Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

TikTok rap

The majority of users are from the Generation Y and Z sets

Local rapper Chris “KILLcRey” Reyes: “If you ain’t about the love then I don’t bless your game.”
Local rapper Chris “KILLcRey” Reyes: “If you ain’t about the love then I don’t bless your game.”

North County rapper Kiyoshi teaches classes on rap songwriting and freestyle flowing on Zoom, Instagram, and other social media networks. Wack 100, who has managed rappers Blueface and The Game, took to the internet recently to school the Million Dollaz Worth of Game vlog’s viewers on how to create a viral rap song. “This is how it works,” he explained in part, “they do a 15-20 second TikTok dance to your song, right. After it starts moving and goes viral, then they say, “I wanna hear the whole song.” They go to Spotify or Apple; they stream it, they listen to it [and say,] ‘Oh, I like the song. I wanna watch the video.’ Then they go to YouTube. Radio is watching the numbers of YouTube, Spotify, Apple, and TikTok; and that’s [how they determine] what they’re putting on rotation.”

From the outside looking in, one might assume that if an aspiring rapper combined Kiyoshi's classes with Wack 100's formula, that it would be a successful formula.

“It seems like an oversimplification,” said Logan Heights rapper Chris “KILLcRey” Reyes in a Reader interview. “But, what if you’re not making dance music?”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Play the shit loud if your mind is your instrument

Christen shit, yo blessed be the name

If you ain’t about the love then I don’t bless your game.

The verse is from Reyes’s “Claustrophobic” joint that he dropped on February 16.

“It’s doing well on the Spotify and Bandcamp streaming sites. My supporters seem to like more tangible things they can sit with.”

“And what’s up with TikTok?” I asked.

“I have a TikTok account, but I’m not sure my new song will work for the app, only because it doesn’t seem like people at this moment are going to TikTok for layered or deeper music.”

The majority of TikTok’s users are from the Generation Y and Z sets. At a glance, the circa 2016 video-sharing app is more of a lighthearted platform. Users create up to one-minute clips with optional text pop-ups, animated filters, voiceovers, and licensed background music.

“Artists get discovered by first getting their music in TikTok’s ‘Sounds’ catalog,” Reyes continued, “Next, they let their fans know their music is on TikTok, and they encourage them to make videos using their music. I hope that my new video reaches younger people that might need it. If I can spark thought in the younger generation, that’d be dope.”

I reached out to local rappers with TikTok and Wack 100 in the subject line, and my efforts yielded one response. “Lots of hardcore rappers think TikTok’s corny,” responded Kahlee, a Mira Mesa rapper, “but for me, if collabing with a TikTokker, could bring us exposure, I’m down to rock with you.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pranksters vandalize Padres billboard in wake of playoff loss

Where’s the bat at?
Local rapper Chris “KILLcRey” Reyes: “If you ain’t about the love then I don’t bless your game.”
Local rapper Chris “KILLcRey” Reyes: “If you ain’t about the love then I don’t bless your game.”

North County rapper Kiyoshi teaches classes on rap songwriting and freestyle flowing on Zoom, Instagram, and other social media networks. Wack 100, who has managed rappers Blueface and The Game, took to the internet recently to school the Million Dollaz Worth of Game vlog’s viewers on how to create a viral rap song. “This is how it works,” he explained in part, “they do a 15-20 second TikTok dance to your song, right. After it starts moving and goes viral, then they say, “I wanna hear the whole song.” They go to Spotify or Apple; they stream it, they listen to it [and say,] ‘Oh, I like the song. I wanna watch the video.’ Then they go to YouTube. Radio is watching the numbers of YouTube, Spotify, Apple, and TikTok; and that’s [how they determine] what they’re putting on rotation.”

From the outside looking in, one might assume that if an aspiring rapper combined Kiyoshi's classes with Wack 100's formula, that it would be a successful formula.

“It seems like an oversimplification,” said Logan Heights rapper Chris “KILLcRey” Reyes in a Reader interview. “But, what if you’re not making dance music?”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Play the shit loud if your mind is your instrument

Christen shit, yo blessed be the name

If you ain’t about the love then I don’t bless your game.

The verse is from Reyes’s “Claustrophobic” joint that he dropped on February 16.

“It’s doing well on the Spotify and Bandcamp streaming sites. My supporters seem to like more tangible things they can sit with.”

“And what’s up with TikTok?” I asked.

“I have a TikTok account, but I’m not sure my new song will work for the app, only because it doesn’t seem like people at this moment are going to TikTok for layered or deeper music.”

The majority of TikTok’s users are from the Generation Y and Z sets. At a glance, the circa 2016 video-sharing app is more of a lighthearted platform. Users create up to one-minute clips with optional text pop-ups, animated filters, voiceovers, and licensed background music.

“Artists get discovered by first getting their music in TikTok’s ‘Sounds’ catalog,” Reyes continued, “Next, they let their fans know their music is on TikTok, and they encourage them to make videos using their music. I hope that my new video reaches younger people that might need it. If I can spark thought in the younger generation, that’d be dope.”

I reached out to local rappers with TikTok and Wack 100 in the subject line, and my efforts yielded one response. “Lots of hardcore rappers think TikTok’s corny,” responded Kahlee, a Mira Mesa rapper, “but for me, if collabing with a TikTokker, could bring us exposure, I’m down to rock with you.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Next Article

Todd Gloria gets cash from McDonald's franchise owners

Phil's BBQ owner for Larry Turner
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader