In the past, RapIndie felt more like a very influential conversation. At the time, the positions on social engagement were less rigid and had actual explanations. Sadly, a lot of artists have given up on the arguments for acceptance and equality, and that means a lot of music videos are not meant to bring the culture forward in the eyes of people outside of it. Instead, they incite action and promote cultural pride.
Although those things are important to do, as far as an experience; it's extremely repetitive and videos like that are highly interchangeable.
They also have a tendency to paint the culture in a questionable light and promote solutions so basic, they don't need to be promoted.
At first glance, Luh Tyler seems like your standard rapper. He has a simple flow and a simple market. He is very lightly complected and has mildly curly hair. While Tyler, the Creator disproves a melanin gradient of intelligence, Luh Tyler does the same thing in reverse; similar to a Lil Pump. While the marketing of Lil Pump was focused on genetics at the time, 2023 has a relaxed, more crude focus on appearance. Instead of proving melanin isn't connected to intelligence, he is selling everything people claim to be against in your standard rapper as an aesthetic. Not only is he capitalizing on mindless exclusion, he's raising the question of what is important for acceptance in 2023.
Tyler, the Creator has re-released his critically acclaimed "Call Me If You Get Lost" album while adding new songs. On this release, Tyler seems to have left his humbling-intelligence angle in favor of ethnically-proud classism. Although he does have an elevated position in society, it's more about his intelligence than his flaunted wealth. He's not connecting to the rich proportionally to how much he seems to be trying to. Lyrically, Tyler's using a lot of really strong concepts with a standard rapper aesthetic which is problematic because a lot of his audience isn't alerted by his former aesthetic to cue in on how deep his multi-layered lyricism is. This release is the most universal, "casual listener appealing" he's ever dropped, but he doesn't seem to have the same cult-like endorsement from his skater market or from his new affluent market. There's an element of ethnic pride which is very new for Tyler and seems a bit rough because privilege and intelligence are not common in the black community. As always, Tyler is a little ahead of his time, but his brand's respect makes everything he drops extremely significant socially.
Since the very beginning, hip hop has been edgy and raw. "Bubble gum rappers" were thought of as less authentic and taken less seriously. Indie rappers vary in offensiveness. They don't usually talk about gang activity, but instead explore the cultured vices lyrically. As a platform, it can be difficult to find the balance between representing the messages of the community of artists, while connecting with the community of listeners. Cultural dissonance, swearing, and suggestive themes, need to be there sometimes, but keeping pace with the amount of moderation fans want, requires feedback from your end. Have we gone too far? or is it cheesy?
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