Social media has vastly changed the landscape for artists (and fans) on every level.
Whether you’re an OG who remembers the days of the pre-internet hustle or are still in your teenage years getting your bars up, social media has essentially become one important pillar in hip-hop and participating is vital in maintaining one’s career in music. With artists having the ability to interact with fans by simply taking 15 seconds to type something out on a smart phone and hit send also comes the responsibility to use such easily-accessed mediums wisely and responsibly. All it takes, in this unforgiving era of RTs and screenshots, is one poorly worded or ill-received tweet or Instagram comment to hurl an artist into the middle of an actual PR nightmare.
While French Montana recently found himself in the hot seat, with fans setting his mentions on fire reacting to an insensitive and offensive comment he made in response to a female fan, he’s hardly alone in the category of rappers learning the hard way about some of the cons that come with being a public figure in the rap game in the year 2017.
As a handful of rappers will tell you firsthand, sometimes the block button is your best friend (a la Remy Ma), whereas other times, not everything warrants a response (such as with T.I. once simply stating, “Bye Felicia”). However, sometimes you just have to hit record on a selfie video to say how you really feel (a response Soulja Boy is all too familiar with) or go off on a fan in the comments section and pen a ruthless novel in defense (a move Chris Brown or The Game commonly make). Regardless of whether you ignore the comments section entirely or further add fuel to the fire by getting involved, artists of today would be wise to remember that the Internet doesn’t sleep and is always watching.
XXL takes a look at 21 rappers who have been sharpening their social media swords and perfecting their clap back game on social media here.