So I went head on into this thinking is was mockumentary on the vacuity and fatuity of YouTube Influencers/Rappers/Gangsters. I was excited about seeing who I thought was the professional football phenom, Tyrann Mathieu a.k.a. the Honey Badger, play the lead villain/anti-hero. 13 minutes in I realized this was real, well, you know, in the sense that is an actual documentary.
Never heard of the dude before. But I have the kind of taste in music that ensures I'll never have to Van Gogh an ear. Here's my take after watching it, like a rainbow trainwreck, in its entirety. I think, long before the facial tattoos and Rainbow Brite hair, some acne-constellated, bodega boy, sex-offender was flipped, tapped as an informant by the feds, and used to infiltrate NYC gangs. And, hey, it worked on a massively successful level. Madison Ave. genius marketing acumen coupled with the typical image and style over substance, dumb it down lyricism and persona that Americans will always fall for hook, line and stinker. So eager to be baited...much like the gang bangers that rallied around their manufactured meal ticket. Lemming meet cliff. Now chase your waterfall.
There is something to be said about 6ix 9ine being so abhorrent and loathsome that he makes hardcore, heartless gang bangers seem almost adorable, yet he does. It kind of makes you wish they all flipped and testified against him. At least a few of them had some raw talent. Both Billys in particular. Easy to see the co-dependency though. Street cred bartered for easy $.
In the end, I felt really bad for his baby's mama, she's hot and emotionally honest. She deserves better, even if she made a cool mil or so (I hope) from this poseur. I also feel bad for the loyal DJ who speaks from the gut and shoots from the hip. He was the architect of the sound and probably helped rake in some of those clams two-handedly. I left this appreciating the self-made, innately talented, substance over style, no gimmick types like Kool Keith, Tim Dog, Chuck D., Tuff Crew, Big Daddy Kane and the Weeknd even more. I added 2 stars to the review solely based on the villainous narration of the great Giancarlo Esposito. Good call!
Never heard of the dude before. But I have the kind of taste in music that ensures I'll never have to Van Gogh an ear. Here's my take after watching it, like a rainbow trainwreck, in its entirety. I think, long before the facial tattoos and Rainbow Brite hair, some acne-constellated, bodega boy, sex-offender was flipped, tapped as an informant by the feds, and used to infiltrate NYC gangs. And, hey, it worked on a massively successful level. Madison Ave. genius marketing acumen coupled with the typical image and style over substance, dumb it down lyricism and persona that Americans will always fall for hook, line and stinker. So eager to be baited...much like the gang bangers that rallied around their manufactured meal ticket. Lemming meet cliff. Now chase your waterfall.
There is something to be said about 6ix 9ine being so abhorrent and loathsome that he makes hardcore, heartless gang bangers seem almost adorable, yet he does. It kind of makes you wish they all flipped and testified against him. At least a few of them had some raw talent. Both Billys in particular. Easy to see the co-dependency though. Street cred bartered for easy $.
In the end, I felt really bad for his baby's mama, she's hot and emotionally honest. She deserves better, even if she made a cool mil or so (I hope) from this poseur. I also feel bad for the loyal DJ who speaks from the gut and shoots from the hip. He was the architect of the sound and probably helped rake in some of those clams two-handedly. I left this appreciating the self-made, innately talented, substance over style, no gimmick types like Kool Keith, Tim Dog, Chuck D., Tuff Crew, Big Daddy Kane and the Weeknd even more. I added 2 stars to the review solely based on the villainous narration of the great Giancarlo Esposito. Good call!