In the discussion on social media, as one of the many ways we interact with one another, what is often overlooked is the contribution of music media platforms. SoundCloud is an example of this kind of medium, being an online audio distribution platform that enables users to upload and promote their work. More simply, SoundCloud is a place where musicians can share their own music with a fanbase that the application generates based on a social-media-like following. Essentially, its purpose is to marry the idea of social media with the concept of music artistry. This is a bold gesture, and for that, SoundCloud received its praise, gaining much popularity in today’s age, especially during 2016, as more independent musicians are searching for a place to publish their artwork freely.
SoundCloud is a common starting point for emerging artists, because of how accessible it is in comparison to iTunes and Spotify’s legal process that requires a formal registration and payment to publish music. It is made very clear, though, that it is nothing more than that – a starting point. Much of SoundCloud’s popularity rests in the fact that it is accessible and free. Ironically then, this very quality earns SoundCloud its reputation as an illegitimate platform for real artists.
Stemming from this idea arose the microgenre, “SoundCloud rap”, or otherwise “mumble rap”, encompassing a certain calibre of artistry – one that is simple, incomprehensible and ultimately lame. Mumble rap puts little emphasis on quality and lyricism and much on sex, drugs, and money.
But isn’t that all rap?
Arguably, yes.
When discussing social media, the discussion on culture cannot be excluded. Social media is not only a useful tool to spread and share media. It is something that “hints at a cultural mindset” (Holmes) and has cultural implications – the ability to influence cultural and social dynamics. Born from this huge influx of mediocre artists trying to make money from songs that are anemic in content, is the unique persona, the “SoundCloud rapper”. More important than SoundCloud itself is the implications of this aesthetic, which all legitimate rappers despise. Their antagonism derives from their shame in the image that new “SoundCloud rappers” are painting for the genre itself. It is believed that “Soundcloud is home to an entire nation of rappers with colored dreads, melodies inspired by 2000s Emo and Pop Punk and the latest mutations of Atlanta’s Trap” (Holmes). And though it is still a social media phenomenon, SoundCloud has angered many qualified artists in the music industry and proved to be problematic. By introducing (or at least trying to introduce) a completely new the dynamic to the music industry, not only did SoundCloud and the “SoundCloud rapper” aesthetic cheapen the act of publishing music online, but it also cheapened the quality of that music, inviting almost anyone to the music industry – an industry that is highly, highly competitive.
Works Cited:
Holmes, Charles. “The Who’s Who Of SoundCloud Rap.” Complex, Complex, 28 Sept. 2018, www.complex.com/music/2018/09/soundcloud-rappers-you-should-know/.