S. Samuel
With key rap stars like Eminem and Kendrick Lamar removed from investing ample time into social media outlets, SOHH recently spoke to rap veteran Yo Gotti for his take toward the online buzz.
After putting in hours of his personal life into a new vlog series, Gotti said having an online presence is a no-brainer for him.
“Social media is important to me because all the vlogs and going viral go hand in hand. It’s a way to bring the fans in personally to see what you are doing, the things you are into, the things you are not into,” Gotti told SOHH. “They’ll see again that I’m just like them and I go through different things every day. Coming from the culture I come from, I feel I was kinda late getting on social media, understanding what it is and how to use it, what it’s used for and how to bring people in. I feel I pretty much get it and understand it now and I’m doing a good job of keeping the people and the fans updated.” (SOHH)
While Eminem admitted he does invest time into Twitter, the mega rap star recently said his focus was not on the social media outlets.
“Honestly, I don’t know because I don’t really, that’s a hard question to answer too because I honestly don’t really pay attention to that part of it,” Em said in an interview when asked how he handles the pressure of today’s social media outlets. “I don’t sit on a computer. I tweet. I get my tweet on. [laughs] Nah. I don’t really follow that stuff, man, I just, you know, I just want to say this: I just rap. And I’m going to keep saying that because that’s all I do. I actually don’t want to keep saying that but that’s all I do. So, to just keep giving the same answer, it’s really all I do. You know what I’m saying? I don’t even shower. I did today because I knew I was doing this interview. [laughs]” (“Rap City”)
Earlier this fall, Young Money’s Drake said the authenticity and realness of Twitter should be examined more closely by users.
“Twitter isn’t real, by the way. There’s no gauge on real life on Twitter,” Drizzy argued. “That’s a terrible medium to exist in. You can enjoy it. You can even indulge in it. Just don’t live your life by that weird code on that Internet program.” (CRWN)
Coincidentally, New York rapper Ja Rule claimed social media would have allowed Murder Inc. to speak out during their rough patches in the early 2000’s last September.
“I’m just happy we back together and we in a good space and we’re having fun,” Rule added. “We’re making music again and being in the studio again and all the other ventures and stuff that’s going on for us, it’s a blessing that we’re still in this business for almost 20 years now. That, for me, is where I’m at and if the fans and the people decide they want to give us another 5, 10 years, I’ll take it. … If there was social media back when all of these things were happening, I think we’d have had a better chance to explain ourselves and talk to our fans and talk to the people and they would have understood what we were going through and maybe it wouldn’t have been as dark a period for us. So social media is a really, really big thing that’s going on right now. It’s really informative, it gets you closer to your fans. … You know what I noticed when I go on social media? They hate everybody. It ain’t just us.” (“The Angie Martinez Show”)
Back in May, West Coast rapper Kendrick Lamar admitted seeing fellow artists fall victim to social networking had him wary of his interest in it.
“That’s why I try my best to stay away from social media as much as possible. [laughs] When you go on your Twitter or look down your Timeline and it’s all great positivity–I love that. But at the same time, it can really divert you from what your purpose is or what you’re trying to do. And I’ve seen artists get caught up in that. I’ve seen some of my friends get caught in that. Whether you’re a small celebrity or a grand celebrity, it really triggers something in your brain, seeing all that stuff . . . So I’m real aware of it.” (Interview Magazine)
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