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Keep Your Rap Lyrics & Flow Fresh

September 4, 2024

Whether it’s bragging about your strength, future fame, or taking on rivals, it can feel repetitive and uninspiring after a while. So, what do you do when you’re tired of writing the same thing...

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How to Start a Band and Get Your First Gig: Lessons from Music Legends

September 3, 2024

Starting a band and getting your first gig can feel like a daunting task, especially when you’re juggling a full-time job and a passion for music. But don’t worry—many famous musicians have been in...

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Find Music Creators Who Share Your Genre Interests: Navigating Online Music Communities

September 3, 2024

If you’ve been searching for musicians who share your passion for breakcore, drum and bass, jungle, or other less mainstream genres on platforms like BandLab, it can be frustrating to feel like...

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Find the Right Manager for Your Music Career—Even If You're Just Starting Out

September 3, 2024

The idea of hiring a traditional manager might seem premature, but finding someone who can handle your online presence and help you network could be exactly what you need to take your career...

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How to Be a Successful Songwriter When You Can’t Play an Instrument

August 26, 2024

If you’re a songwriter who can sing but can’t play an instrument, you may feel like you’ve hit a roadblock in your creative journey. You have the ideas in your head, but you’re unsure how to turn...

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What Is the Point of Mastering If the Mix Is Good? A Guide to Understanding Mastering's Role

August 26, 2024

For many newer producers, it can be confusing to understand the importance of mastering, especially when your mix feels polished and balanced. However, mastering is an essential step in the...

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Write a Vocal Melody That Stands Out: Tips for Phrasing and Dynamics

August 25, 2024

If you’ve been writing music for a decade but are just starting to dive into vocal melodies, you’re not alone in facing challenges with phrasing and creating vocal dynamics that don’t feel repetitive.

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Add FX and Ear Candy to Your Tracks: Tips for Taking Your Sketch to the Next Level

August 23, 2024

Adding FX and ear candy can feel like a daunting task, especially when you start to overthink the process. However, these little details are often what bring a track to life, adding depth, excitement.

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Recreate a Vocal Stutter Effect Like Skrillex: A Step-by-Step Guide

August 21, 2024

If you’ve just stepped into the world of music production, vocal stutters can be a fun and impactful technique to add excitement and energy to your tracks. You’ve heard that fast vocal stutter at...

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Get a Great Sounding Synth: The Deadmau5 Approach

August 21, 2024

If you’ve been experimenting with synthesizers, you know the quest for a perfect synth sound can be a challenging but rewarding process. Whether you’re looking for something clean yet huge, or...

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Make Music Again: Overcoming Creative Burnout Like Pharrell Williams

August 21, 2024

Hey there, fellow music creators! Whether you’re balancing a day job, DJ gigs, and music production, or just feeling creatively stuck, you’re not alone. Many of us hit a wall at some point, where...

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Master Your Craft as a Beatmaker: The J Dilla Way

August 21, 2024

In this article, we’ll explore the most efficient ways to master your creative process as a beatmaker, and how you can learn from one of the most respected producers in the game: J Dilla.

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Gunna’s Comeback to the Music Industry Despite Controversy

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Gunna, a mainstream rapper, just released a new album containing a #1 “Billboard Hot 100” hit song called “fukumean” despite the current controversy around his name. Gunna was arrested back in May of 2022 on one count of racketeering, therefore, facing 5 years in prison. He was released later that year after taking the Alford Plea, which allowed him to maintain his innocence while agreeing to the fact that he could still be found guilty during a trial. Leaked footage of Gunna in the courtroom allegedly “snitching” confirming to the judges that the company “YSL”, the label he was signed under at this time, was involved in illegal gang activities. This led the music industry to believe that Gunna is a snitch who had betrayed his own label company and its owner, a fellow rapper, Young Thug. He was instantly labeled as a snitch globally, causing many big rappers and producers to fully cut ties with Gunna. 

As a result, Gunna took a break from creating music for a few months, returning to the industry by dropping an album on June 16th, 2023 titled “ A Gift and a Curse”. This was a 15-song project expressing how all his associates turned their back on him and how he did not know who to trust anymore. 

With reference to this court case, multiple of Young Thug’s songs such as “Anybody”, “Take it To Trial”, “Ski (feat. Gunna)” and “Slatty” were used against him as evidence. As an example, in his song “Slatty” he states “I killed his man in front of his momma, like f*** lil’ bruh, sister and cousin, I shoot out, kill em’ not leaving a trace”. These lyrics were used to help link Young Thug and YSL to a murder case.

HipHopDX article about the lyrics used against Gunna:

Even though Gunna saw these lyrics being used against YSL, he continues to rap about the gang culture and the type of activities they participate in. Often, rappers use such lyrics to display a certain image to the world, whether they actually represent it or not. These peculiar lyrics attract listeners as they are extremely catchy and easy to sing along to. They also engage the listener into feeling like they are living these lyrics, even though their true lifestyle is far removed from it.

Despite Gunna’s experience, one of Gunna’s songs on the album titled “fukumean” is now the #1 song on the “Billboard Hot 100”. This song was streamed a total of 65 million times on Spotify only one month after its release.