About Tekashi 69
If you are reading this then chances are you probably are familiar with who the loud and obnoxious Tekashi 69 is. In case you don’t, here’s a brief summary of the 24-year-old Brooklyn rap super-star. Tekashi, 69 or often referred to as 6ix9ine has been the boogeyman of the rap game since he made his first buzz in late 2017 with the hit single “Gummo” which peaked at number 12 on Billboard 100 and in 2018 sold a whopping 2 million copies earning 2x certified platinum on RIAA.
The hype was real and 69 kept dropping more heat with hit singles like “Kooda”, “Keke” and “Gotti”. All which appeared on Billboard 100 and “Kooda”, as well as “Keke”, have both earned RIAA’s gold certificate selling over 500,000 copies.
Tekashi was the talk of the rap game and was easily one of the fastest-growing stars in modern history. Everyone was out to get a piece of 69 as it nearly guaranteed a hit record just by having a feature with the young star. Upon the consistent release of hit singles, Tekashi was preparing to release is a debut album “Dummy Boy”. The lead single for the album was “Fefe” featuring Nicki Minaj, which hit an incredible 8x platinum selling over 8 million copies.
No introduction was needed for the album, and in 2018 Tekashi released the album which peaked at number 3 on Billboard 100 and earned a platinum plaque selling over 1 million copies. 69 was on fire and with his ignorant, cocky behavior it appeared that 69 was invincible and was headed straight to the top. Unfortunately, things did a full 180 for him really fast.
From Hero to Zero
More hit records than one can imagine in such a short amount of time, but it all quickly came down the drain. Legal issues came popping up one after the other, from a sexual assault case which led to a 4-month probation sentence to gun charges and murder conspiracy charges. 69 was on his way to face 47 years to life in prison if all charges were to pass in court. Tekashi came to terms with the judges on a plea deal that would reduce his sentence to 2 years in prison if he was to cooperate with law officials. He testified against 9 of his former gang members who all were charged for a variety of serious offenses.
The oh so tough gangster, the boogeyman of rap was no longer the favorite rapper and was certainly no longer a desirable artist other rappers wanted to work with. His reputation downgraded as fast as his record sales once skyrocketed. Having “snitched” or “ratted” out his former affiliates earned him the name “Ratatouille” in reference to the rat of the 2007 Disney film. Tekashi was granted a 2-year sentence for his cooperation and was let out earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tekashi does have asthma and was considered a high risk to COVID-19 and judges decided he may go home under house arrest to serve the remainder of his sentence.
Earlier in his career, Tekashi would claim the “Treyway Bloods” gang and was constantly seen in videos with other gang members. Now rap doesn’t take snitching to well, especially when an artist is claiming to be the real deal, modern-day John Gotti in Tekashis case. This led to dozens of rappers taking turns making fun, and even threatening Tekashi on social media. Tekashi embraced the hate, and began trolling other rappers who he believes have no right to laugh at him, when he has outsold all of these rappers record sales, combined.
Tekashi has posted numerous posts trolling himself as the rat of the rap game, along with trolling other rappers, some of which have clearly crossed the line. He posted a video of him in Chicago, claiming that he was in the South Side of Chiraq home of rap legends like Chief Keef, Lil Durk, and Lil Reese. In the Instagram video that went viral Tekashi states “Came to Oblock (Chief Keef / Lil Durk’s old neighborhood) to pay my respects to @LilDurk cousin Nuski who was killed by gun violence we need to change as a community #RIP Nuski pre-order the album link in my bio September 4th” while on his knees with flowers in the video playing Lil Durk’s hit record “Dis Aint What You Want”.
This was clearly a troll, and rappers did not take kindly to disrespecting Lil Durk and his cousin Nuski who passed away leading to other rappers getting involved such as Lil Reese who is dropping a 69 diss track in the coming days.
This caused a verbal war and constant exchange of vulgar vocabulary between the Chicago savages and Tekashi. We really hope it doesn’t go beyond words between the street certified Chicago stars and 69 as the last thing rap needs are more artist’s names on a t-shirt.
Streaming services have also blacklisted Tekashis music, blocking his album and songs from appearing on “recently added” lists and “new music” lists. Streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify have blacklisted 69 due to him “exposing” the industry on an Instagram live video earlier this summer. Bad mouthing the music industry, calling it fake, and expressing how these record labels dictate the success of an artist. It is safe to say that the industry is no longer a supporter of Takashi 69.
What’s next? More Hits Less Beef
Despite the trolls, Tekashi decided to capitalize on all the clout being gained from these beef’s and collaborated with Nicki Minaj on yet another hit called “Trollz” which peaked at number 1 on Billboard 100 earning Tekashis first Billboard number 1 single. Trollz was the lead single to his second debut album “TattleTales” which released September of 2020. Even though many rappers absolutely hate and have no respect for Tekashi and his actions, it appears that his fan base outnumbers the haters. Trollz has reached over 500,000 copies sold earning RIAA’s gold certification, and the second lead single “Gooba” is already platinum, selling over 1,000,000 copies. Die-hard 69 fans are still out there and have no concerns with his snitching reputation.
Upon his release from prison, it has been reported that Tekashi signed a 10 million dollar deal with Ten Thousand Project Records. The deal includes 2 albums from Tekashi, one in English and one in Spanish. He has also reportedly signed a 5 million dollar virtual concert deal with GlobalStreamNow. This is for one show only, not a whole tour.
Regardless of all the backlash Tekashi received from his trash-talking and snitching behavior it is clear that 69 is still in his bag, and perhaps more than ever before. His new album “TattleTales” was projected to go number one, however, so far it appears to be fluctuating between numbers four and five. We know 69 is now more open to interviews since he got off house arrest and has done a few these past two weeks. He has also been recording music videos for other hit singles off the new album and is certainly getting ready for the biggest comeback in modern rap history. More of Tekashi 69 in the coming months.
add comment