Weekly Billboard Theory — Bank Account
I had never listened to any of 21 Savage’s music prior to this week but I had a feeling of whether his music would be good or not just by looking at a picture of him. Young, tiny dreads, terrible face tattoos. Soundcloud rapper? Yep, Soundcloud rapper. This song sucks but I do have a theory on why 21 Savage is relevant.
21 Savage
Key: C# Minor
Tempo: 76 BPM
This is going to be a short one because I’m exhausted and there’s not too much to write about with this song. A somber sounding beat starts the song and plays throughout. There’s no distinct melody (which is fine, because the song is rapped) and there’s no memorable rhythmic idea (which is not fine, because the song is rapped). “But you never look at the lyrics!” You’re right, I don’t and I didn’t. There’s really nothing memorable enough here for me to bother transcribing anything. Heck, normally I figure out the key with a guitar in my hands so that I can be sure I’m getting it right but I’m just doing this one by ear because why bother?
Now, this has absolutely nothing to do with music theory but is a concept that I find relevant to this artist. Go ahead and look at his releases on Spotify. 3 albums last year. THREE! Yeah, some of em might be “mixtapes” and not official “albums” but this is something that is pretty unique to the world of hip-hop. Hip-hop artists (especially those terrible ones on Soundcloud) produce a ton of content. Traditionally, we like to think of quality being more important than quantity but is that really the case anymore? If we measure success in engagement on various social media profiles the only way to be “successful” is to continuously produce media. I don’t mean to sound like an old person when I say this but we don’t have the attention span anymore. Once we find something we like, we’re not satisfied until we get more and more of that tasty content.
Blah blah blah, content is king. These artists get big because they keep making material but then once their time comes the pressure is on and they suddenly come to a halt. Eh, I can’t really say that last part with confidence but time will tell if any of these rappers have any staying power. But if you don’t believe me about the importance of producing content in the music world, try it for yourself. Try putting a song out onto the internet every week. I’ll make it even easier. Try putting out a cover song every week onto the internet and I guarantee some people will take notice. You want something even easier? Post any kind of media as a type of series once a week. Whether it’s photography, a recipe, or a write up about the top songs of the week in regards to music theory; big things can happen.
Summer is winding down but “Despacito” is still the king of the charts. Gotta go all the way down to #13 for some fresh material. I’ve never heard of this Liam Payne fellow but I know Quavo so there’s a chance I might like “Strip That Down.” Will that chance pay off? Find out next week!
