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Yo Gotti, The Art of Hustle © Epic

Rap trends tend to come and go – this has happened year after year after year. Remember that God awful, irresponsible AF Molly rap trend? Rick Ross got into some hot water when he took it too far in the Rocko song, “U.O.E.N.O.”

“Put molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even in know it.”

Miley Cyrus got in on the molly craze in megahit “We Can’t Stop”:

 “So la-da-di-da-di we like to party / dancing with molly / doing whatever we want.”

The latest trend occurring in rap circles is paying odes to social networking. Specifically, the odes are directed to direct messaging and Instagram, often referenced as “the ‘Gram.”

“Down in the DM”

The best example of adoration for social networking comes from Yo Gotti. Yo Gotti had a surprise hit with “Down in the DM.” Take one listen to the song and it is nothing short of mesmerizing. Maybe it’s the synths and the generally slinky sounding southern production, or maybe it’s the rapper’s repeated, “it goes down in the DM / it goes down in the DM.” Whatever it is, Gotti had to know when he recorded it that he had a big hit on his hand.

On the track, Gotti is definitely horny. His mind is “down south,” evidenced by the first verse:

“I tell her / Snapchat me that pussy…/or FaceTime me that pussy if it’s cool / whoo boy, my DM poppin’ (DM poppin’) / my DM just caught a body.”

His use of social networking throughout the song is for sexual pleasure.  Likely,  this isn’t what manufacturers of networking tools had in mind.

Gotti goes on to reference screenshots:

“Don’t you hate when you get a screenshot?”

He also drops his famous line about Instagram:

“I love the ‘Gram, I love the ‘Gram / I’m addicted to it, I know I am.”

He further expounds upon his “love” of “The ‘Gram” by revealing a crush on Angela Simmons, Rev. Run’s daughter:

“And I just followed Angela (Simmons) / Boy, I got a crush on Angela Simmons / they like, ‘Damn Gotti, you bold’ / F-ck it, Imma let the world know (#goals).”

Doesn’t seem like the relationship will materialize for Gotti…just an observation.

The remix of “Down In The DM” gets even nastier, thanks to a Nicki Minaj feature. While Nicki is more liberal with the social networking confines, she does reference memes. Her best line is definitely,

“If it go down in your DM, then baby boy, you lucky / cause 99.9% of these f*ckboys can’t f*ck me.”

More Examples

While “Down in the DM” is the best example of the social network trend of rap, there are other examples where social networking is referenced. On  “Exchange” (Bryson Tiller) he spits near the end:

“I was scrollin’ through the ‘gram, girl, I had to follow you / say what’s up with you? You got my soul.”

On the remix of “Blessings” (Big Sean), Kanye West drops a double entendre Snapchat reference:

“Since the truth keep n*ggas traumatized / they tryna compromise my condom size / so I Snapchat that whole shit /…and I swear to God I hope they post it / I’m blessed.”

There’s more. Fetty Wap pays ode to Instagram on “Instagram,” from his mixtape, Up Next:

“Remy Boy, Zoo Wap, scrolling through my insta / Baby looking too hot, I hit her in her DM.”

G-Eazy opts for Tumblr on his “Tumblr Girls” from These Things Happen:

“Cause I’m in love with these Tumblr girls, with skinny waists and drug habits / Pretty faces love status, she acts as if she’s the baddest.”

There’s even more. On “F*cking Young/Perfect” (Tyler, The Creator), FaceTime is the network of choice:

“She kissed my hand a couple times, (FaceTime when we’re bored).”

Earlier on his Cherry Bomb album, the FaceTime takes a nastier turn. So, we’ll stop at that.

Final Thoughts

To conclude, references to social networking, many times in sexual ways have become the new go-to for rappers. Is it good? Eh, probably not, but in one regard at least it’s not molly rap. Still, isn’t it irresponsible as well?

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the musical hype

the musical hype aka Brent Faulkner has earned Bachelor and Masters degrees in music (music Education, music theory/composition respectively). A multi-instrumentalist, he plays piano, trombone, and organ among numerous other instruments. He's a certified music educator, composer, and a freelance music journalist. Faulkner cites music and writing as two of the most important parts of his life. Notably, he's blessed with a great ear, possessing perfect pitch.

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