The Mysterious Rapper Epidemic

[@kyngqyou444]

Mf Doom was so mysterious nobody knew he even died til a year later, thats wyld

[@thefoxyllama]

A month, right?

[@Athlete_Steve]

Nobody mentions him but Bones was one of the first "mysterious" guys. He also helped start the whole "vhs aesthetic" in rap

[@k8racer]

Facts

[@rahmafadhil3453]

finally someone respect the one of underground legend

[@noahexum1641]

Dude bones is one of the most underrated goats

[@fatefatefate]

Nah it was Lil UgllyMane. He predates Bones doing that thing. Literally nobody even knew what he looked like when dropped Mista Thug Isolation

[@leaks2.073]

he was mysterious but in that good way. Similar to people like MF Doom or something. not in this pseudo way.

[@travislol]

X was mysterious asf until he went on revenge tour. From the underground right up until look at me dropped he was basically doing what carti is doing now.

[@XNTARES]

x stayed mysterious though, and he was unpredictable , no one ever knew what was gonna happen next

[@wicah9587]

Whats goated about jah is i don’t think he was trying to be.his influence goes underlooked an his aura was crazy

[@dwagserts4etfes]

​@@wicah9587 he was i cant remember when but he said so on ig and in interviews he would try and hide his age but after the lawsuit he started to stop being purposefully mysterious to show his positive influence

[@domikatz]

no he wasnt he was on twitter tweeting his ass off and on vine msging people

[@wicah9587]

@@domikatz yk u can be on social media and still be mysterious 😭

[@understanding77]

Even in 2015 when I first found out about carti he was pretty mysterious, although he gained a lot of new fans who annoy me, I can’t deny his talent and I enjoy his music. It’s crazy, going to a carti concert in 2015 and seeing the fanbase there compared to today is wild to me

[@myronn6396]

uzi was mysterious too when he started out

[@InLoveWithTheSwag]

shut up, weren’t you just meat riding mario judah in this guys comments calling carti fans cornballs💀

[@leaks2.073]

​@@myronn6396but not that over the top like carti

[@leaks2.073]

I miss the old Carti fans. Opium is the greatest crime that has ever happened in pop culture music. I say that as a Carti fan.

[@robyngotdatdawg]

lmfaooo there is no way yall take the opium shi serious let alone hate the fans like evb is being serious most ppl are conry on purpose and trolling and u fall for it i cant say the same ab kpop and tayor swift fans they are truly terrifying and annoyingg @@leaks2.073

[@loveizaeah]

Lol that the whole point of being a Artist. You speak through your work 💯

[@Bobbalam]

I agree, I was more saying you have to ease into it as you grow or you’ll fall off

[@skive3K]

Being mysterious is keeping people on edge while adding witty confusion , people like what they don’t understand

[@bobbymckeel1034]

“Rappers are mysterious” Drake on live “ANITA MAX WYNN😩”

[@Smkbig]

I like how The Weeknd started his career without much personal information, and later did “magazine” interviews allowing fans to get more familiar with his true self without have to do media runs which I am sure is annoying

[@misftxx]

The mysterious rapper epidemic came with the start of music tbh , micheal Jackson WASNT popping out like that , niethrr was prince, the more you give yourself to the audience the less respect/craving they have for some reason it like makes you human to the mass instead of this icon , if carti , uzi , ski mask , trippie , yeat etc tweeted there every move y’all wouldn’t care , that’s y when you saw mj ppl cried and passsed out , he was rare sighting

[@Bobbalam]

I agree. But social media gave artists access to posting a lot so

[@sarcofaygo6218]

MJ was literally everywhere haha.

[@tenseipr203]

It’s not dat MJ remained mysterious it’s dat he was born in a time where social media wasn’t a thing, he couldn’t just post and da whole world see it. People only knew him from whatever poster or cover art they had so when they finally saw him it’s feels unreal.

[@Mak0154]

MJ was a poster child in the 70s for the Jackson 5 and Prince was dropping multiple albums EVERY year. They were VERY relevant in the media especially Prince in the 90s with the Slave thing and changing his name.

[@myronn6396]

ppl been done it on other genres than just rappers

[@goonjar34]

10:10 the glazing is crazy😭😭😭

[@Chris1200923]

insane dicksuck i agree lmfao

[@mandemalte]

But is he wrong tho?

[@pxnklean8637]

Since Frank isn’t a rapper, mystery works in rnb like how Sza didn’t drop for 7 years and then dropped SOS and now she’s everywhere again

[@elcanasgarov3187]

actually the mask of MF DOOM is heavily inspired by the movie Gladiator

[@caesar5128]

Thank u heistein

[@elcanasgarov3187]

go make some afro type beats for yo 20 subs @@caesar5128

[@MRreloaded_]

Editing in this is fireee

[@flaka3325]

I think it’s good that artists take a step back from social media and you kinda have to put the image or the perception of a person together for yourself. These days are so oversaturated with social media, influencers and media bullshit. The 2013/2014 instagram times were golden, when there was genuine interaction from a artist and a lot of personal insight. These days theres a fucking social media strategy behind every little thing and it gets annoying real quick. Don't get me wrong, the fake mysteriousness can be annoying too, especially if it does not really fit the artist, but in general it would be cool to see the music industry or artists taking a step back from social media and not overflowing everything to the point it gets too much. Its a thin line tho

[@mentalexwar]

Best comment

[@YungLucy]

Besttt comment

[@100K-Pollo]

When your music is meaningless you have rely on gimmicks to get by 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@1az3r91]

Or maybe you can use your head and realize that the market is insanely oversaturated and you need to have aspects of your music and persona that stand out among the drab of boring clones. Clearly these artists stand out because they push a certain aesthetic towards a certain group of people. You might think it’s meaningless but it’s actually genius marketing.

[@moneyyjamal]

Metro boomin exposed drake inna perfect way drake aint got shit to be mysterious bout 😂

[@forty48eighth]

It’s not that their “ mysterious “ it’s just they are regular people that make music. Social media is toxic

[@dankbabayyyy]

as much as i fw with carti and opium, the glazing is at max sha boing boing

[@myronn6396]

glad bob spoke about mf doom

[@channessleroux5427]

that thumbnail is fire😍

[@Bobbalam]

Yeah my guy went off

[@yakyakyakperfect]

That mysterious stuff used to work a few years ago. It doesn’t work today as much

[@Lame_Liam]

Ngl it’s a good thing cause the artists are giving the power to the people to become the headlines and not the major media reporters

[@stalkmoonwowweee7196]

YOU MISSED OUT ON HOW “THE WEEKND” WAS MYSTERIOUS WHEN HE FIRST CAME OUT WITH HOUSE OF BALLOONS BEFORE FRANK OCEAN & CARTI COME ON MAN DO YOUR HOMEWORK

[@coldramentpm1013]

this is a brilliant analysis bruh

[@moxictasculinity]

13:30 “But as in most things in life the grass is always greener on the other side “. Bro what ?😂😂😂

[@Will-bn9km]

It works for Kendrick and Frank because they lay it all out there in the music, Carti and em is cool but it’s a fad you can’t be this way forever

[@leaks2.073]

Fr

[@yungfern0]

Bob you need to give your editor a raise

[@Bobbalam]

He did 😂

[@evo5462]

@@BobbalamW

[@basedcommentor]

Shoutout to Daft Punk, the most early, relevant, modern example of mysterious artists.

[@leaks2.073]

But they make it cool, not like carti

[@ajhydro420]

You edit this video? It's fire 💯💯♨️

[@jaunisimo]

amazing content bob

[@Bobbalam]

Preciate you

[@justinbenji]

frank been mysterious for the longest idc

[@kidsavant3246]

One of ur best vids of this type yet

[@playboicartissock2340]

Anyone can get Rick it doesn’t sell out it’s just expensive

[@drugstocope]

Congrats! I love the video Fam!

[@thabo3866]

Rip MF DOOM

[@newchillzone224]

Do you listen to his alter egos?

[@thabo3866]

Yup! King Geedorah, Viktor Vaughn etc@@newchillzone224

[@xxadist]

you went hard asf with the editing on this one bob🔥🔥

[@importals]

lil b the based god

[@edusideral8072]

rocky promoting testing was the same as wlr

[@tbj4855]

Rocky don’t get his credit either smh he’s kind of mysterious too even in his prime he wasn’t active in social media nor music

[@myronn6396]

@@tbj4855facts he barely even dropped since 5 years ago

[@darkskinwhite]

i think its actually social media, constant attention seeking, & overly fast paced everything that is plaguing not just the music industry but the world.

[@certified1075]

An honorable mention, is definitely Tyler the creator, each new album he drops he hints at in whatever award he wins, in like his shirts, briefcases will have the next album name, and don’t forget during the highly awaited wolf project was very anticipated after bastard, and when goblin dropped instead, no one knew if it was coming out still or not, and the whole wolf trilogy theory of the first three Tyler albums is all very mysterious lol

[@phantom_mserafi]

Don’t really see how you can say that since he seems to just be a pick me guy.

[@Christian-eq6pq]

@@phantom_mserafihow?

[@nickdashfwm]

IG & TikTok don’t pay us to post

[@duomaxwell90]

This might just be me but maybe them being mysterious is not that maybe they just don't want people in their personal life.

[@hahaaxd4041]

I think having a rockstar persona and being mysterious while also dropping music is cool, but I don't think it should be an excuse for lazyness. You can't really justify the amount of hype around an artist for being mysterious if they're only dropping one track after 4 years of abstinence.

[@ayyProd]

Great video and u gotta get hip to Yung kayo he apart of ysl and has had features with uzi and yeat and is insanely slept on

[@feezus5172]

You nailed it

[@driverdotwav]

Mysterious is good, why I like some of the artists on here in the first place

[@JaredSilva_]

mentioning DOOM in this video is so important.

[@Lorgsgnarly]

tbh if i was famous i think i would be "mysterious" too fame fucking sucks in the grand scheme of things

[@realtruth1448]

Being mysterious doesn’t take away from someone recognizing you in public

[@XLetsDoWork]

yeah I was super interested in what kinda music SoFaygo would eventually drop after that major Trippie Redd song he featured in, but everytime I would search his name up it would only be more features on other artist's music and I just wanted to explore Faygo's solo stuff, its astonishing he waited 2 years to drop, that is not acceptable

[@ogamiitto8056]

6:03 Ye been leakin way before that. I had late registration a good 2 months before it officially dropped

[@malleomusic]

You should make more videos like this bob

[@kuhyugaa]

This video fire 🔥

[@YungLucy]

Back in the day all artist were like dat, no one knew anything bout the members of Led Zepellin and there where a lot of ''legends'' bout the artist bc of that, today u know everything bc of social media and in my humble opinion that sucksssss

[@MaximilianRivera]

The Weeknd when he first dropped his first 3 mixtapes I couldn't find a selfie or what the man looked like anywhere online.

[@oz90210]

ofc bob uses rick as an example 😂😂😂

[@Bobbalam]

💀

[@MersadieOlit0n]

i hate these type of rappers i cant name one playboi caty song but everyone cant shut up about him

[@strvtosmusic]

You can’t name it but you probably hear it everywhere but have no clue it’s carti.

[@seangande9186]

i dont think its really a problem i think from the 2016 to around 2019 rappers were always doing a lot of clout chasing online to quickly gain a following for example 6ix9ine and lil pump just to name a few. but what we saw from these rappers is that they can easily crash out and their career quickly dies. And what i think is happening is rappers are taking more time to actually live life and work on music rather than doing unnecessary clout chasing. And it seems to be working, look at some of the best artists we have today carti, tyler, kanye just to name a few they can take almost 2 years to put out a body of work and the fans are rarely disappointed. although i do think some rappers force the act but who really cares. edit: look at the rapper who were doing a lot of '"clout chasing" a few years back and how their fans react and treat their music right now. the biggest examples being lil uzi vert and trippie redd

[@10cevx]

Greatfuckinvideo bobbin u too as well you are implementing the blueprint KZbinrs alike have took. taken . To reach a new audience and level up . Keepitup thiz content fi

[@PRIDEATH]

I just want to say as someone who is heavily into fashion Rick is not exclusive just expensive. Easily get my hands on whatever pieces (non custom of course).

[@coletannerxy]

Sofaygo wasn't trying to be mysterious he couldn't drop coz of the astrofest tragedy don toliver was lucky to drop before it happened

[@407z]

I’m tryna be Carti not Mike

[@treyy5464]

yall keep yall eyes on hardrock. went to middle school and highschool with him bro has real potential.

[@5600block]

I like the mysterious persona. Its like Radiohead and other artist like that. But yeah gotta have tact to it

[@thatguy1488]

the weeknd pioneered the shit in pop music. tbh nobody even exists in the wave besides him. be he got way to big so even tho there is still a mistique it’s hard to say he’s mysterious at this point. being that he’s consistently a top 3 biggest artist in the world in every category every year for more than 7 years straight. hip hop is the only genre that can have this amount of them while being almost or low end mainstream because of how niche driven hip can be and how big certain niches start to trend. hence carti, doom, asap rocky until he was with riri ofc. frank ocean is another outlier like the weeknd although he’s not really as pop as the weeknd grew to be but he was more pop than the weeknd when the weeknd was THE mysterious artist during trilogy to beauty behind the madness eras. frank is like r&b indie pop. dude is really one of one

[@mood1676]

Being mysterious works because most of the mysterious artists craft art and spend time on projects and care about how it comes out. Look at their whole discography and if there are No misses, then they are probably “mysterious “ as well

[@BlackMetal2Fan]

genuinely who cares i don’t wanna know these mfs

[@phantom_mserafi]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@SixOhFive]

@@phantom_mserafi🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴

[@jaquanjackson3565]

How you not gunna mention The Weeknd 🤯😒🤨

[@WhineSlow]

Frank in his own lane idk why he on here 😭🙏🏽

[@BucketGoggles]

15:26 he knew what he was doing when he mentioned this lmao

[@bane8305]

either you complain artists flood or wash out genres by releasing too much and then get mad when artists sit and actually build they craft on they own time thats the whole pro of being independent you don't have a label giving you due dates you just release when you want ...

[@bushysowavvey]

I would rapper someone be mysterious and stay off social media as much as possible than be annoying asf like Trippie Redd or Doja Cat.

[@k2x680]

20:04 beat drop was tuff ngl

[@nikolajovanovic8203]

As an upcoming artist, I often find myself second guessing whether one or another approach to branding myself is better. Keeping a lowkey profile and dropping a full album that capped at ~1k views per song leads me to believe that my minimalistic approach to social media isn't sustainable, so Im currently trying to find a balance between being present on ig and tik tok so that I give my music a chance to be found out, but also not going overboard with it and being too available. As music listeners, what do you guys love seeing on ig/tik tok from artists and what do you despise? I need some insight into the way a non-musician views artists and builds a first impression about them?

[@DrVega_Punk]

I ain't reading all that!!!

[@ghostedafcp8305]

Who tf are you

[@rubinprince100]

The whole mf doom part sounded like an mf doom song lmao

[@tebohomotsoeneng2509]

These are real people with actual lives. No one is acting mysterious. Also, social media isn't for everybody.

[@h3llboyyy407]

Yeat is mysterious in his the fact that he wears a skimask all the time

[@Shoeking509]

Travis Scott shelved Faygo….definitely wasn’t trying to go mia

[@larrytrum8388]

What's the background song during the Faygo part?

[@KeysPrimed]

Let's go

[@abdirahmanduale8030]

Day 1058 of bobbalam glazing carti and yeat 😂😂😂 but I respect his undying love and loyalty for them lowkey 💪💪💪🔥🔥🔥

[@DistrictWitch]

a lot of it comes from the UK scene tbh, America adopted it

[@harambe3363]

i feel like the thing is this mysterious thing WAS the norm before social media. Back then all you got was the music and you'd hope to get some good info on an artist in the paper, magazine, or radio. Take for example SADE. IMO the social media thing is getting played out with the more artists coming out. I can't care about 50 mfing lives. 10 mfers going live. All i can really put time into is MY LIFE str8 up and simply the music. Like wit carti iggy be tryna bring mans down but in reality who gaf. We hear for the music. Don't get me wrong i wish the best in general for his kids her kids they lives in general but shi all that life shit not my life so how and why would i care.

[@f8ith6]

bro 😭

[@Spurgte]

15:44 lmfao

[@SOL1DSNAKE420]

W video

[@ya_boielijah6983]

The holocaust instrumental🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@SilentHill743]

I want playboy carti I want to talk like a child

[@Bbrioo]

Yuh

[@MrMartellSincere]

I love mysteries myself 😄

[@JayTheGam3r]

Honestly tired of the vampire l/devil era of music now Even the sound cloud era wasn’t full of it like this

[@threegreezy]

Y'all calling these rappers mysterious cause they make they music an stay out the way.. Which is how music should be... Blueface gets talked about for his drama meanwhile playboi carti goes viral every song cause he's not doing interviews and arguing on the net

[@kuhyugaa]

8:00 uzi was hating on carti while he was talking, that’s when carti was like ight see what happens in the future

[@100K-Pollo]

Carti is only on bc of Uzi 🤣 Uzi was already as big as Durk when he decided to work with a no name artist carti 🤷🏽‍♂️😂on top of that carti will never sell what Uzi has ever album Uzi released is platinum Carti is 1/3 😂

[@Chris1200923]

@@100K-Pollothis what niggas dont wanna hear but its true

[@shn3340]

The fashion analogy is so terrible

[@samdasamoza]

Is the voice AI?

[@aka-woody]

glazing on carti lmao

[@rameshdevasi6720]

you know who is the most mysterious rapper? its Anita Max Wynn

[@chironinconcrete]

If you look at Apple vs. Samsung you would say Apple is more mysterious. It just comes from having a high value product, but communicating it as simple as possible. Every rapper you named is minimalistic at core like look at Frank's album artworks, Kanye's Yeezy line or Cartis Vamp Theme. They're all easy to understand on the surface, but hold a certain complexity which has to be explored by the viewer. so yeah minimalism=mystery. literally gave you the key to interesting art lol.

[@banwomusic911]

Uzi used to be on Carti ass 🤣🤣(Pause ofcorse)

[@soyuzinstrumentales7605]

If fans know already, they listen because its good, this is why tyler>carti and his clones

[@esavbby4553]

Bro ur not reselling Rick tf😭😭😭