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Home , 6ix9ine, Juice Wrld, Kodak Black, Lil Pump, Lil Uzi Vert, XXXTentacion

Photo by Dean Hochman on the Flickr Creative Commons; Modified by Mike Roy Written by Mike Roy

In every generation, a subversive youth drug abuse, toxic behaviour, and acting culture on the fringes of the mainstream abusively and carelessly towards others in exists to provide access to a rebellious ethos. public settings such as concerts has raised It happened in punk in the 1970s and many red flags onto the influence of 1980s, and industrial music in the SoundCloud rappers on young and 1990s, , pop-punk and hardcore in the impressionable audiences of today. 2000s, and now has taken shape into SoundCloud rap for 2019. Do teenagers have the skills to separate the art from the artist, as both performers and What sets the genre of SoundCloud rap, a listeners? This article aims to examine the term coined by Jon Caramanica in The New genre-at-large and provide access to York Times (2017a), apart from previous librarians, professionals and parents with generations is the sheer size of its the tools to discuss the behaviours and popularity. SoundCloud rap has moved themes presented by many of the from its early home on the namesake SoundCloud rappers who are speaking to streaming site to the top of the Billboard millions of listeners today. As generations of charts and radio airwaves everywhere. past teen rebellion demonstrates, it can be Artists such as , , difficult to provide prohibitions on XXXTentacion, and have all outrageous behaviours without creating achieved multi-platinum success since their further appeal, so my focus will be upon origins on the SoundCloud rap scene, and real, honest and open communication on not without a great deal of controversy over topics that can be heavy and difficult to their public image. about excess,

address, so advice offered should be tailored passing threat to mainstream norms and… to each teen individually. well, more like the mainstream” (Battan, 2019).

Among popular music critics, the In short, it has become the music of the next discourse surrounding SoundCloud rap has generation, and highlights many of the both celebrated its punk ethos and drawn disillusionments that permeate throughout spotlight to the reckless behaviour teenage fears in an extremely modern presented by its young stars. To better context. Rappers sing about concerns of understand what may be in the ears of a relationships, mental health, and a yearning listener in your library or community space, for the next steps of their lives, but the it’s best to look at the genre as a whole music is similarly perturbed by before turning attention to any of the major overmedication and drug abuse, depression, players. toxic thoughts and behaviours towards loved ones. Due to this context, it provides Caramanica (2017b) defines SoundCloud both an escape and an encapsulation of the rap as a “swelling subgenre that takes its teenage struggle in 2019, most likely due to name from its creators’ preferred streaming the teenage lives of the genre’s stars. service” that has become home to “rebellious music, volcanic energy, and occasional acts of malevolence” in the hip- hop world. Rappers adorn themselves in a Likely the most polarizing figure in the particular identity, as “the aesthetic is high- genre is Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, end streetwear meets high fashion, with better known as XXXTentacion. Onfroy is tattoos, hair dyed in wild colors, and a one of the few Soundcloud rappers to prescription-drug ooze.” Caramanica achieve a number one single on the (2017b) continues to elaborate upon the . The track is called sonic palate of the scene, as “the music is “SAD!” and is built on a simple refrain that low-fidelity and insistent, throbbing with is haunting in its lyrical gravity: “Who am I? distorted bass, like reduced over Someone that's afraid to let go, uh / You a hot fire to its rawest component parts.” decide, if you're ever gonna let me know, yeah / Suicide, if you ever try to let go, uh / Elsewhere, Carrie Battan (2019) cites the I'm sad and low, yeah, I'm sad I know, genre as one that is “bolstered by ravenous yeah.” fans, artists with preposterous images and lyrics about recreational prescription-drug Onfroy was a popular figure in the rap habits.” Battan also draws attention to the music scene since his breakout hit “Look at youthfulness of the stars themselves, as Me!” rose to popularity in 2016. At this many were in their teenage years when they time, he was incarcerated on charges of shot to superstardom on singing about aggravated against a pregnant death, drug abuse, substance excess and the woman. Other reports say that his live like. “As [the SoundCloud rappers] overtook shows were often “marred” and “bolstered” rap, and rap overtook the industry writ by chaos that edged into violent territory, large, these guffawing, sometimes Xanax- and a confessional tape where he discussed loving teens suddenly seemed less like a committing brutal acts of also leaked

to the public (Battan, 2019). With his these artists or songs for the misbehaviours controversial and infamous celebrity on the that they promote in their music and rise, Onfroy was shot and killed in an lifestyle, simply due to the unfettered access apparent at the age of 20 in June to their music and social media on many 2018 (Vera, 2018). digital platforms shared among teenagers. Instead, conversations and programming What Onfroy was able to communicate to can be tailored to address issues discussed the world was a figure who was dark, angry in these songs and news stories so that and moody, and in his short time as a teenagers in your community do not make popular figure, he also conveyed a public the same mistakes. persona that amplified these themes. It has been noted by reporters that Onfroy used to On topics such as drug and , “say that he would start trouble as a kid to sexual health and assault, and mental health get the attention of his mother” (Battan, states, prevalent in the trendy references to 2019). As a young , it can be the misuse of Xanax and other inferred by his music and lyrics that he benzodiazepine medicines in popular songs, sought attention in a similar manner to a better education resources need to be larger purpose - for attention to the presented to youth. In libraries, direct concerns he was rapping about that so many resources to assistance for mental health listeners found relatable. The danger that services and sexual health clinics needs to lies in conveying these ideas is that they will be available, and libraries could host ultimately be influential on the listeners workshops or events surrounding healthy who hear those words. relationships and support. These workshops could be directed in a weekly seminar in conjunction with local community organizations directed at addressing issues To list each of the indiscretions of sexual health, mental health, inflicted by SoundCloud rappers would be a homelessness, and more so that direct staff needless and dismissive practice in with training are present. examining the genre. It is evident that the music is being made by the youth for the Employees working with youth directly youth, so our jobs as educators, teachers, should attempt to keep up with the latest and adults is to provide the necessary , pop culture figures, and discourse to ensure that teenagers celebrities as best as they can so that they understand the ideas being discussed in can be discussed in-depth with teenagers in these songs. Further, we need to be having a meaningful way. Imagine the potential the difficult conversations of acknowledging impact you may have on a teenager by being the public behaviours of these figures and able to identify a photo of ? how harmful, dangerous and reckless they Relating to teenagers’ interests is an access can be in damaging others in our lives. point to building meaningful and influential conversations with them, and through the Teenagers need to engage with difficult discourse of SoundCloud rap, many of these topics in order to build upon the conversations will be able to be had. developmental assets necessary to make them into healthy adults. It is useless to ban

c/music-news/weve-only-begun-to- Who are the major players in understand-xxxtentacions-musical- SoundCloud rap today in the spring of legacy-665891/ 2019? References The following is a list of musicians that are topping the Billboard charts and are likely Battan, C. (2019, January 31). How in the queues of the teenagers in SoundCloud rap took over your local library or school. everything. GQ. Retrieved from https://www.gq.com/story/soundcl ❏ XXXTentacion oud-rap-boom-times ❏ Juice WRLD Caramanica, J. (2017a, June 23). Hip-hop’s ❏ punk moment has arrived. The New ❏ York Times. Retrieved from

❏ Post Malone https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/ ❏ 23/arts/music/popcast-- ❏ rap.html?action=click& ❏ ❏ Lil Xan Caramanica, J. (2017b, June 23). The rowdy ❏ 6ix9ine world of rap’s new underground. . Retrieved from Further readings on the topic: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/ 22/arts/music/soundcloud-rap-lil- Breihan, T. (2018, June 13). Juice WRLD pump-smokepurrp-. turns SoundCloud rap into toxic html?action=click& emo-pop. Stereogum. Retrieved from Vera, A. (2018, June 19). Rapper https://www.stereogum.com/20012 XXXTentacion shot dead in , 16/juice-wrld-toxic-masculinity/fran police say. CNN. Retrieved from chises/status-aint-hood/ https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/1 8/entertainment/rapper- Ragusea, A. (2015, August 21). The real xxxtentacion-shot-dead/index.html reason white suburban kids ate up N.W.A. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@aragusea/th e-real-reason-white-suburban-kids- ate-up-n-w-a-d3d3c8000cd6

Weingarten, C. R. (2018, June 19). We’ve only begun to understand XXXTentacion’s musical legacy. . Retrieved from https://www.rollingstone.com/musi