In this essay I want to talk about the career of being a SoundCloud rapper, what it involves, what it takes and how some artists have made it in the modern-day rap industries by changing/evolving themselves, and their sound to be able to fit into the modern music industry.

Soundcloud is a music platform that you can upload music on for free without needing a record label or distributor to be heard. This is one reason why it is so popular. Soundcloud peak was during the 2015-2018 period when rappers all over the world, but mainly American artists, took over the platform releasing rap music of all types of genres. Some examples of names that started on this platform are Travis Scott, XXXTentacion, Lil Peep, Lil Pump, Ski Mask the Slump God, Denzel Curry, Bladee, Trippie Redd, Juice WRLD and Playboi Carti. These names are some of the biggest modern rap names heard today with many of them becoming extremely successful today, even I release music on Soundcloud to try and gain some popularity!

To become a SoundCloud rapper you must have many years of experience within some sort of music creation. The reason for this is because, although rapping is looked down on for not being as hard as playing an instrument, you still must have a good sense of rhythm to be able to rap. Not only this but, some experience song writing would assist you in creating songs. In saying this, a lot of rap artists tend to not so much go down the education route and choose experience instead. So although having these qualifications would help you in the rap world, no one seems to have it. Although this is true, rappers have a good sense of rhythm and have a interesting way of complementing there voices with the beats they rap on. Many rappers have different voices and unique beats and sometimes I wonder why they sound different. Genre plays a part in it for sure with many different subgenres, but also artists tend to make the beat with the producer, changing it as they go so it can suite there voice. I think this is a unique skill because you have to know your voice quit well and know what complements it. This is where I want to introduce one of my favourite rappers and one of the current most influential rap artists, Playboi Carti.

Playboi Carti started out as a rapper in 2011 rapping under the name of “Sir Cartier.” He didn’t have much popularity in this era but still released music publicly on SoundCloud. In 2014, Carti turned 18 and moved to New York quickly getting in contact with the famous rapper know as Asap Rockie. In 2016, he officially signed to ASAP Rocky’s AWGE imprint, a joint venture with Interscope records going viral in the underground scene for songs such as “Broke Boi” and “Fetti.” At this point in his career, he felt motivated to take his rap life into the next level. This is proved by a interview with “TimWestwoodTV” when Carti is asked how to stay motivated and noticed, to which he replies “Keep doing you, they always watching, the drip is inside you and its not about what you wear, its about how you hold yourself, how you prove yourself.” Cartis advice was clear and inspiring and you can tell he took his own advice when he dropped his first self titled album, Playboi Carti by Playboi Carti. Self titled was revolutionary for Carti really bringing the SoundCloud rap sound into reality in the form of a album. Hits like “Magnolia” are still listened to and admired today as one of his best songs reaching extreme hights in the rap charts. This album included other SouondCloud artists featuring such as “Lil Uzi Vert” and “Asap Rockie.”

His sound after this album slightly evolved with a new album released a year after his self titled album came out. This album was called “Die Lit” and featured similar sounding songs, however, there were a few songs that dabbled into the more aggressive side of things such as “Pull Up” and “RIP.” Carti didn’t know it yet, but these songs would be one of his starting points to evolving his sound and achieving extreme success. These songs especially “RIP” would influence many artists along side with “Trippie Red” with tracks like “Miss the rage” and “Lil uzi Vert” with songs like “XO Tour life.” These songs included heavy 808s and punchy kicks and aggressive synth sounds mixed in with loud shouty lyrics that are often repetitive and catchy. Apart from that, not much changed in this album. Carti stayed motivated through his love for music and his constant drive to work and improve his skills as a rapper. Now days, Carti spends a lot of his time looking after his relatively new record label called “Opium” which I will get to later, expressing himself in fashion, and spending time in the studio coming up with new ideas and beats with producers. A bit turning point for Carti was also when he decided to completely change his aesthetic by dressing in different clothes creating a more mysterious character for himself. He started talking to the likes of “Burberry Erry” after his album “Whole lotta red” came out. Erry is a influential fashion personal who came up from the skating industry. Errys style consists of a heavy punk like aesthetic with lots of dark gothic like clothing including makeup like eyeliner. I guess Carti wanted to include this style within his branding because after he met Erry, his whole image changed to a more threatening and mysterious character, known as his “Vampire aesthetic.” This was a massive marketing bonus for him as his image then became “cool” and people started to wonder why he had done this, everyone wanted to look into the now mysterious Playboi Carti. Fans started to even dress like him and ware makeup to look like him. (Including me.) I also want to talk about a interesting take on a rappers life style i saw in a interview with rapper “TY Dolla $ign”. Dolla has worked the likes of “Ye” previously known and “Kanye West” and is well knows and a big name in the hip-hop rap industry. Dolla made a really interesting point, which contrasts my previous point. He stated ” The worst part about rappers if they fell like they actually have to live as the character that they paint in songs.” I guess what he’s trying to say is that some people take the image they make in their career so seriously that they feel like they have to live that life to keep a positive public view of professional image to stay relevant or to stay popular.

Another big change for Cartis was with the release of his “Baby Voice,” in his album “Whole lotta red.” Whole lotta red was released Christmas day 2020 and every Carti was was HYPED. This album was absolutely massive for Carti, pushing more of his rage sound to the next level and really popularising it with songs like “Stop breathing” “On that time” “Punk monk” “Rockstar made” and “New tank” being some of the most popular songs on the album. Carti had really changed in this album, using his new baby voice to create repetitive hook lines and create a brand new sound that no one seemed to have done before. This new voice can be heard in songs such as “Teen X.” Cartis constant proof that he could change and create new sounds is what blew his new album up. Songs such as “Vamp anthem” take inspiration and directly sample Johann Sebastian Bachs “The Toccata” all the way from the Baroque period. This can be heard right at the start of the song in the first 4 seconds of the song. Usually, there would be issues with samples where you would needs to get either permission or the rights to use a certain piece of music owned by 1 or sometimes more people, however, the copyright laws state that if a piece of music is 70 or more years old then it can be used. “Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.” Another example of music that uses copyrighted samples, is Travis Scotts “Days before Rodeo.”Something interesting about this album is that it wasn’t officially released for about 10 years due to it being a mixtape released on SoundCloud, but also because it had many sample clearing issues on a few songs that had to be sorted before its official release.

In the business side of things, like every music profession, there are many other legality issues and money issues that come with being a rapper. Sometimes, a record label can take advantage of you giving you a unfair split, taking most of the money your music takes and giving you a small part of it. An example of this happening is with “Frank Ocean.” Def Jam Recordings took a huge advantage over Ocean which eventually caused him to make his first album called “Channel Orange.” After this last album, he escaped his record label and went on to make millions in his later years making music. Rappers these days must take time to find a label that suites not only there style, but how they work and how much effort they are willing to put into their work. Another complicated part of the music industry is Taxes. Taxes are complicated for musicians because income can vary over a long period of time with some years income being massive due to a new drop of other marketing tactics, or it can be low because of streams or something else. Many artists register as a “Sole proprietor” which easily allows them to keep track of personal spends and business spends. Doing this combined with setting aside a set amount of money per income allows rappers to always have tax money ready to be paid. Artists also collect money through the PRS and PPL system. PRS and PPL are apart of the same company that helps artists with many things such as; collecting royalties when their music is played in public spaces, on TV or on any source of media, performed live and streamed. If a rapper registered with PRS, they would register their song and earn royalties from it, however in most cases a rap songs beat is made by a different person, aka the producer. The usual split between Rapper and Producer is 50% – 50%. This is in terms of royalties but sometimes a rapper will pay a producer a one time payment for a beat meaning they will earn more money from royalties over all in the long run.

Overall, I feel like I have conclusively argued the point of what it takes to be a rapper and how the evolution of Soundcloud rap has developed with both positive and negative aspects from what’s good, and what’s bad. The main parts of being a rapper in the modern day industry have changed drastically over the past years with modern sounds, beats and new genres popping up everywhere. From image to the financial side of things to even the lifestyle of the profession, I feel like I have covered it all and argued my points. Overall I think the industry will keep changing, both in the general music and rap industry, but also on SoundCloud and how the sound will continue to develop. New music will be created which means artists will have to continue to make new music and putting themselves out there on platforms such as SoundCloud. This ultimately means that there will always be a new sound and that this cycle of new music will continue in a endless loop!

Thanks for reading my essay!

Soundcloud history – https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-raps-soundcloud-generation-changed-the-music-business-forever/

Carti interview – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP4C_6gO-68

Burberry Erry – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCV8-iKgF6A

Bach – https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/ten-pieces/articles/znvn7nb

TY Dolla $ign interview – https://www.instagram.com/p/DS5vjXqkp8R/