The Internet, especially with the proliferation of social media, has changed the music industry in a drastic way. Artists can act as their own A&Rs, and though its common for one's management to seize control of his or her Twitter account, there's much less of a middleman between the brand an artist seeks to project and the one that fans receive.
The increased access to new fans and markets doesn't always guarantee success, though. Many rappers are -- for lack of a better word -- thirsty when it comes to self-promotion, leading fans to think he or she might be overcompensating for potential artistic weaknesses. It can also be off-putting to see an artist whose online behavior is much the same as anyone else on the timeline. When it comes to our favorite artists, we like it when every word they utter neatly fits into an ingenious persona, one that's often imagined.
For these reasons, many young artists have been taking an opposite route. Instead of trying to market every aspect of themselves, they surround their artistic aliases with total anonymity. When nothing is known of an alluring figure, each piece of new music allows fans to build their own narratives -- and the audience-driven speculation can serve to boost the excitement around a particularly mysterious artist. Cause who doesn't love a good mystery?
This strategy has long been in use within electronic music, especially due to the absence of song lyrics from much of the genre. When a face is removed from a song, there's more focus on the pure feeling of the music -- which is the goal in the first place. The trend has now seeped into the worlds of rap and R&B, especially the latter, as the genre is often more about mood-setting than first-person storytelling.
We've seen it recently with artists like THEY. -- just look at the name -- as well as dvsn, the latest act to sign to OVO, as reported yesterday. All that's known of dvsn is there's a vocalist and a producer, who could be one in the same. Nineteen85, who produced "The Line," the track that first earned dvsn recognition, could be one of the members, the only member, or not a member at all. Whatever the makeup of dvsn, it's likely that Drake will leave the mystery up to dedicated forum diggers for at least the next few months, as he's done with other artists on his roster at OVO.
While the trend is far from over -- perhaps nearing exhaustion, even -- here are 5 prominent hip-hop/R&B artists who used anonymity to help achieve sizable followings.
In the past two weeks, The Weeknd has performed at both the Grammys and the Academy Awards. His last album, Beauty Behind the Madness, contained two No. 1 singles and one more that's currently on its way to the top 10. It's hard to believe that, about four years ago, he had already achieved mainstream recognition when few knew his face or his story.
In 2011, the then-unknown artist released three mixtapes, each receiving widespread acclaim and steadily fueling a buzz that made him seem like one of the hottest prospects to ever come out of Canada. The only side of his persona he shed any light on was the dark one: we saw a sex-crazed, drug-abusing late-night marauder, whose songs were fueled by an encompassing sense of pain.
In contrast with all the hurt was a voice of stunning purity, akin to Michael Jackson -- the comparison came ready-made on his third mixtape, Echoes of Silence, with a sinister cover of "Dirty Diana." Fans desperately wanted to know how such a talent could be riddled with such darkness, and even as he's achieved the type of success no one could've imagined, the mystery surrounding the "Beauty Behind the Madness" is still alive, suggesting his stardom has only just begun.
Remember when Odd Future took over the world? Their macabre humor and raucous live shows felt like something unprecedented in rap. The fearless and charismatic Tyler, the Creator was the leader, but the next member to garner the most fanfare was one of whom no one knew the true identity: Earl Sweatshirt.
To be fair, Earl didn't deliberately use anonymity to his advantage. He was sent to a remote reform school in Samoa for almost two years, only to be uncovered by a couple of particularly resourceful Complex writers. Upon discovering Earl's whereabouts, fans imagined a delinquent whose artful expression was being restrained by his mother. Earl has since, angrily -- and through his music, revealed that not to be the case whatsoever, but regardless, all the conspiracies led a reformed Earl to return home to a record deal and a fanbase of millions.
As mentioned, none of this was strategic on Earl’s part, though it can be argued that the mystery worked on his behalf, as he remains one of the most successful artists to emerge out of the Odd Future camp.
Post Malone
Upon dropping his loose, melodic trap-n-b hybrid, produced by Atlanta duo FKi, all that was known about Post Malone was the color of the skin. Indeed, the image of a "White Iverson" seemed a lot cooler before Post, upon being discovered, had to actually explain himself.
The song achieved 1,000,000 plays in its first month on soundcloud. Post has released a few near-hits since, and his talents have been enlisted by 50 Cent and Kanye West. He's been tested by Charlamagne and the Black Lives Matter movement to see if he lives up to the title of his hit single -- not exactly, but he seems likable enough to make a dent in the industry with his debut album on Republic Records, which is set to arrive this month. Come to think of it, whenever the album does drop, he'll still be riding off the hotness of "White Iverson."
Bryson Tiller
In October 2014, Bryson Tiller, hailing from the oft-ignored town of Louisville, Kentucky, uploaded "Don't" to his soundcloud from almost total obscurity. In the months that followed, he watched as the track garnered millions upon millions of plays, including a couple from Drake, who flew Tiller up to the 6 and offered him a deal with OVO.
The next year, as Tiller continued to crack six-digit soundcloud streams with each of his ensuing drops, all that was known of the guy was that he specialized in a sound branded as "Trapsoul" and that he had the balls to turn down a record deal from Drake.
He released his debut album, named after his signature sound, on RCA in October 2015, and since, with little radio play or promo, the album has, as of earlier this month, moved almost 180,000 copies. And "Don't" -- the track he released almost a year and half ago -- is still on soundcloud, but it's also on Billboard, as the No. 17 song in the country.
PartyNextDoor
PartyNextDoor's first song was uploaded to soundcloud in April 2013, and it was immediately reposted on a prominent account -- that of Octobers Very Own, who used the track to announce the signing of the then-unknown artist.
PND has followed in the footsteps of his fellow Toronto suburbanite The Weeknd, though he opted for a deal with the city's premier tastemaking label instead of starting his own brand, as Abel did with XO. Of course, Party hasn't achieved nearly the same level of success as The Weeknd, though it's unclear if that's what he wants. It's unclear because very little is known of his persona, except that he enjoys styrofoam cups, trap couture, and lacing dark R&B songs with abstract, off-the-cuff vocals, sang with a hint of Caribbean patois.
While Party’s goals in the industry remain unknown, he's managed a string of solid releases, a few worthy contributions on platinum Drake albums, and he's been able to make serious cash and sustain a healthy buzz amid lengthy hibernation periods. Can't knock that hustle.