It’s hard to believe that a figure as polarizing and imposing as Tekashi 6IX9INE has only been on the radar for five months. Since his arrival, the New York emcee has made headlines from his rapid ascent on the charts with just the first handful of songs in his catalog to his controversial run-ins with the law that left him with a guilty plea on sex crimes involving a minor.
He’s already counted some of the industry’s forerunners as enemies and allies as he’s traded words with the likes of The Game and YG while finding support in names like 50 Cent. His Day69 debut project was only further testament of the young rapper’s rising influence as he recruited Tory Lanez, Offset, Fetty Wap, A Boogie wit Da Hoodie, and Young Thug as guest voices.
Most recently, 6IX9INE took to social media to celebrate his newfound success, addressing the naysayers who were quick to write him off at the inception of his career.
“Remember when I came out five months ago, and I came out with “GUMMO” and everybody was just like, ‘Yo, it’s just a beat, it’s just a beat. He got lucky. One hit wonder,’” he began in a video uploaded to Instagram. “Then I came out with “KOODA” and everybody was just like ‘yeah he just got lucky…it’s just a phase.’ Then “KEKE” came out and all you heard was [silence] What are you going to say? “BILLY” comes out—another Billboard hit “RONDO” doesn’t even come out. It just releases with the tape—another Billboard hit.”
All four tracks mentioned are featured on Tekashi’s Day69 mixtape, which enjoyed a comfortable peak position at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 album charts. “GUMMO” was the cut to set everything in motion, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 song charts following its November 2017 release, and being certified Platinum at the top of last month. “Two platinum records, three gold records, five months [since] making my debut in the industry. Yet, people be like ‘nobody knows you,’.”
Currently, the RIAA lists only two of Tekashi’s records has being certified with “KOODA” falling in line with a Gold plaque.