DAY69 by 6ix9ine (1/5)

“Must Hear” Tracks: “GUMMO” “CHOCOLATE”

In the name of hype, how much are we willing to overlook? For 6ix9ine (Daniel Hernandez), apparently the answer to that question is “quite a bit.” The 21 year old Bushwick rapper has a laundry list of reasons to stop listening to him. In 2015, he filmed a 13 year old girl performing sexual acts in a room full of “grown” men, fittingly resulting in three counts of sexual performance by a child. With a plea agreement, he managed to reduce the number of charges down to one, but he still plead guilty to one count of sexual performance by a child. In an interview with DJ Akademiks he claimed that he was only charged because he was there, but he still admitted to uploading the video. According to Jezebel, he can be seen in the video egging the 13 year old on while she danced naked for the men in the room. Could it have been worse? Sure. His conscience isn’t clean, though, and 6ix9ine’s personal drama doesn’t end there.

Since that news broke in late 2017, 6ix9ine continues to make headlines for his gang ties. At a February, 4th Minneapolis show, gunshots rang out after an altercation between 6ix9ine’s posse and a rival gang. More recently, he was involved in a brawl outside Los Angeles International airport (February 21st) and Tango Orejon gang members threatened to impose “penitentiary rules” on him if he performed in San Antonio on February 22nd. Every time an article about him comes out, his picture sits above the headline and another facet of his appeal becomes apparent: his aesthetic. Sporting rainbow hair and a grill to match, he actually manages to one-up Lil Pump in the competition for most bombastic looking rapper. His face and body are covered in “69” tattoos. I can honestly say I have never seen another human that looks like him, but that shouldn’t have any bearing on how his music is received. The “hype train” that XXL claims 6ix9nine is riding must be a result of his consistent problematic media coverage and his cartoonish appearance, because his newly released mixtape DAY69 is repetitive, unoriginal, and soulless. Its existence begs the question: why does anyone pay attention to this guy?

At first glance, DAY69 is all gang, gang, gang. Upon closer inspection, that impression is proven correct. Fever pitch threats, gunshot samples, and sexual conquest make up the entirety of this mixtape. On “GUMMO,” 6ix9ine proudly says “Put my dick in her backbone, I pass her to my bro.” The most verbose line on “MOOKY” is “Stephen Curry how I’m shootin’ shit, I can’t fuckin miss / I’m off a perc movin’ ridiculous, I think I’m seein’ shit.” It continues for 27 minutes, ad nauseam. There isn’t a single instance of storytelling or introspection on DAY69. It’s all screamed without nuance, without an ounce of vulnerability, and without any dynamic changes. 6ix9ine mentions A Day to Remember as a primary influence, and he says his best work comes from his angriest studio sessions, but nobody can be that angry all the time. Monotony makes for awfully boring music. DAY69 sounds like Hernandez figured out how to make one song, “GUMMO” (his biggest hit to date, with an RIAA Gold certification), and then he tried to expand it into an 11 song mixtape. He even put “GUMMO” on DAY69 twice: the original and a “remix” that’s actually the exact same song with a verse from Offset added. It all feels like a chore; made for solely for money and clout. Coincidentally, 6ix9ine admits he got serious about music because he “didn’t have any bread.”

Even the extremely rare bright spots on DAY69 come with a more pressing downside. The high-profile features add some fleeting moments of melody that break up 6ix9ine’s tone-deaf screaming. That he somehow got Young Thug, Tory Lanez, Boogie With A Hoodie, and Fetty Wap to appear on this dumpster fire is a miracle, but their presence is absolutely necessary to save 6ix9ine from complete self-sabotage. The impact is purely cosmetic, though. Boogie With a Hoodie sings “If I’m a playa’, she a slut yeah”  on “KEKE,” and Tory Lanez wants his “bitch to do a dance on the dick.” I guess none of them tried to add anything but lazy misogyny to DAY69. Meanwhile, the beats sound entirely uninspired until the last track, “CHOCOLATE,” but even that is just a trap reimagination of the “Heads Will Roll” remix by A-Trak. 6ix9ine can’t have any nice things on DAY69.

Scum Gang is his mantra, and shock rap is his chosen style. Unlike shock value pioneers Eminem and Odd Future, who mostly just talked the talk, Hernandez actually lives the life that his music suggests. Gunshots, threats, and brawls accompany him across the country. 2018 is not the year to pull this stunt. Shock for shock’s sake shouldn’t work the way it used to. In the wake of #MeToo, the level of brazen misogyny that 6ix9ine displays should not be ignored in the name of hype. His flows are par-for-the-course, the beats sound like something I could buy on Twitter for 30 bucks, and his monotonous anger is excessive to the point of comedy. For reasons I can’t comprehend, the articles keep coming out. Does rainbow hair and misogyny really sell that well? He’s a one trick pony, but his trick is no longer relevant in a changing world. To that end, you won’t hear another word about Hernandez from me. The best way to keep rappers like 6ix9ine from getting undeserved attention is simple: stop talking about them, and stop listening to them.

Sources: Genius.com lyrics. XXL Report of Sexual Misconduct and Interview. Jezebel Full Sexual Misconduct Report. DJ Akademiks Interview. KXAN News Report on San Antonio Threats. Billboard Report on LAX Brawl. XXL Report on Altercation in Minneapolis. XXL Reference to “Hype Train”. Timeline of 6ix9ine’s Antics.