Cyberpunks Have Entered Hip-Hop
Most eyes were glued to the screen when The Breakfast Club released the visual interview to one of hip hop’s most hated individual, Tekashi69. His animated appearance and his ill-mannered attitude stole the show. Let me not forget to mention Charlamagne tha God’s inability to verbally combat 69 during the interview.
During the interview Tekashi told the group interviewing him, “I am gangster.” How is this rainbow haired kid able to say this when for years the image of the gangster has been the opposite of that? Most people would think twice before they were to recognize Mr. Daniel Hernandez as a gangster.
But in the eyes of plenty youth he is just that, a gangster.
We are now in the wave of “internet gangsters” or cyberpunks.
Cyberpunk is a term taken from the sub-genre of Science fiction. You may hear the word cyberpunk and think movies such as Matrix, Blade Runner, Akira and Total Recall.
But for me cyberpunks are young people using technology as their voice to be heard. These misfits raised inside and finally going outside to learn that the world is not cookies and cream. You can catch them on Instagram Live cursing something out.
Wikipedia defines cyberpunks as loners living on the edge of society where daily life is impacted by a rapid technology change, an abundance of computerized information, and modification of the human body.
I do say that describes Mr. Hernandez, who is filled with 69 tattoos from his head to his toes and was also, during interview, trying to explain how society turned him into who he is now.
Some other known cyberpunks within the culture are Famous Dex, Boonk Gang, any new “Lil” nigga, and let us not forget King Draco himself Soulja Boy.
Even Lil Uzi Vert rapping about how all his friends are dead and wanting to be pushed to the edge could be an anthem for cyberpunk.
Hip hop is making this wave of cyberpunks cool.
More and more on the internet we see a new cyberpunk popping up. These cyberpunks, are teenagers or young adults, they typically have colorful hair, they seem to love tattoos on their face, and most are clout chasing for the internet.
I, speaking for the people, think we should drop the notation that internet fame means money is on the way.
These jits (I am using a Florida word which means young motherfuckers) are lost with no guidance. Most spending their time with their eyes locked on a miniature screen to see what is the next viral craze to do for instagram. Not to forget the threats and information these cyberpunks love to post online that can get them incriminated.
These new age gangsters are having light shined on them thanks to the media, and 80 percent of the news on these internet gangsters come from the social media page of DJ Akademiks.
Cyberpunks are pushing boundaries and destroying the old regime. The cyberpunks are also ending the regional Hip Hop thing.
There was a time where you could know from the music where the artist was from, but now that is no more. An example was the big confusion within hip hop a couple years ago with people trying to figure out where Desiigner was from, who was thought to be from Atlanta but is from Brooklyn, NY.
Although some good is coming out this wave, yet you cannot deny the fact that most of this cyberpunk frenzy is bad.
The talk of drug usage in the music, hints of depression, and the complete different style from 10 years ago, I have witnessed the long chains turned into a choker and nail polish for dudes being the new hot thing. (I have learned to accept people have their own sense of fashion.)
The wave of cyberpunks is becoming redundant. This group went from SoundCloud to the forefront of Hip-Hop. This whole wave brought with them problems, low quality music and no value to Hip Hop.
When you see a kid with tattoos on his face, stealing from people and yelling “whole lotta gang shit” into a camera phone you try to distance yourself from that individual because he will bring problems. That might be the solution for these cyberpunks in Hip-Hop.
Recently J. Cole released an album titled KOD targeting the whole cyberpunk wave. The song ‘1985 (Intro to “The Fall Off”)’ was direct shoots at this new generation of rap.
These cyberpunks might say they are just being them self but I learned you can be yourself without being disrespectful.
The cyberpunk wave did not start with Tekashi69 and it sure will not end with him neither.
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