Allison, can you explain what internet is?
The internet has been a catalyst for new content creators and is to be considered their direct lifeline for creation and connection with streamers. You can’t live with it, but you can’t live without it. Rap continues to mold to the demand of its listeners and dominates streaming platforms which have preserved and heightened its relevance amongst this generation. With the oversaturation of rappers, there have been formations of new subgenres and sects that generate new variations of sounds and styles. Pioneered by the creation of SoundCloud in 2013, one of these genres is internet rap.
Although he is considered one of the trailblazers of internet rap, Wonder is an artist that cannot be trapped in the confines of one genre. Working with groups like MC Virgins, Wonder and this community have popularized this new meme and internet style of rap. When asking him how he got into music, he stated, “I’ve always been super into music since I was younger and when I was in high school there was this challenge to do a freestyle over a beat or whatever and I just went for it. But then I kept doing them over and over and they were awful… like really bad. But obviously, I just got better and better over time, and I started making real music rather than just doing these freestyles. And with Internet rap… MC Virgins have really cultivated this genre and all of our friends are sort of a part of it.”
For an example of this style, you can stream their song “Internet Rap” which features Wonder. However, his sound goes deeper than what he explores there. On his 2019 album entitled WORLDWIDEWEB, there are undertones of the darkness of the internet and the complications it has brought to our generation.
He stated, “I think our generation is heavily internet-based… like social media is at the center of everything. You grow up on the internet pretty much. And nowadays with music, it’s all through the internet and that’s how you gain popularity. There’s no more handing out mixtapes to people in person and stuff like that. I would say it was inspired by the fact that I grew up with the internet and my music created itself through that means. That was something I wanted to do a whole album about because it’s a huge part of my career I would say. And I think there’s a lot of good that comes out of the internet… and there’s a lot of bad. I just kind of cover everything in the album.”
This sound is most prevalent on his singles like “FANTA” and “B*TCHESWANTME!” which are more fast-paced and high energy.
Now on Spotify, Wonder is making versatile music that comes from his various influences such as Dominic Fike, Chance the Rapper, Childish Gambino and Ski Mask the Slump God. While his songs like “TUMBLR” and “MYSPACE” paint the picture of a generation raised on now irrelevant platforms, they still uphold the vision of entertaining and appealing to those to have a good time, but consuming media with a purpose.
A computer science major based in Arizona, streaming and supporting student artists like Wonder ensure a future for authentic creatives with a simple yet powerful intention of producing consumable music with the subliminal message of the caution to take with modern media.
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