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Brockhampton A Critical Case Study

Brockhampton originally a Texas boy band, now based out of LA is one of if the not the most progressive group. 

Where there are many examples that subvert many expected perspectives found within the genre I’m just going to focus on one verse. In one of the groups single for the second album in their Saturation Trilogy called junky where the group does as the often do contributing verse that come off as lyrical diary entries of the group most personal thoughts over wonky beats that sound off a trippy Willy Wonka. For me the song ends after the 4th verse where the bands pretty boy Matt Champion goes off on misogynistic men whose intentions only progress the ideology of rape culture. 

Rape culture is defined as the sociological concept that describes rape as pervasive and normalizes due to societal attitudes about gender and sexuality. If you look through the lens of Halls-Collins you can see how Matt is trying to challenge societies hegemonic view in this verse. He accomplishes this in the way in which he flips raps male power fantasy on its head. Matt antagonizes men who mistreat women though have the expectation of ownership of them trying to coerce them with phrases like “Just the tip”. He continues this by questioning their moral and demanding respect where he still illustrates a high level of what may be considered toxic masculinity he does it for positive reasons. Refusing to present women such as his mother and sister rather than just those two individuals as just their booty. Given that he could have easily written a verse that takes the opposite angle labeling his women partners as “B*tches” and presenting them objectively as tools for sex the verse would be overlooked and the song only pushing forward a narrative as old as the genre itself. 

Themes of rape culture are littered throughout mainstream hip-hop take for example A$ap Rocky’s contribution to the G-Eazy song No Limit where he ends the chorus with

This alludes to the idea of Rocky having supreme control over these sexual encounters and the admission of these women being in danger. I often find that rape culture has become so prolific in our culture at large many of those who express it in the media do so unconsciously. Where Rocky does show progressive views concerning women and the deconstruction of misogyny so this isn’t to say these words are ill intentioned the point is more on the idea on we as a society have internalized the ideas of the media we consume so it is necessary to be conscious and be  willing to call it when we see it and in turn it is beneficial to show support and attention highlighting content that challenges the patriarchy because it is not in the benefit of the patriarchy to promote subversive ideals.

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Pop  that thang for a real one

Booty calls and Drake lyrics

 Marginalized groups as a result of having internalized the values of the dominant group, perform these values in a way that intensifies the ideology. For example, the expectations society places on women are reaffirmed by the media but a strict adherence to these rules are enforced primarily by other women. Men are no different in this regard, traditional ideals of masculinity have been internalized and represented in a way that is more toxic. This is potentially a result of the way in which society rewards these internalized behaviors, in this essay I will look into the way in which internalized Western ideologies are expressed in hip-hop's masculinity. The genre is a reflection of overall black culture.

 First, lets talk about the terminology of the booty as defined by Patricia Hill-Collins. Booty in black culture is defined as sex particularly from black women, this booty is seen to be an end goal for male pirates to seek out. The sole purpose of booty and as a result woman in black culture is to satisfy deserving men with its riches. This ideology of women as an object to be attained. This misogynistic and racial framework positions both black men and women as strictly sexual beings.

These beliefs are only reaffirmed in the music of Canadian artist Drake on his album Views songs like Child’s Play, Redemption and Hotline Bling showcase his perspectives of how he see many of the women that he fancies to be loyal solely to him though the sentiment is not reciprocated. These lyrics show the way in which Drake has internalized the ideals of the booty call presenting monogamous sexual encounters to be the highest form of repayment that Drake can receive from “his girls”. This objective point of view is problematic especially taking into account the massive audience Drake has accumulated over the years and how this presentation has only made him a mouthpiece for a new generation of sexism.

Drake speaks on the idea of owning this woman given that he has “rescued” her from poverty with the intentions to in a sense reform her into the woman she should be. 

Drake insinuates the idea that he will be booty called by this woman even though she has moved on now giving away her reward (booty) to another “deserving” individual and as a result not being a “good girl. 

Drake is trying to showcase both emotional and sexual ownership of this unnamed female.

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For the love of reality TV

Reality TV perpetuates a singular story that only gives you a singular story on women in positions of power. Many of these “reality” TV shows are marketed towards women of color as televised reflections of themselves or how they should be given that money of these women are shown to be financially successful. These representations of many of these powerful women who either have clout or recognition in their field are consistently placed in narratives revolving around men or conflict with other women. Where in my last blog post I highlighted the impact of Cardi B’s role in hip-hop music as an artist is progressive given she portrays a narrative that is uniquely her own that though perpetuating stereotype it is with some level of purpose. 

Given that her past as a stripper, showcases her ownership of her sexuality which is reflected in her music where other female hip-hop artist are often sexualized because of their gender. There are still problematic aspects to her as a reality TV star on Vh1’s Love and Hip-hop. Cardi B’s arc for lack of a better word positions her arguing with other men who are business partners or love interest with her. Cardi is often defined as ratchet or ghetto because she presents herself in a way that is more in line with people of a lower social class and where she does express her screen persona outside of the show and the truth is honestly up to her own discretion. The question I often find myself asking is to what degree does she have power on the way in which the show presents her given that once the show has been filmed and edited it has been refined in the narrative it seeks to portray. Cardi B as allowed herself to spin the narrative into  profit by separating the show from her real life aspirations and successes. Cardi B as a character is portrayed as an unintelligent stripper aspiring to be a musician whose opportunities are limited by the hegemonic power structure that is the men in the show. Luckily this does not reflect her real life where against many odds she has become a successful name in the hip-hop industry.

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The Curious Case of Cardi B

Cardi B is a rapper best known for her break out hit Bodak Yellow a song that flips the lyrical flow of Cardi younger contemporary Kodak Black drugged out hit no flocking and turns it into s personal anthem of moving from being someone who receives paid objectification (stripper) to someone whose income is based on their ability to traverse the hip-hop landscape and acquire success through the telling of their story. This transcendence from someone no one knows to selling out arena shows is the narrative which has defined the genre at large. Since her break out hit Cardi has been able to maintain her position as an industry top dog. The contribution of Cardi as a mainstay in the industry  is an overall net win for hip-hop culture as a whole. As I’ve mentioned prior the best way to go about deconstructing the patriarchy is in the production of content by individuals that are often underrepresented an mischaracterized. The importance of Cardi B in the mainstream is not that she is a symbol for how all women to emulate and to believe so is more a result of the underlying problem. Her importance is one of agency her ability in being able to build her own brand equity through being herself on social media and making music that is a reflection of her dominant though simultaneously fun and carefree.

The issue of gender roles of how it relates to mainstream media is one of the language used to characterize certain groups as well as an imbalance of agency attributed to one group over another. Examples being the way in which women are often confined to the conversation of being in competition with other women in their selected field as if industries are like sports and you can only be compared to those that fit your gender. This ideology causes for any unity among women to be deconstructed and scrutinized by the media. The second issue is one of agency of identity in an industry where many of the most successful men have even had to afopt personas to find success, the lie that one cannot succeed in the industry of themselves especially as a female. We are stuck in this moment where the genre only has one archetype that achieves mainstream success and that is of the dominant heavily sexualized “bad bitch”  examples being  Nicki Minaj, Card B and Lil Kim to name a few.

Looking at the situation through kids lens for the medium of hip hop to progress forward a real conversation needs to be had regarding  the limitation of female identities being represented throughout the genre. Taking from Carter she may have a more positive outlook towards hip-hop being seen as a platform for those who are not represented in other areas of mainstream society and its hindrance has formed as a result of the commodification of the medium.

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Blog Post 5: Disability Perspectives on Social Media

In “Social Media Freaks”, Dustin Kidd recognizes the disability perspectives and how such perspectives are problematic in reflecting the meaning of being disabled. Dustin notes, “His statement reflects a widely held notion in American culture that there are two different kinds of disabled persons. Those who are being disabled have real conditions that are part of the essence of their bodies….Those who are drawing disability are frauds who fake their disability for the sake of government benefits” (Kidd 102).

Considering the power of social media today in allowing various marginalized groups to express their creativity and invest in such a powerful tool, unfortunately, social media continues to marginalize the disabled community. Unfortunately, the language and images used in social media networks create false perceptions about the disabled community, which can’t be changed through an interface but rather must be targeted through individuals in their perceptions.

Back in 2015, Donald J. Trump mocked a reporter from the Washington Post who suffers from a chronic condition that affected his arm movements. The manner in which President Trump brought up the reporter was a prime example of how we  tend to perceive disabled individuals culturally and politically without even recognizing the internalization.

(https://www.facebook.com/NowThisNews/videos/950440418379416/)

“In other words, American popular culture tends to treat leisure and celebration as a privilege that is earned through financial success.” I begin to think about various videos on Facebook and Twitter where someone is testifying about the kind-heart that they must give back to a disabled individual. Most of the time, the disabled individual is perceived to not be well-off, low-income, and not as intelligent as the giver.  Not only does this signify the social structures that are given in society, but also enable the audience to internalize such actions and resonate the image and insecurities of the disabled individual.

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@jacobsmithjwu

I like the use of the Trump video where I do feel as a society on both sides of the political spectrum we are moving away from that mentality given the strong devoted support that his voters had long after those comments shows that not everyone agrees. Where I think in certain context I think it is necessary to be able to find humor in people’s struggles because humor often normalizes situations for individuals that might not necessarily feel so. When comes as an insult using one’s disability as a way to tear them down it is wrong.

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1-800-273-8255

The commodification and simplification of dealing with disability, my relationship with the concept of disability is a very long on. As long as I can remember my mom has worked with children with special needs that to me weren’t special at all they were just like all the other kids they went to class they learned they would rather be at recess or home then here often. Having grown my adolescence and met main people that are “disabled” I have at times questioned this idea of them not being special. I find in the reading the most important point Kidd makes is the classification of disability as one of politics and culture, this showcases the fact that the classification of a disability as ever changing and not scientific.This shows that our attitudes towards those who are “disabled” aren’t inherently our own but like many perspectives formed over time.

There is a consistent occurrence  especially in an age where everything is content to be packaged, delivered and consumed by the masses by which people no matter what the circumstance become product this is often the case with disabled individuals. There are two very common ways in which disabilities are often oversimplified in the public eye,  one of which being tokenism in the sense of that in fictional media disabled individuals are presented as a mystical other. For example aspergers is often presented as a condition that may make an individual's social interactions more difficult while make them some kind of super genius. This limitation that many struggled with is presented as a blessing. Secondly in the media disabled individuals in popular media are often reduced down to their disability rather than being an individual they are often posed as a focal point for the viewers sympathy. For example Lieutenant Dan who arc ends with him gaining the ability to walk where this is wonderful for both fictional real paraplegics, while “disabled” Lt.Dan is showcases as a character for the audience to pity

Going back to my earlier perspective I find it is both necessary that we take disability more serious and are open to sometimes lighthearted of difficult discussion revolving around disability. At the end of the day many of those who are disabled live the same lives as everyone else where on a day to day they deal with their own personal limitations.

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Patronizing: A Fine Line

I’m going to go see Marvel’s Black Panther movie no matter what I intend to dress up but I was be at the premiere rain, snow or shine. I’m hoping that the movie will live up to or even exceed my expectations. Having not even have been a fan of Marvel outside of X-men and Spider-Man I place a lot of my trust in the success of this next film not because what it is about on a contextual level but who is in it. The cast is primarily Black/African American and that makes me a dedicated supporter because through my bias lens I see the employment or the acceptance of black superheroes to be a net positive. Blind faith is one of the biggest ways in which businesses are able to conform a counter cultural group into consumers. We live in an age where the label of a revolution to many people on means counter punch and profit. It happened just recently to the black lives matter movement by which the slogan has been memed and monetized.

 The issue of consumerism is that it is at the mercy of a signal entities cultural currency for example Kidd touches Brendan Jordan who after his rise in popularity after a viral video was offered a modeling with American Apparel just because he showed of a few of their items in a video. Where the moment is life changing for Brendan it is just a strategic move for  American Apparel to expand their audience by investing in Brendan’s cultural currency in his moment. This is not inherently a wrong thing. The question that should be discussed is to whom does the majority of that money made go. What impact does it have after it has been consumed by a conglomerate does it have a direct effect of the prosperity of the community by which it seeks to profit. The idea that if you are a member of a marginalized gift do you act as Robin Hood by taking from the wealthy and giving back but then that brings into question how much is that contribution what separates being an ambassador from exploitation.

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I am not an activist, just because I like dick

(Blog post 3)

I personally have for over a decade now tried to rationalize the bible I think it a literary extension of historic Western belief is possibly the most widely know piece of text when addressing this issue. I thought the idea of sodomy could only be reduced to the lack of sanitation found throughout history and be a worry of infection. I have trouble being in the mindset that most people that come where I come from have of gays in that they are inhuman. In the idea of seeming homosexuals as being a group who’s prominence in society can only bring the end of days, is to also ignore that many ways in which heterosexuals (speaking more as a man) have been told to enjoy and have tons of premarital sex. Where we have chosen as humans to ignore a supposedly sacred text cause our society operates differently now.

These are both sins of sexual action though one is more reprehensible than the other. Given that this ideology can be changed on a societal level than is just a societal construction that can be reconstructed. The ideologies of Western culture would urge you to believe being gay is a inherently bad thing it is immoral and only the heathens of society engage in homosexual behavior. 

Through both reading I think  Warner and Kidd  create a foundation for comprehending the gay identity and how it relates to social media. We are force fed derogatory words down our throats not with meaning just with emotions. Queer identity as defined by Warner like many of the labels we will come to discuss throughout this year queer is a tool of encouragement, a peace of armor often turned on people as more of a sword. Queer as an identity is just a declaration of power, queer as a label is honestly defined  by the queer individual. Being queer has strong similarities to being a feminist if you considered the definition of feminism to be anything for anybody. 

I often refer back to rap music as a way to express a point further I often think of  a lyric by openly bisexual rapper Kevin Abstract where he approaches his very blunt acknowledgement of his sexuality and how he is often recognized as being a hero.

“ I am not an activist, just because I like dick”

Lyrics such as these may have turned heads in his earlier musical endeavors but now many potentially homophobic rap fans, who now shrug it off and hope for more deeply personal bars by the young musician. This compared to lines showcases the complicated dichotomy of being a public figure who is a part of a certain group but doesn’t label them a spokesperson of the group.

"Why you always rap about bein' gay?" 'Cause not enough niggas rap and be gay

The important thing that Kevin along with the many others that use are and social media as a way to express their identities encourages others to do the same and makes it acceptable. Kevin is an activist but those closeted individuals that connect with his message are willing to take the queer identity into their own hands and embrace it both proudly and indifferently though no longer ashamed.

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Blog Post 2 Wake up sheeply

As a habitual Instagram user of a strong understanding of the platform probably scrolling through my feed right now. It’s a very addictive platform with a certain set of rules that guide many users approach to it. To succeed on the app, it is necessary that you could phone you must become your niche be defined by the hashtags the fill your post. I kind of think of it like a cult there’s a Captain Murphy album where there is an underlining narrative of how to become a cult leader Instagram kind of makes me think of succeeding in that goal in a somewhat dark comedic way. First you must prove yourself of those who do not properly support you, if you don’t post regularly like and comment on my post then what are you doing fooling me you’re fake, and I don’t need you in my following. I deserve admiration for my work. Instagram wants to put you in a box and the more information you give it the further it goes in trying to determine who exactly you are. Degrading you to your most superficial characteristics. I don’t find that the executive diversity of Instagram makes much of a difference because the goal of the platform is not to help groups succeed it is to pacify and profit. Anyone who has ever tried to navigate, and Instagram comment section understands how easily the process can become archaic. Comments happen so quickly that it is often hard to keep up past maybe the first few minutes on popular post. Instagram is designed for communion on the platform you like and or comment and keep it moving. The common perspectives of online superficiality exist strong on where even content that may contain a message of the more profound their ubiquity and ease to be reproduced and remade just hollow out any since of substance it could have once contained.

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Saturation and why it popped

In having a deeper understanding for the Media landscape, you get a better since of what virality means for a particular piece of content or content creator(s). This bring me to the popular of America’s next hit boy-band Brockhampton this large hip-hop/pop collective has amassed a cult like filling of young fans that do as the track Follows “Anywhere I go boys wanna follow”.

In analyzing their rise to fame many draw close parallels to the rise of Odd Future another alt hip-hop/jazz collective who broke out around late 2010. Where Odd Future had the talented and strange Tyler the Creator, Brockhampton has the charmingly awkward Kevin Abstract who had a solid buzz around his debut album American Boyfriend who fell on deaf ears among critics but was beloved by fans. Kevin’s story of being openly bisexual man growing up in an area where many people didn’t except him especially his family he pushed away from that starting a group with friend he made on the Kanyetothe fan forum would be picked up by Viceland as a mini doc. This would later evolve into in Brockhampton the group with Kevin as the ring leader. On Kevin’s first tour which was featured in the documentary you see Kevin traveling in a van with all of his friends placing shows around the country with his bros beside him. Now not to discredit the group for their immense of talent

but their approach to creating and distribute their work has as much to do with their rise to fame and the means then in producing it. First I’ll start with how Kevin suffered from his predecessor Tyler, where Odd Future would be defined by the collective rating of their artists solo material, Brockhampton’s strength are shown when they are together showing immense levels of chemistry rarely found in newer acts of their size.

Outside of Kevin no other member of the group has any solo material in the sense of a full project. This is intentional where every rapper or singer in the group isn’t the most versatile in their deliver or content that all add and strengthen each other. There songs often consist of catchy hooks with person verses of their lives both before and after garnering fame.

This formula resonates with their young high school age audience who have begun to sell out their shows nationwide. Next after the music has been produced, mixed and mastered they don’t just drop single with cover art, they make music fun diy music video that could probably have replicated by any number of competent amateur filmmakers out there but carries so much of the members personality in them and as a result their content stands out among the many VEVO music videos releasing every other week. Weird wiggling bodies, the tire screech of a golf cart, and their jackass esque introduction leads into the sounds of a chopped-up tuba rising and falling, you begin to want to bob your head to the rhythm as three blue men ride around delivering Hollywood inspired bars about themselves with visceral amounts of braggadocio; this acid trip of a music video has wonderful shot composition that maintains the viewers interest throughout along with weird props like a giant pencil or baby mask.

This content can be cut up for different social media platforms so that it can be shared among both old and new fans. They have reached a point their discography that fans anticipate release even archiving out forgotten material for those interested in versions of the songs or music videos that failed to make the cut. Finally, once the full album is released fans and critics eat it up because the group builds expectations and has delivered on two consecutive attempts within the span of a year.

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Economic Conditions

Advertising and art have always had a tricky relationship where it is important for artist to make money on their art it is just as important to stay true to oneself and their art. Consumers of the digital age are often cynical and jaded when it comes to people making money in their art whether it be musicians or indie filmmakers they are often bashed for taking any level of sponsorship. Where I feel it is necessary to maintain a strong relationship with their fans they both should try to meet their wants of them. while maintaining independence. Where on all levels of corporate production advertising is all about cooperation of both the artist and sponsor. The sponsor should be knowledgeable of the artist they are supporting allowing them to have confidence in promoting the product or service in a way that's on brand. Both parties have brands to protect and it is a lot harder to rebrand as an artist. There are many examples of artist making off brand advertisements but here are a few versions of on brand ones. First is the infamous line from Vince Staples in his song Norf Norf "Bitch you thirsty please grab a Sprite".

 It is hilarious how the Long Beach rapper approaches his own sponsor often being comedically over zealous about the product to where Sprite has continued to support Vince. The exact opposite of this would be the experimental hip hop industrial band Death Grips. Where the trio has always shied away from interviews and their signing to Epic Records was kind of odd though they would still go on to release their most acclaimed while signed to the record label. Death Grips would go on to still be as eclectic as ever with their promotion making a scavenger hunt to excite fans. Then once their album had reportedly been pushed back by their label Death Grips would have a field day putting their album up for free and making the album cover a picture of penis which would later be uncensored. The music itself still stayed true to themselves making their fans satisfied while infuriating their label enough to have them cut ties with the band. Where it seems like some artist can benefit from corporate financial support Death Grips is the antithesis of a band that is only limited by advertisers given that they have a cult following nod dedicated fans who support the band in every way possible. Where the importance is that in both these situations the artist found ways to take their platform given to them by advertiser support and make them their own.

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Nietzschegram

There’s a Drake song that the title makes me think constantly of both the song itself and the deeper ominous thought the name brings forth. The song is called Know Yourself, I think about this title because of the philosophical though that it pushes forth in our modern-day society. We are often taught to conform to society this is right this is wrong, thou will do that, and you won’t do that, and these processes are perpetual. Social media convinces us that there is a set way to act, think, look. The goal is representative of those that we uphold in society those who have conformed in such a way they have beaten the game of life. 

Where the actually important factor of society is in having the ability to think for one’s self. When you know yourself and you are yourself you have less fear of being “exposed”. This leads me to the idea Nietzsche’s Ubermensch, someone who has become so knowledgeable of themselves giving them supreme confidence in their thoughts and action. The Ubermensch has liberated themselves from the conventions of society, my feeling is often that there are Ubermensch’s at all rungs of society these people post the content that is the most objective representation of themselves. Nietzsche’s social media would be an often-controversial experience given the very brash nature of his opinions on the world around him not shying away from the nature of our current PC culture that hopes to force certain group into obscurity for the “good of the majority.

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Industry Lore Fandom Night Vale

Night vale is a fictional podcast that has been going on for little over 5 years now.  The podcast is described as a small desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is bright and where strange lights pass over head as we all pretend to sleep. The story is illustrated through the lens of a radio show hosted by the character Cecil. The show both manages to introduce you citizen to the town of Night vale bleak Lovecraftian dystopia and welcome you like a with a tone that addresses the dark and mysterious as drab and boring; which would be the case for a citizen being used to glow clouds, wheat snakes and the amber encased taco place. The show function as creating a tension that is inherently internal is bring you in allowing you to connect with its world on level that is very comedic though highly relatable. 

Night vale is a place where we have decided not to concern ourselves with the problems surround us the case could be made that the same is true for our own world. The biggest issue fans have with Night vale is its format as a podcast and the writer’s unwillingness to give a direct description for how things might look just how they make any given citizen feel. The main character is given visual characteristics that make him visual impossible to depict and when you have an audience so big and so dedicated to have heard all 116 episodes including the some 30 or so bonuses these types of fans are going to want to make art of the places, cosplay as the characters, and share this fan made content with the fandom. Fandoms are their own subsections of internet culture the same as memes, fandoms are made by fans of popular piece of content and are an expression of the community’s attachment with that content. Fandom in internet culture is a representation of one’s dedication to a piece of media. The Night vale creators challenge fandom culture maybe not intentionally but successfully by being consistently visual vague and forcing fans to try to come to a ultimately meaningless decision.

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Google the Eve of and industry!

In the beginning there was black and green text covered the screens.  In 1995 old Larry Page (22) and Sergei Brin (21) would begin on a search engine project called Back Rub at the time originally a research project they started while at Stanford. At the time there are little over 10 search engines in existence all of which left one better off to their own guesses. Page and Brin’s project was fundamentally different then it competitors with its secret formula Page-rank. Where other search engines were built off how many times words you searched were on a page, page-rank based it’s result on how many times other pages linked to that page, the theory being that a page that had other pages linking too it were more important. This would give back rub a massive advantage given the algorithms efficiency. Some two years later the two tech geniuses would rename the company Google.  The two would end up moving out of Stanford dorm room into a Silicon Valley garage. These simple

Technological advancement would place Google on the fast track going from registered domain name to public corporation. Google didn’t just improve on the back end of the service but also cleaned up the user interface, where other sites felt cluttered google hasn’t changed much since it’s early days making it seem more revolutionary than ever. Even Google ads were catered to a user’s searches putting them leaps and bounds past others. This would change the face of content creation and sharing more than any social media platform ever could or will. Google gave accessibility to technological advancement that had once seemed archaic and somewhat scary to newcomers.

Search engines are important for traversing the internet because how does one find the website they are looking for without knowing the exact web address. The indexing of websites is also important given that it separates the web from its dark more dangerous counterparts. I often find myself so lazy when going to my favorite website I just google the first letter so it’s F for Facebook or Y for YouTube. First of all, ask yourself what was the last time you searched for information without Googling it. The distribution of content, platforms, and information would flourish under the reign of Google. Thus the industry of online content production would exist as it does today.

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Essay Analysis

I didn’t learn much from the essay itself I already had and understanding for how the music industry works. Given the current sea change that has been affecting the artist and corporations, the distribution of wealth is a lot more even giving that artist are having control over production, promotion, and distribution. At this current moment former Manhattan stripper turned reality star Cardi B who made her living from Vine and Instagram has the number one song in the world. Through her hilarious viral videos and personal networking skills she built a following that allowed her to branch out into a rap career. Where she was another forgettable name who had fallen short of making the 2016 XXL cover her chart-topping hit has over shadowed many of the faces that did grace that cover.

The significance of the cover is that the artist that make this are the most likely music will dominate the charts. Cardi B isn’t the only one story of an artist’s whose career has been defined by themselves taking control of their own personal brands rather than allowing their destiny to be determined by the major labels they are signed to. When an artist can be involved with aspects outside the content they produce the can better contextualize their works. Focusing a little more on the XXL cover most of the reason artist to make it on the list have been one's whose complete discography is found on the Website Soundcloud rather than on Itunes or Spotify. Not to say that these services aren’t used by new up and coming artist but more and more of this placement is being handled by the artist. 

One of my favorite examples is Brockhampton who as an unsigned group is slowly gracing the mainstream able to build a cult following and go on tour. In the 90’s many of the decisions like channels of distribution, merchandise, sale and touring would be handled by the label and unsigned acts wouldn’t be able to tour outside of their local area.

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Pushing boundaries commentary comedy and the future of Hollywood. Since the Simpsons launched in 1989 there has been an inherent need for boundary pushing shows especially in the realm of American animation. This idea limited to Western culture my favorite Japanese animation has strong social commentary whether it be on the interferences of outside forces or an internal struggle with a country’s personal identity. Back to the West in 1987 Matt Groening would change the animation landscape with his representation of the “dysfunctional” modern family model on the Tracy Ullman show. This what at a time in which cartoons had conformed to the social status quo where the cartoons were mostly a reflection reflection of the live action shows similarly to the Flintstones. The Simpsons was very questioning of the society around it giving an overall commentary on the lower middle class American experience in a way that was fun and exciting to watch. Simpsons was “edgy” before edgy was the cool thing to be. When cursing was taboo and most of the shows competition was sitcom and cartoon gags. The shows commentary isn’t presented in a preachy way but commenting on many commonly known facts that aren’t often discussed or contemplated over in modern society. The Simpsons really just gave new voices a topics such as economics, race, religion all on which were tiptoed around in the early 90’s and where many episodes only seem as a precursor to our society. Boundary breaking commentary is in arguing the contrary to the status quo, when the Simpsons first hit the scenes it’s satire was in the introduction of the ideas and perspectives then once the show was heralded and their ideas had become perverse by imitators they began to satire the ways in which many shows were getting it wrong.

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Advertising and art have always had a tricky relationship where it is important for artist to make money on their art it is just as important to stay true to oneself and their art. Consumers of the digital age are often cynical and jaded when it comes to people making money in their art whether it be musicians or indie filmmakers they are often bashed for taking any level of sponsorship. Where I feel it is necessary to maintain a strong relationship with their fans they both should try to meet their wants of them. while maintaining independence. Where on all levels of corporate production advertising is all about cooperation of both the artist and sponsor. The sponsor should be knowledgeable of the artist they are supporting allowing them to have confidence in promoting the product or service in a way that's on brand. Both parties have brands to protect and it is a lot harder to re-brand as an artist. There are many examples of artist making off brand advertisements but here are a few versions of on brand ones. First is the infamous line from Vince Staples in his song Norf Norf "Bitch you thirsty please grab a Sprite". It is hilarious how the Long Beach rapper approaches his own sponsor often being comedically over zealous about the product to where Sprite has continued to support Vince. 

The exact opposite of this would be the experimental hip hop industrial band Death Grips. Where the trio has always shied away from interviews and their signing to Epic Records was kind of odd though they would still go on to release their most acclaimed while signed to the record label. Death Grips would go on to still be as eclectic as ever with their promotion making a scavenger hunt to excite fans. Then once their album had reportedly been pushed back by their label Death Grips would have a field day putting their album up for free and making the album cover a picture of penis which would later be uncensored. The music itself still stayed true to themselves making their fans satisfied while infuriating their label enough to have them cut ties with the band. Where it seems like some artist can benefit from corporate financial support Death Grips is the antithesis of a band that is only limited by advertisers given that they have a cult following nod dedicated fans who support the band in every way possible. Where the importance is that in both these situations the artist found ways to take their platform given to them by advertiser support and make them their own.