They could offer me a couple mil but I’ma turn it down / I know how they work they’ll turn me up but they gon’ turn me out / Fruits of my labor, get the juice and then they’ll throw me out / I am infinite, I’m not a trend and I don’t need the clout
– Zander, an American, “In Your Dreams” (2024)
“So if Complex called and was like…”
I guess you don’t really know what you’d do when millions of dollars are wagged in your face until someone wags millions of dollars in your face.
When my friend asked me the question above after listening to “In Your Dreams,” it felt different than it did writing these morally bulletproof raps by myself. Not that anyone would want to buy Across The Culture web properties anytime soon, but having an ethical stance on a potential issue with success before it arises is setting me up to either be a disappointment or a model of integrity (and a bit arrogant either way).
To date (3/5/2024), the “In Your Dreams” music video has 45 views 10 days after release. So if Across The Culture or my work as Zander, an American become anything noteworthy and I do end up turning down labels, or a Complex, or Authentic Brands Group, niggas know it was always that.
Shoutout my wife. Every time I’ve asked she’s always told me it was my decision to make. I’m stubborn and selfish, but she knows there are principles there. Something real.
Had to make Chipotle bowls two meals, i don’t need to now
– Zander, an American, “In Your Dreams”
I’m still frugal. Halving paper towels, picking pennies off the ground, you get the vibe.
I wrestled with the idea of home ownership earlier in our relationship. Marriage, money, and kids changed my perspective. I also had an internal dilemma after learning part of our CFP-prescribed financial strategy led us to unknowingly invest in Vanguard, you know, the investment company that is the root of all evil according to Tik Tok social scientists. I don’t say that to be dismissive — I actually appreciate the light being shed on BlackRock and ’em. But I’m not sure individual Americans are ready to admit they are complicit: in racism, wealth inequality, mass incarceration, our military-industrial complex, all of it. Speaking for myself, I pay taxes, I voted, I have a (small) retirement fund, a gas-fueled car, Meta accounts, and sometimes I buy Tyson chicken when options are limited despite seeing those horrendous videos.
I’m invested in America. Some of you might want to excuse it all as survival. It is! But people choose to busk on the streets of New York everyday. People choose to leave the country. People choose to play along. Not playing along is a world of pain…but so is this.
I can never power down, we can have the power now / Those in power prayin’ that you people never look around / We are social animals, the power always in the crowd / If we turn it up I guarantee you they can’t turn it down
– Zander, an American, “In Your Dreams”
So, if I can keep some greedy hands off my shit and make a living out of it, is that far enough out of the matrix? Maybe.
Listen to “In Your Dreams” by Zander, an American wherever I’m getting ripped off by a digital service provider
Unserious people help us see the flaws in serious people at the cost of their respect. Such is the case for comedy rappers such as Team Clutch (“Homo Flow”), other “gay remix” parody rappers, and London Yellow (“I Am a Nigger”).
If perspective is what a listener is looking for, getting past the initial shock of songs like “Homo Flow” (a remix of NLE Choppa’s “Shotta Flow”) and “I Am a Nigger” rewards a listener with a distorted mirror. These songs and the characters that perform them are just like the songs and artists they mock aside from a fundamental issue that keeps the music from being “acceptable.” Kinda like a Payless Shoes in-store mirror that helps emphasize the view of your shoes at the expense of an unflattering reflection you wouldn’t take a mirror pic of.
“Homo Flow” is brilliant because it is just as violently gay as “Shotta Flow” is violent. If the aggressive sexuality of “Homo Flow” is off-putting, then why is the urgent homicidal energy in “Shotta Flow” viewed normal enough to become a mainstream hit?
When browsing YouTube without being signed in to verify your age, YouTube warns you about the inappropriateness of “Homo Flow” but lets you jump right into the original “Shotta Flow.” Gayness is more dangerous than guns, it seems.
It’s also a trip to adapt an authoritative, alpha male delivery to gay bars since homosexuality in hip-hop (and among Black people) is commonly believed to be the absence of masculinity. But here goes this confident bass-baritone voice forcefully rhyming “I am a menace” with “Not letting his semen replenish.”
Parodies of popular rap songs using homosexuality as the comedic element had something of a moment during the pandemic. Artists like Team Clutch, Kusorare, and Tophonee set out to completely ruin rap hits like “Sicko Mode” and “The Box” and they succeeded, developing distinct approaches to gay remixes and attracting online fanbases.
We need unserious people to show us which parts of our “normal person” act can be dropped
“I Am a Nigger” accomplishes something completely different from gay remixes. Mind you, these songs are not meticulously crafted to be viewed in the light this piece views them, but intentionality is not a requirement for art to be brilliant. Self-expression is valuable when it’s honest, brave, and/or resonant with other people.
It might be hard to hear honesty and bravery in London Yellow’s “I Am a Nigger,” but there are a lot of pointed lyrics and artistic decisions that may help a listener see something more than a teenage troll.
From the moment London Yellow hesitates and stumbles into “What’s brackin’, buddy?” as the intro, the artist’s discomfort with himself is obvious. Between the song title and everything else that follows, it’s clear bro wrestled a lot with his racial identity. But what makes this song more than a kid pushing the big red button over and over is what the artist is sharing about his experiences which inform this song.
According to London, he’s regularly asked for “N-word passes,” regularly called variations of the word “nigger” despite being light-skinned, and seems to be receiving this treatment mainly from White girls (hence the quid pro quo when he raps “Now please show me your White titties, ma’am” after being called a “nigger” by this young lady). Based on all of this, London seems to be at a point where he’s simply tired of White people skirting around the fact they are racist and would love nothing more than to be racist out loud. The entire premise of this song is “Just say it!” from an exhausted Black person.
“I Am a Nigger” is not going to solve racism. What it does do, however, is show us that anti-Blackness still squeezes the life out of Black youth even when political correctness tries to soften the blow. This kid is being asked for “N-word passes” rather than having the actual slur yelled at him, but subtly racist things like that must happen often enough for him to make an entire song about embracing the slur.
That is sad.
It is also a witty, nonviolent reclamation of his power over the situation. Or maybe it just felt good to publicly joke about it all without using his real name. Either way, “I Am a Nigger” is the latest entry to two folders: “The more things change, the more things stay the same” file and the “Black people will joke about anything” file.
***
We need unserious people to show us which parts of our “normal person” act can be dropped. Similarly, we need unserious artists to be ridiculous to help us see which parts of the “serious artist” act are ridiculous. What is hip-hop today without Lil B? Who is Joji without Pink Guy, or Donald Glover without Sick Boi and Derrick Comedy?
There is candor in unserious art that not all serious art has. It allows artists, listeners, and viewers to explore thoughts and feelings otherwise deemed taboo or unworthy of expression. “Homo Flow” and “I Am a Nigger” do not need awards or a place on the Hot 100, but they have a place in the musical landscape that is more valuable than many believe. We need joke rappers, even if they offer nothing more than a good laugh.
UPDATE 3/19/2024: edited for formatting and syntax
Cover art for YhapoJJ’s latest EP ‘Evolution of Xur’
It’s not uncommon to see a rap artist with a growing fanbase get a lot of “next up” type of comments. But when an artist’s fans are too immersed in the music to even bother with the more straightforward stamps of approval, something special is happening.
Similar to the way Yeat fans put umlauts on their e’s and talk to each other like thëir all on ëcstasy, or how SahBabii’s fans are “squids” going barnacles, people are getting lost in the moonlit werewolf world of Alabama’s YhapoJJ — a gloomy yet viscerally exciting place where the wolf emojis outnumber the spam comments on his YouTube channel.
Days after the release of his EP Evolution of Xur, ATC was granted a conversation with the up-and-comer as he celebrated the drop in his hometown of Huntsville. The vibes were good, a surprising development considering Yhapo’s early experiences as an artist in the Huntsville music scene.
Making It Out Where No One Made It Out
YhapoJJ: “To be honest, I thought I was going to get a mix of feedback, good and bad. But it’s really just been good feedback.”
Across The Culture: “Is that surprising to you?”
YJJ: “Yeah! Bruh it’s so many people from down here listenin’ to that shit, tagging me, it’s like (laughs) what the hell? It’s cool.”
Streaming has created many possibilities for artists outside of large markets. Raised in Huntsville, Alabama, Yhapo spoke candidly to Dirty Glove Bastards about his hometown being filled with envy, hate, and generally “weird” people that didn’t achieve much.
Twenty years ago, an artist in a mid-size town hours away from the closest metropolis either had to move or give up on their biggest dreams. In the 2020s, Yhap did not have to make music with regional or even local appeal to gain traction. Because of the internet, Yhap’s persistent social media presence meant he found people who liked him, his friends, and his music from all around the world before he received local respect.
ATC: “Did you expect a fan base like this? … These people — if you had just a thousand fans ever, they would be there rockin’ witchu. Did you expect that?”
YJJ: “Nah, I never expected that. But that’s why I’m so grateful, I never expected that. It’s a good feeling.”
ATC: “I bet. Do you interact with them at all?”
YJJ: “Yeah, I talk to them all the time. They be like, ‘Yhap you go live so much.’ But I can’t help it, ’cause I love them niggas man.”
ATC: “Do you feel like approaching social media the way you do has kinda helped people get into your music?”
YJJ: “Bruh hell yeah. Going live just bring new people in in general.”
While the value of being based in Los Angeles or New York is still high, YhapoJJ is just the latest example of geography’s decreased role in music industry success. These days, the best location for aspiring music artists is any place with good wifi they feel productive in. Yhapo’s success adds to a recent run of hip-hop success stories out of Alabama including the careers of Rylo Rodriguez and NoCap.
Since labels are increasingly going after established independent artists rather than raw talents, it seems like young artists in many genres are better off getting cozy in a nice home studio and learning their way around one or two social media platforms. If an artist finds an approach that works for them and remains consistent, they may soon find thousands of people immersed in their world like Yhapo’s fans hanging out in the woods with him.
In The Forest With Xur
She said I got a cult fanbase, you think I do?
“Hurt My Feelings” (2023)
ATC: “‘To them, you’re the wolf … I don’t know if you wanna have a cult fanbase, but I think of SahBabii. Have you heard of SahBabii?”
YJJ: “Bruh … fucking GOAT.”
ATC: “Talk more about the wolf imagery. Why are you a werewolf in your music? Why is that your vibe?”
YJJ: “I’m a wolf in real life, I just go hard, I’m relentless bruh. I’m a beast, I don’t gotta get in beast mode.”
“You Lookin Gud” captures YhapoJJ’s wolf aesthetic brilliantly
po’s affinity for SahBabii is a pleasant and fitting fun fact. Like Sah, Yhap draws inspiration from wildlife and fantasy worlds to really capture his fans’ imagination. A fun fact, however, is that “Xur” is not an alter ego the way SahBabii is King Squid or King of the Jungle to his fans — Xur is actually the wolf pictured in the EP cover art. While Xur’s evolution certainly represents something about the artist himself, Yhap having a companion wolf adds another fun layer to the world he’s building.
Along with his stated reasoning for the wolf imagery, Yhap’s music reveals that loneliness also informs the lone wolf imagery in his music.
ATC: “Explain, if you want to, “swudda” and the double ‘s’ shit.”
YJJ: “Ahh! Swudda is like saying ‘brother’ but it’s our lingo, it’s our lil’ style, ‘swudda’. You know, swordsmen, sword life, ‘swudda’.”
ATC: “You kinda have — I don’t know if it’s medieval — but the werewolf, steel, in the forest type of …”
YJJ: “Are you familiar with the Underworld movie? That whole series?”
Yhap’s fascination with the niche and polarizing vampire-werewolf franchise Underworld further highlights his taste for the edgy and offbeat. Among other things that set Underworld apart from later and more high-profile vampire-werewolf stories is the particularly beastly nature of the werewolves and more firepower in the action scenes which often involve vampires shooting guns and swinging swords.
A song like “Eazy” would be right at home in a fan-made Underworld montage. Throughout Evolution of Xur, Yhap drifts in and out of moods ranging from agitated and aggressive to calm, melodic drones that do a better job of placing you in the wilderness. Xur might not have bars as angsty and depressed as “Hurt My Feelings,” but there’s still plenty of anxiety in the project around standard-issue haters and women.
YJJ: “I like to put multiple different moods and vibes in every project because everyone going through different things at different times, so this gives everyone a chance to use the music to either cope or shine”
His perspective on love is hot boy by day, lover boy by night. He often croons sweetly to a love interest in his songs with lyrics like “I won’t one night her, swear to God I won’t one night her,” (“Trying”) as a high synth twinkles in the background and the persistent claps give the teenage romance vibes some bounce. Despite the sincerity, there’s still enough edge and loneliness in Xur that keeps the simp level in check.
His musical persona does his stage name justice, an acronym for Young Hearts Accelerate Past Orbit (JJ being his initials).
Influences
Rap music is foundational in Yhap’s artistic approach, but he attributes his willingness to experiment as a vocalist to pop powerhouses like Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury as well as the lovable alternative pop/rap/R&B sensation iLoveMakonnen.
YJJ: “I’m always grateful that my mom showed me that type of music at a young age cuz those influences really help give my music the unique and different sound that makes me stand out. Whether it’s the songs I choose to remix or the way I deliver certain vocals you can always tell I been listening to music and artists that’s way different from what people would expect.”
Another distinction in Yhapo’s vocal approach is its unseriousness. Some may interpret Yhapo’s incomplete bars and slurred flows as lazy, but his output clearly shows otherwise. As a freestyling recording artist, YhapoJJ prioritizes the feeling of his delivery above all which allows him to explore his vocal range within a song and over time.
Yhapo’s easygoing nature on the mic has been pointed out by a number of his fans as an appealing quality and is a similar observation made of his underground peer Izaya Tiji. The Ohio-based Tiji actually taught Yhapo how to produce his own music according to Yhap himself in a May 2023 livestream.
Tiji’s career is a bit more realized as an underground rap leader, but he doesn’t market himself as aggressively. This does not stop YhapoJJ fans or Yhap himself from showing love and respect to Tiji whose path will continue to run parallel and possibly overlap again in the future.
A brewing debate among chronically-online underground rap fans is whether or not YhapoJJ has reached his ceiling due to a split in opinion on the hectic, clap-heavy sound that got him Tik Tok virality with “Hurt My Feelings.” Yhap’s toughest critics mistakenly refer to this sound as jerk rap which is a part of his early discography, but something he has moved on from. At just 20 years old with less than two years of experience as a signed artist, Yhapo is already fighting to stay out of a box some listeners want to put him in.
What Yhapo’s naysayers are really getting at with the “jerk rapper” criticism is the pattern of recent singles sounding like “Hurt My Feelings.” While the observation is valid, what does it say about the rap landscape if sticking with a sound for less than a year garners this kind of feedback? In a seven month span, Yhapo has gone from undiscovered cloud rap gem to upcoming underground king to past his prime depending on the young listener you ask.
Yhapo’s mainstream potential lies in a couple of qualities. First is the uptempo sad-boy world he has created where fans can be in their feelings and turn up at the same time. But beyond the committed fans he’s earned with his latest sound, it’s his willingness to experiment that shouldn’t go unnoticed.
Within the seven projects Yhapo dropped on Soundcloud since 2022, production ranges from Uzi/Carti-flavor of trap to rage (e.g. “out my body r@ge”) to anxious cloud rap somewhere between a sad Summrs song and tread music.
***
Wherever YhapoJJ’s career goes, his achievements are already noteworthy and a valuable example of what aspiring artists can do based outside of major markets. With consistent output, personable marketing efforts, and a musical world where core fans invite curious newcomers to howl at the moon, Yhap’s music seems poised to remain interesting and his wolf pack has plenty of room to grow.
