Satirical hip hop

Satirical hip hop (also known as meme rap)^[1] is a subgenre of hip hop music done in a sarcastic, parodic, or tongue in cheek way.^[2][3]

Characteristics

Satirical hip hop in many ways is a parody and a criticism of the whole genre of hip hop, but more specifically to subgenres like gangsta rap, trap rap, and mumble rap. According to Know Your Meme, the genre was created with the intent of becoming viral. Some common characteristics of satirical hip hop include lo-fi production, simplistic music videos, lazy rhymes, and intentionally stereotypical lyrics/topics.^[1] Another major characteristic associated with meme rap is the use of alternate personas, which is also a staple in comedy. Internet personality George "Joji" Miller (better known as Filthy Frank), for example, occasionally performed under the alter ego "Pink Guy," a main character in his now-defunct Filthy Frank YouTube series. The character of Pink Guy is known for performing many absurdist comedy rap songs.

History and examples

The earliest example of satirical hip hop can be traced back to the works of "Weird Al" Yankovic, who has made parody tracks of popular hip hop songs since the 1990s. Another early example is with Southern California-based rapper Afroman, with his two well-known tracks "Crazy Rap" and "Because I Got High," both released in 2001, featuring comedic lyrics.

In 2008, Odd Future members Tyler, the Creator and Jasper Dolphin released the sole EP under their short-lived comedy group name "I Smell Panties."^[4] The duo utilized elements of gangsta rap and Southern hip hop in a satirical way when performing as I Smell Panties. Tyler then released a track in 2011 called "Come Through Looking Clean", a joke song performed under a character named "Young Nigga." ^[5] It's a parody of the "Bling Era" of hip hop that was popular during the 2000s and draws heavy inspiration from the music of Lil B. The Young Nigga character would later be re-used on various skits in the 2012 Adult Swim program Loiter Squad, which was created by and starred members of Odd Future. In February 2016, Tyler revealed that his 2011 breakout viral single "Yonkers" was made as a joke song attempting to parody the style of New York rappers (hence the title of "Yonkers").^[6]

Michigan-based Internet celebrity and rapper Rucka Rucka Ali became famous in the late 2000s/early 2010s for creating pop song parodies (including parodies of popular hip hop songs) containing lyrics for shock value. He often includes juvenile references to ethnic stereotypes, topical subject matter, and dark humor. His music also tends to make use of comedic portrayals of celebrities in the same vein to the animated comedy series South Park, and his several alter egos espouses stereotypical qualities of specific ethnic groups; his alter egos include DJ Not Nice (Asian), Seymour Schwartz (Jewish), and Toby Queef (White-American redneck). Some critics have labeled Ali as a racist as a reaction to his songs, although his humor seems heavily influenced by mainstream comedy television shows, such as South Park, Family Guy, and Chappelle's Show, and has jokingly defended his brand of humor by claiming that he's "stating objective facts" when he references stereotypes in his songs.^[7] His videos and YouTube channels are frequently removed (since he started creating music videos he has had 17 YouTube channels deleted for terms of service violations^[8]), but are reuploaded by his fans.

	"3PAC – RAP GOD" This track showcases the aggressive and bombastic nature of 3PAC's songs
Problems playing this file? See media help.

In the mid-2010s, Ryan Harryman, a San Jose State University student and member of the school's water polo club team,^[9] became a viral sensation on the Internet under the stage name "3PAC."^[10] He was known for his self-produced music videos, bombastic and aggressive comedic rap songs, and diss tracks targeting mainstream rappers like Eminem and 2 Chainz,^[11] as well as YouTube gaming channel PewDiePie.^[12] 3PAC made a guest appearance on The New CALassic, a comedy hip hop mixtape performed by Internet music critic Anthony Fantano (under his "Cal Chuchesta" alter ego) that was released in August 2015.^[13][14] Harryman died at the age of 24 in October 2015 after suffering severe brain damage during a water polo practice.^[9]

The seventh track of underground rapper Hopsin's 2015 album Pound Syndrome, entitled "No Words", is a skit meant to both satirize and criticize the trend of mumble rap that was popular during that time, calling rappers (specifically to artists like Future, Young Thug, and Migos) who are a part of that subgenre "mentally retarded"^[15] and also mocking fans of mumble rap.

In 2017, YouTube personality Filthy Frank released a music project titled Pink Season, the second album performed under the name "Pink Guy", with some songs poking fun at hip hop music as a whole, among other things. The track "Hand On My Gat" for example, features a character named PolitikZ that acts as a caricature for hardcore underground rappers;^[16] that character's previous appearance was on the Filthy Frank video "BAD INTERNET RAPPERS" (uploaded in November 2014),^[17] where he performed a song called "Real Hip Hop" that directly parodied the stereotypical anti-mainstream and politically charged attitudes of underground rappers.^[18][19] The Pink Season album reached number one on the iTunes charts and peaked at 70 on the Billboard 200.^[20] In January 2018, nearly a month after the retirement of the "Filthy Frank" project,^[21] George Miller returned to performing as Pink Guy to co-star in a music video made by Lil Toenail, a Florida-based meme rapper who performs with a giant foot costume and ski mask to maintain his anonymity.^[22]

In April 2018, Internet personality and music critic Anthony Fantano began releasing more satirical hip hop tracks under his Cal Chuchesta alter ego, releasing the tracks "Coin Star"^[23] and "Don't Talk To Me."^[24]

Notable artists

• Odd Future
• Tyler, the Creator^[25]
• Lil B^[26]
• Yung Gravy^[27]
• Viper
• Pink Guy
• Hobo Johnson^[28]
• Yung Lean
• Ugly God
• 3PAC
• Cal Chuchesta
• Riff Raff
• Lil Dicky^[29]
• Rucka Rucka Ali
• Afroman

See also

• Parody
• Comedy hip hop
• SoundCloud rap
• Emo hip hop

References