by Mayuyuka

I recently watched the XXL 2016 Freshman Class freestyles... I actually burst out laughing at some of them: not because of funny punchlines, but I couldn't bring myself to take them seriously! Now I might be missing something or maybe entering that scary twilight zone where your age is reflected in your music taste. Perhaps this is just Rap's New Era: a rap game that isn't meant for me anymore; and has new heroes and dare I say it... new 'standards'.

It's hard to pinpoint if Vic. O is knowingly playing up to people's view of him and is always in character, or whether his exaggerated demeanour and self-belief is genuine

Whether these standards are lower or higher is debatable and will ultimately come down to each of our own preferences. What's interesting is that what's going on in America- the place that influences most African artists, as Cassper Nyovest recently put it, is actually being mirrored here too. Enter Vic. O... a viral sensation in Nigeria known for confidently displaying his artistic talents. He's somewhat of a walking caricature of himself and has pounced on peoples voyeurism and need to laugh at him by capitalising and creating an actual career for himself. By all accounts he is somewhat of a successful, established artist now; with a firm foothold in the entertainment industry!

vic-o-set-to-give-out-n2-5million-on-twitterIt's hard to pinpoint if Vic. O is knowingly playing up to people's view of him and is always in character, or whether his exaggerated demeanour and self-belief is genuine. Regardless, his constant appearances on several media channels isn't something to scoff at, he is a force... there's a demand for this man! And if other rappers with similar levels of mastery of rap get love anywhere else; who are we to deny him his moment in the spotlight. For better or worse; the sound and face of rap is changing. The things once held so dear, including enunciating your words and rapping in schemes and patterns, have been replaced by the way words sound: in a world where net worth trumps talent and chart success automatically denotes skill. Lil Yachty's freestyle is a great example of this new notion of rapping and so is Young Thug's relative success. There are plenty more new rappers on either side of the map attaining success with similar styles too!

That being said... what is interesting is what we can take away from these rappers' journeys to the summit of hip hop; especially Vic. O's runaway success. How do they achieve success, seemingly against all odds and in spite of our better judgment? They must be doing something right! Vic. O's ability to tap into the curiosity of fans... and manipulate social media to his advantage is actually one real lesson we can glean from his ironic existence in this sphere. His over-confidence is clearly counterbalanced by his actual musical abilities and skill level; but he represents the best lesson in branding an artist possibly can as Osagie Alonge, of Pulse Nigeria, addresses below:

As mentioned above, the views Vic's music videos have garnered reflect his popularity and cement his pseudo-famous persona. His comically bad 2011 release After Party is currently on over 600 000 YouTube views, and that's not bad considering, well... him. His diss songs to Falz, and (believe it or not) both Meek Mill and Drake are cringeworthy quite frankly, but provide him with plenty of mileage as the guy everyone loves to hate or take a dig at. That is another facet of Vic. O's persona that is striking though... how he keeps himself relevant and latches on to what's trendy to boost his presence.

What might have started out as a half-joking gesture, might just have all the ingredients of snowballing into a career built on being famous for being famous, rather than the actual quality of work churned out. This makes some sense when you consider that nowadays we declare rappers winners of beefs by how many funny memes their words garner, we react to shock tactics in predictably amused ways and don't critically engage with originality by praising appropriation. Social media has contributed to how we pick our preferred heroes basically. This artist seems to know that and has played that field expertly... gaining a following through his savvy use of the tools at his disposal. As you'll here on After Party below (if you dare) actual rapping isn't one of those tools:

For us fans to honestly dislike Vic. O without any sense of complicity, though, would be to ignore how we contribute to the cult of personality that fuels who our favourite artists are. We as fans need to take that responsibility and at the very least admit that we overlook our favourite artists' flaws, precisely because they are our favourites! But by the same token; perhaps we should extend that same courtesy to other artists; in appreciating their journeys to the top despite their own shortcomings. In short; artists supply what our ears demand, and even if we respond to what is supplied due to our collective curiosity; it's our duty as fans to let all rappers shine... even if they string us along whilst mumbling through 3 minutes and 37 seconds of their victory song!

@VICOTVS