{"id":1134889,"date":"2021-10-29T14:06:04","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T11:06:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1134889"},"modified":"2021-10-29T14:06:04","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T11:06:04","slug":"detroit-rap-hellion-babytron-is-more-than-just-a-meme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1134889","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Rap Hellion BabyTron Is More Than Just a Meme"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Detroit Rap Hellion BabyTron Is More Than Just a Meme<\/h1>\n
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Plus more highs and lows from the world of rap this week, including a stink-face-worthy track from Fly Anakin and a simple request to join Nav\u2019s bowling league.<\/div>\n
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By <\/span>Alphonse Pierre<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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BabyTron photo by Lestyn Park. Graphic by Maddy Price.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Pitchfork writer Alphonse Pierre\u2019s<\/em>rap column<\/em>covers songs, mixtapes, albums, Instagram freestyles, memes, weird tweets, fashion trends<\/em>\u2014and anything else that catches his attention.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Catching up with BabyTron at a Crocs store in New York City<\/h2>\n

\u201cI need to find the shit emoji,\u201d says BabyTron with the seriousness of a deep-sea diver in search of hidden treasure. The 21-year-old is meticulously combing through the bins at a Crocs store in Midtown Manhattan, looking for a poop emoji charm to stick on his new Christmas-themed clogs. Even though it\u2019s a little tough to make out each small charm under the store\u2019s weak fluorescent lights, he insists on wearing a thick ski mask and heavily tinted white Cartier buffs. While caressing the pricey sunglasses, he explains how important they are as a longtime rap status symbol in his hometown. \u201cIn Detroit, even if you got holes in your shirt, you need these.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disappointingly the poop pins are out of stock. The emoji doubles as the logo for the ShittyBoyz, the punchline-obsessed trio that includes Tron alongside StanWill and TrDee. A couple of years ago, the group rode Detroit scam rap\u2019s viral wave. They looked like they had just spent 72 straight hours playing Call of Duty<\/em> on Xbox Live and there they were rapping\u2014with flows heavily inspired by hometown heroes DoughBoyz Cashout\u2014about cracked cards, stolen VPNs, and finessing helpless grandmothers out of their social security numbers on beats that sampled cheesy \u201980s pop songs and arcade games. It was fucking ridiculous, and also pretty damn good. The top YouTube comment on their 2019 track \u201cSuper Smash Bros\u201d describes the initial ShittyBoyz experience perfectly: \u201cI laughed at first but then I ran it back.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A lot of that attention went to Tron because 1) he oozed personality and 2) his appearance. Many people pegged him as a white rapper\u2014partially due to the fact that he had the same haircut as Amanda Bynes in She\u2019s the Man<\/em>\u2014but he\u2019s actually biracial, with a Black dad and a white mom. Tron acknowledges that he got a boost from that phenomenon where white rap fans get googly eyes over any white rapper with the slightest bit of talent. \u201cTo some people the appeal is just this Drake Bell-looking dude rapping decently,\u201d he says, name checking the former Nickelodeon star.<\/p>\n

But Tron wasn\u2019t just good for a \u201cwhite rapper,\u201d he was really rapping his ass off. On his best mixtapes, 2019\u2019s Bin Reaper<\/em> and this summer\u2019s Luka Troncic<\/em>, he delivers verses with clever punchlines that include extremely specific and nostalgic pop culture references, short vignettes that detail internet scams, flows that make it sound like he\u2019s either just been shot out of a cannon or is bored in the back of a classroom, a sharp ear for funky beats, and a dire commitment to the Detroit rap style.<\/p>\n

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Yet despite his clear abilities, Tron has spent the last two years straddling the line between rapper and meme. This can sometimes put him in an odd position. Insane Clown Posse\u2019s Violent J, who was once friends with Tron\u2019s dad, recently posted a picture of him and Tron with the caption \u201cThis kid grew up hangin at my house!\u201d But Tron wasn\u2019t sure if he should share it or not. (For the record, Tron faintly remembers watching Wrestlemania at Violent J\u2019s crib one time but that\u2019s about it.) As funny as the memes and jokes can be, Tron knows that he\u2019s always at risk of them taking on a life of their own. So far he has been able to center the attention on his music through standout verses like his appearance on Lil Yachty\u2019s Michigan Boy Boat<\/em> along with a relentless approach where he uploads a music video\u2014usually shot in a parking lot, open field, or convenience store\u2014to YouTube almost weekly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A personal favorite BabyTron meme<\/p>\n

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Next up for BabyTron is Bin Reaper 2<\/em>, out today. Its 27 songs are stuffed with nonstop shit talk and punchlines that reference everything from Atlanta Braves legend Chipper Jones to tag team wrestling innovator Matt Hardy to the long-running anime One Piece<\/em>, laid over a combination of traditional Detroit rhythms and the Beat Street<\/em> bounce that the ShittyBoyz first gained notoriety for. The goofy sense of humor and inevitable memes are just an added bonus. \u201cIt\u2019s about balance,\u201d Tron says as he heads to the cashier with his poop-emoji-less Christmas Crocs. \u201cIf a meme goes too far it\u2019s unstoppable, but also a joke on Twitter might just be an introduction to what I can really do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Fly Anakin: \u201cSean Price\u201d<\/h2>\n
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When Fly Anakin is on his shit, you can\u2019t help but make the type of animated faces that are only seen in the crowds of the most intense battle rap showdowns. On his latest track, the Virginia rapper pays homage to late Brooklyn underground star Sean Price over an Evidence beat that could have been co-produced by Isaac Hayes\u2019 ghost. From the jump Anakin uses his breathless delivery to talk slick: \u201cMy shawty body posi\/That\u2019s why she naked all the time talkin\u2019 bout \u2018don\u2019t watch me.\u2019\u201d I couldn\u2019t wipe the impressed scowl from my face for the next three minutes.<\/p>\n

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Kash Doll might be a good actress<\/h2>\n

I understand if you have decided to opt out of the fictional drug dealing universe that 50 Cent\u2019s production company has going at Starz. What started out as a relatively simple story about family tension within a drug enterprise on Power<\/em> has now been stretched into three spin-offs, and that expansion shows no signs of slowing down. But outside of that world is a standalone show called BMF<\/em>. Loosely\u2014and they emphasize the loosely<\/em>\u2014inspired by real events, it tells the story of Detroit drug kingpin Big Meech and the Black Mafia Family organization. With five episodes out, the show is off to a promising start. Like Power<\/em>\u2019s first season, the story shines when it goes beyond the nooks and crannies of the criminal syndicate and highlights the strain the business puts on romantic and familial relationships.<\/p>\n

The latest episode, \u201cSecrets and Lies,\u201d is a good one, and notably features a breakout acting turn from Detroit rapper Kash Doll. She plays Monique, a single mother caught in between Big Meech and his rival. Like so many women on television, the character is criminally underwritten. There\u2019s not much known about her outside of her relationship to these dudes, and usually she\u2019s just there to cry, or complain, or have sex. But Kash Doll\u2019s screen presence elevates the part. Whether she has to throw a tantrum in her living room, coldy shut the door in her ex\u2019s face, or just sit there looking pissed, I\u2019ve become invested in the trajectory of a character that the show couldn\u2019t care less about.<\/p>\n

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Grindhard E: \u201cTo and From\u201d<\/h2>\n
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The most unsung rapper of the Flint rap wave is Grindhard E. He\u2019s not a living, breathing supervillain like Rio and Mike, a borderline cartoon character like YN Jay, or a smooth operator like Louie Ray. He grounds his music in reality, and his anecdotes reflect that. He\u2019ll rattle off a story about struggling to find the corner store that stocks the Backwoods he likes, and he often emphasizes the unglamorous side of hustling (like wearing the same outfit for three days). Yes, he also has a seemingly endless well of self-deprecating jokes and demented one liners, but his best bars are just everyday thoughts. \u201cI\u2019ll never work a 9-5 cause they don\u2019t pay enough,\u201d he raps insistently on \u201cTo and From,\u201d and he\u2019s willing to go through chaos to live by that mantra.<\/p>\n

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This is just a plea to join Nav\u2019s bowling league<\/h2>\n
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T9ine: \u201cDolo\u201d<\/h2>\n
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I\u2019m one acoustic guitar loop or sad piano riff away from going on a crusade to shut down the Rod Wave\/NoCap type beat industry altogether, but I\u2019m making an exception for Tampa\u2019s T9ine because he may be the best doing it right now. Whether he is deep in his feelings or talking macho, he has this smooth monotone delivery that adds a tinge of indifference to all of his songs. On \u201cDolo,\u201d he bounces between these two sides of himself; it\u2019s as if he\u2019s simultaneously going through the wringer but can\u2019t slow down long enough to think. For heavy-hearted reflections this effective, I\u2019m even willing to put up with the sappy beat.<\/p>\n

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Headline of the week: \u201cDamian Lillard Wants People to Call Him a Rapper, Not an NBA Player That Raps\u201d<\/h2>\n

The only thing worse than rappers trying to not be called rappers is professional basketball players trying to be called rappers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

Source URL: https:\/\/pitchfork.com\/thepitch\/detroit-rap-hellion-babytron-is-more-than-just-a-meme\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Columns Detroit Rap Hellion BabyTron Is More Than Just a Meme Plus more highs and lows from the world of rap this week, including a stink-face-worthy track from Fly Anakin and a simple request to join Nav\u2019s bowling league. By Alphonse Pierre October 29, 2021 BabyTron photo by Lestyn Park. Graphic by Maddy Price. Pitchfork […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1134890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-1134889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-pitchfork-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1134889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1134889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1134889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1134890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1134889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1134889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1134889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}