I noticed I got a message from a former library co-worker on Snapchat, about my opinion on XXXTentacion. The last four months, I kept just saying this kid is the future of rap, because once “Look At Me” started to go viral, it wasn’t like MadeinTyo’s “Uber Everywhere” or Nebu Kiniza’s “Gassed Up,” sitatuation where a single track got big, but it didn’t carry another work. Nope. “Look At Me” brought the entire South Florida rap movement on these charts and is now even starting to peak onto the Spotify charts as well. The charts right now are look very favorable upon XXX, who right now is on ninesongs right now with the highest being “garette’s REVENGE” at #2, which isn’t even a rap song. Maybe a Hank Williams era country ballad or 2002 acoustic emo, but whatever genre it’s at 4.6 million plays this week, which I don’t have the numbers but it appears higher “Look At Me” which I think peaked in the 3.8/3.9 million range, but I don’t have the exact numbers to back it up — help a brother out SoundCloud. Either way, with ninesongs in the Top 50 and “garette’s REVENGE” creeping towards #1, these charts are gonna be run by this kid for the foreseeable future. Also to answer my former coworker, I referred to him as “brat,” and of course I forgot that sitting at #33 is XXXTentacion’s “YuNg BrAtZ.”
• Right now just outside of the Top 5 is A Boogie Wit A Hoodie’s “Drowning” featuring Atlantic Records label mate Kodak Black at #6. The young Bronx rapper in a different era, even maybe in a pre-Bobby Shmurda world, would be championed as the next guy to save New York Rap™. Thankfully those expectations aren’t on him and he’s able to just work in his particularity melodic post-Drake, but really post-Ja Rule mold. I’ve written this before, but I’m amazed how one of New York City’s great 2000s musical legacies is taking sing-song rap into the mainstream, but I guess that narrative runs counter to a city that butted head with the south for a an entire decade. Anyway back to A Boogie, “Drowning” is one of my favorite rap songs of the year, as the dude can write hooks but knows how to pin emotional rap songs in a way that if he were from say Baton Rogue certain pockets of the internet would love him like a fairly pedestrian rapper like NBA Youngboy. I’n not sure if “Drowning” will be able to re-enter the Top 5, but hopefully Atlantic is rushing this kid’s album out now, cause what’s the point of gaming streaming services if all of these song streams aren’t contributing to “album sales.”
• Last night Pen Griffy (aka. the world’s greatest dad, aka. the man with the world’s greatest smile, aka. Bryson Tiller) dropped his sophomore album, True To Self. I’ve been listening to all morning as I write this, so I’ll say please listen to “Don’t Get Too High,” but looking back at the SoundCloud charts, it might be Tiller season again. “Honey” one of the three singles he released earlier this month is at #29, and though they aren’t on the charts right now the other singles “Somethin Tells Me” and “Get Mine” with Young Thug were peaking in the high 40s throughout the week. Honestly I’m not sure that his surprise album release will help on the Soundcloud charts, cause now people will just flock to Apple Music and Spotify, but Tiller also has a massive SoundCloud audience so maybe the album will provide a little boost.
• The last comment I wanted to make was on Lil Yachty, who today also the just released a new album, Teenage Emotions. Right now Yachty sits with two featured guest verses (“iSpy” & “From The D To The A”) in the Top 20 of the chart, but his only solo track the fairly grating “Peak A Boo” at #49 is approaching Mr. Irrelevant status. Based on an early listen Teenage Emotions certainly holds songs that are much better than the initials singles Yachty released for the album, but I’ve been struck by how this roll out didn’t lean a little more on the platform that initially got him famous. Now that isn’t too shocking when the guy is in Target commercials, but I’ll say it I miss the old Yachty. Now as a I do say this, the kid was palling around with XXXTentacion at Rolling Loud, so he ain’t above this space, but honestly him and X on a song might’ve worked out better than Katy Perry or Charli XCX.
• Thanks for reading, the chart is below and if I had to select one song to check please do “Flex Like Ouu”

1. Travis Scott — “Butterfly Effect”
2. XXXTentacion — “garette’s REVENGE”
3. Travis Scott — “A man”
4. Travis Scott (feat. Playboi Carti) — “Green & Purple”
5. Lil Uzi Vert — “XO TOUR Llif3”
6. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (feat. Kodak Black) — “Drowning”
7. Playboi Carti — “Magnolia”
8. Post Malone (feat. Quavo) — “Congratulation”
9. Tee Grizzley (feat. Lil Yachty) — “From the D To The A”
10. Kodak Black — “Tunnel Vision”
11. Rich Chigga (feat. Keith Ape & XXXTentacion) — “Gospel”
12. XXXTentacion — “Look At Me”
13. XXXTentacion — “Looking For a Star (Can’t Get You Out Of My Head)”
14. PnB Rock, Kodak Black, & A Boogie — “Horses”
15. Swoosh God (feat. Rich The Kid & Famous Dex) — “Get Out My Face”
16. KYLE (feat. Lil Yachty) — “iSpy”
17. Khalid — “Location”
18. Future — “Mask Off”*
19. Migos (feat. Gucci Mane) — “Slippery”
20. PnB Rock — “Unforgettable (Freestyle)”
21. Playboi Carti (feat. Lil Uzi Vert) — “Woke Up Like This”
22. Mostafa Mohamed — “ زمار رأس السنه 2017 عبد السلام 🎤🎹🎶🎶🎧”
23. Migos (feate. Lil Uzi Vert) — “Bad and Boujee”
24. Lil Pump — “Boss”
25. XXXTentacion — “I Don’t Wanna Do This Anymore”
26. Migos — “T-Shirt”
27. DJ Khaled (feat. Quavo, Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, & Chance the Rapper) — “I’m The One”*
28. A$AP Rocky (feat. Quavo, Lil Uzi Vert, Frank Ocean) — “RAF”*
29. Bryson Tiller — “Honey”
30. Lil Pump — “D Rose”
31. Ski Mask The Slump God (feat. XXXTentacion) — “Take A Step Back”
32. SahBabii (feat. Loso Loaded) — “Pull Up Wit Ah Stick”
33. XXXTentacoin — “YuNg BrAtZ”
34. Kodak Black — “Too Many Years”
35. Smokepurpp — “Audi.”
36. Playboi Carti (feat. Lil Uzi Vert) — “Woke Up Like This”*
37. Lil Pump — “Flex Like Ouu”*
38. Childish Gambino — “Redbone”
39. Travis Scott (feat. Lil Uzi Vert) — “RaRa”
40. PnB Rock — “Selfish”
41. Gucci Mane (feat. Drake) — “Both”*
42. XXXTentation (feat. Ski Mask The Slump God) — “R.I.P. Roach ‘East Side Soulja’”
43. Lil Uzi Vert — “Money Longer”
44. Luis Fonsi — “Despacito”
45. Anuel AA (feat. Bad Bunny) — “La Ultima Vez”
46. Nebu Kiniza — “Gassed Up”
47. XXXTentacion (feat. Ski Mask The Slump God) — “What In XXXTarnacion!?”
48. Migos — “Get Right Witcha”
49. Lil Yachty (feat. Migos) — “Peak A Boo”
50. Big Sean — “Bounce Back”

• “*”Indicates the song isn’t on an official artist page.
• This chart as of 7:19am EST, May 26, 2017