Imagine.. it's 2007 and spiked belts from the beauty supply store are all the rave, you live and breathe DatPiff.com for the latest Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane releases, smartphones are becoming thee thing so you're begging your mom to get you a sidekick phone so you can finally trash your flimsy flip phone for good, then, the next year—right before Christmas at that—Souljaboy releases "Kiss Me Thru the Phone." These are some of my formative memories growing up in the early 2000s.

Whenever people discuss comtemporary hip-hop, they leave out a major player in contemporary artistry, marketing, and social media: DeAndre Cortez Way, better known as Souljaboy. I grew up as modern technology was developing; I remember a world before phones, Facebook (or MySpace OR Tagged), and Twitch. A big part of that time for me was listening to my then favorite artist, Souljaboy, day in and day out, and watching him on UStream with his friend and producer Arab. On UStream, Souljaboy would chat directly with his fans and preview his music. He'd even send mass text alerts about artists he was developing to keep his fans connected to him and up to date on his coming projects.

Needless to say, he set the standard of new age artist marketing that leans heavily on skipping the middleman and connecting directly with your supporters. On the production side of things, his sound was a perfect blend of hip-hop, tech, and pop music. Yes, it was hip-hop, but it was still danceable! His "Crank That" dance videos were making rounds all over the internet before a TikTok was ever even thought about!

Lately I've noticed artists looking backward and incorporating the energy and technique of songs from this era. Most recently, Moliy's social media visualizer for "POPSTAR, xo" immediately took me back to 2008. The song's beepy intro, electric undertones, and slow and yearning lyrics are all too reminiscent of when men hip-hop artists were unafraid to create real love songs. Other songs from that ignite this nostalgia for me are Sexyy Red's "U Know What to Do" and Trim's "Pretty Skin," released last year. Sidenote: I love Trim REAL BAD. But we'll save why for a coming newsletter.

All in all, I think we're overdue in thanking Souljaboy for what he's done for the culture! He innovated a new lane in hip-hop AND set the tone for how artists today connect with their fans. Often, innovators are the most overlooked and I wanted to take a moment to give Souljaboy his flowers. Play iSouljaBoyTellem today for nostalgia's sake.

Dyasphonic!

I'M READY! ARE YOU!? I had such a great time at Baby Kakes' Furahi Day party in Indianapolis, I had to bring him back to Chicago to bring you top-tier energy (vlog coming soon👀)! Dyasphonic returns next Saturday in the West Loop with Kakes and Chicago's finest DJ KO. There are still a few early bird tickets remaining! We'll see you there!

Cafe Jon & Galleria

Surprise! Tomorrow, Thursday August 20 I'll be playing happy hour at one of Chicago's newest cafe's: Cafe Jon & Galleria in Pilsen. Come chill and co-work for pre-Asake vibes from 5PM-7PM!

Dya at Drip!

I'm making my Hot Drip Sessions debut this Saturday, August 22! Come sip some tea and enjoy some out of this world tunes. If you can't be there in person, listen here.

Welcome to the Dyasphere

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This year was the best birthday I've had in several years! Not only did I play two shows that are very aligned with who I am and where I want to go in my career, I simply felt loved and considered by the people around me. While I did not vlog the day of, I did capture the weekend celebrations at ASHAWO and Vigro Deep's show for JAMA! Tap in!

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