The Rapper Who Has Become Hip-Hop’s Most Desperate Edgelord

Everybody thought the Clout Period of rap died when 6ix9ine went to jail again in 2019. From 2017 to 2018, the clout period was at its peak. You had Lil Pump dissing J. Cole, XXXTentacion beefing with Migos, and Boonk Gang was inflicting mayhem in each retailer he may presumably discover. After all, the aforementioned 6ix9ine was an enormous a part of the clout period. Each single day, it felt like he was partaking in a brand new string of antics. From dissing lifeless rappers to wishing loss of life on his foes, 6ix9ine was doing all the pieces he may to make headlines.

Sadly, for the rap purists on the market, 6ix9ine’s ways truly labored. Each time he dropped a single, you could possibly count on it to dominate the charts. Even when the music solely lasted one week on Billboard, 6ix9ine would use this as a advertising and marketing tactic. Three for 3 on Billboard turned 5 for 5 on Billboard. As soon as he went eight for eight, it felt like he was an unstoppable power.

In actual fact, one may examine this period of rap to the Crypto bubble of 2021. Everybody was consuming. When you may fire up controversy, you could possibly get gross sales. Artists who at the moment are a footnote in rap’s historical past, may promote 100,000 copies of their first week. It was a good time to be a rapper. When you have been some kind of viral sensation, you most likely thought-about leaping on the bandwagon to make music. KSI, the Backpack Child, and Bhad Bhabie are all good examples of this. 

However as soon as 6ix9ine went to jail on RICO prices, the clout period got here to an unceremonious finish. His antics have been not throughout social media, and other people simply type of stopped caring about artists who use gimmicks to promote their music. Then COVID occurred and nobody was going exterior. The probabilities for stated antics had fully passed by the wayside. Because of this, the clout period was formally over.

Now, rap isn’t having the identical chart success because it used to. The cultural zeitgeist has shifted over to nation music. This, sadly, has led to a little bit of a renaissance for the clout period. Artists are attempting to do all the pieces they’ll for followers to care. This implies advertising and marketing ways have grow to be extra excessive. Nonetheless, what separates this model of the clout period from the earlier one, is the truth that the clout chasing strategies seem within the music versus exterior of the music. 6ix9ine’s music, as obnoxious as it might have been, was distanced from the issues that he would espouse on social media. However at the present time, the music itself, is the clout chase.

There isn’t any higher instance of this then Iowa’s personal, Dave Blunts. Instantly, the rapper stands out on account of his body. At over 600 kilos, many have made the declare that with out his look, he wouldn’t be the feeling that he’s. To be truthful to Dave Blunts, that isn’t all the way in which true. His music is genuinely surprising. His music titles, lyrics, and innuendos are supposed to get consideration. In actual fact, they’re so blatant, that even Kanye West needed to pay homage.

However let’s return to the start. How did Dave Blunts turned the chief of rap’s new clout period? His story begins with the 2023 venture, Larger Than I Ever Was. The music titles on this album offer you some actual perception into the type of artist we’re coping with right here. Instantly, we see titles like “Snap Advantages” and “pronouns half 2.” The person is making a political assertion, and we haven’t even delved into the lyrics. Maybe probably the most egregious title right here is “EDP” which is a reference to the Philadelphia Eagles YouTuber who was a part of an alleged predator sting.

All of this simply scratches the floor of Blunts’ antics. In 2024, he dropped one other venture referred to as I Would Like To See You Strive which options his first actually viral hit, “Crying within the Kitchen.” The music was so large that in Might of 2024, Dave Blunts was in a position to safe an On The Radar efficiency. With 2.5 million views, that is the place the general public consciousness turned totally conscious of the lows Blunts was keen to stoop to in his music. There may be on explicit barrage of lyrics on this music during which the artist makes an attempt to be as surprising as potential in virtually a combo-like style. He begins by referring to himself with the laborious R n-word earlier than delving into girls who self hurt, Jewish individuals, Hitler, and pedophiles. It’s virtually as if he’s attempting to hit the excessive rating of taboo matters.

The issue is, if you current your self this fashion, you might be compelled to at least one up your self till the gimmick not works. On his 2024 album If I Might I Would, Blunts delivers a observe referred to as “Bundle of Sticks.” For many who might not get the reference, a bundle of sticks can be known as a phrase that’s generally used as a slur in direction of homosexual individuals. 

You’ll be able to’t discuss Blunts with out additionally mentioning his greatest hit, “The Cup.” This music is synonymous with the Dave Blunts gimmick. It’s about lean habit, however carried out in a method that’s extra parody than actuality. For months previous to this observe’s launch, Blunts would all the time be on digicam holding a double styrofoam cup. The insinuation was that he was always sipping on lean. Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority of the time, it appeared as if the cup was empty. Nearly as if Blunts was grifting off drug habit. Pair that with a purple tracksuit that claims “Dave Blunts’ Purple Stuff,” and it turns into clear what’s going on right here. As soon as once more, it’s proof that Blunts is utilizing his music and his complete aesthetic to clout chase. With out these inflammatory lyrics and offensive for the sake of being offensive advertising and marketing ways, would we even know who Dave Blunts is? With out these components, he would merely be one other Juice WRLD clone.

The music video for this music went extremely viral, with Blunts amassing over 5 million views. On this consideration economic system, that’s properly well worth the antics. The video immediately turned a meme, with clips spreading on social media like wildfire. Regardless of his middling success on platforms like Spotify, Blunts was efficiently being astroturfed onto our feeds. 

One other nice instance of this was his live shows during which he would sit down on a sofa and breathe by way of an oxygen masks. These performances would catch the eyes of Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, the latter of whom could be the topic of a scathing Dave Blunts diss observe.

All of this leads us to the climax of Dave Blunts’ musical grift, which was a seat on the Kanye West writers desk. Oh how the mighty have fallen. A as soon as legendary titan of hip-hop, who used to work with Jay-Z, Child Cudi, and Widespread, discovered himself singing Dave Blunts’ lyrics, with out a shred of irony.

The primary instance of this was the observe “Cousins,” which was an absolute abomination. When you forgot, allow us to remind you. This music options Kanye West singing about giving his cousin fellatio as a youngster. When the music got here out, followers have been surprised and appalled. Given the rapper’s obsession with Nazism, they shouldn’t have been. That stated, when it was revealed that Dave Blunts wrote the music, the web collectively got here collectively and stated, “yeah you understand what that really makes a whole lot of sense.”

That wouldn’t be the final time Blunts would break new floor with Kanye. Keep in mind the music “Heil Hitler…” Yeah, Blunts wrote that too. In a now-infamous clip on social media, Ye even wished Dave Blunts to rap over a “gasoline chamber music.” It was the kind of absurdity you’d discover on the darkest corners of the web. Whether or not that be a 4chan thread or a Nick Fuentes feedback part.

Not too long ago, Blunts truly reduce Kanye off, claiming that he needs to forge his personal path. Blunts then went on to drop a diss observe towards Kanye, claiming that he was groomed into turning into a Nazi and hating Jewish individuals. On the top of Kanye’s manic Nazism, Blunts swooped in to reap the rewards. It was the most important look his profession may have gotten, and now, he’s able to wipe his fingers clear and go in a special path. Proof as soon as once more that what Dave Blunts is doing is a grift. No matter helps his profession probably the most is what he’s going to do. If it hurts some marginalized communities within the course of, properly, that’s simply the price of doing enterprise.

The clout period of yesterday isn’t the identical because the clout period of in the present day. Artists like 6ix9ine used to place themselves in harms method. His phrases may have gotten himself killed. Dave Blunts, however, is keen to exit and reward one of many worst dictators in human historical past, only for a bit extra clout. It’s a harmful precedent, and in in the present day’s attention-obessed surroundings, we will solely think about that issues are going to worsen. Hopefully, time proves us flawed.