![]() No one should feel pressured to support an artist because of their story. But outlets like Netflix don’t have to give them ten hours. But it’s likely that such an effort would have received backlash from people wondering why more talented artists weren’t selected for the show.Īs long as America’s celebrity obsession exists, there will be underqualified people dying for 15 minutes of fame. With fans having early access to the artists, they could have presented a more well-rounded picture of who they are beyond glimpses of their hardship crammed into hourlong episodes. Their stories highlight how treacherous capitalism and the cult of celebrity are when they have people embarrassing themselves in front of the world for a shot at $250,000.Ī more organic way for the show to ingratiate their contestants with the audience would have been to conduct a part of the vetting process on social media. The entrant’s cloying bids to empathy make the show a continuous train ride with subway buskers who you wish would go to the next car. ![]() ![]() The show’s producers placed a premium on traumatic stories ahead of talent, and it’s a fatal flaw. Cardi’s story alone isn’t what jumpstarted her rap career -enjoyable music did. While Cardi B’s ascendance was fueled by fans who followed her rags-to-riches rise from stripper to superstar, the difference between her and most Rhythm + Flow contestants is that her music is good. Netflix was aiming for viewers to rally behind the artists on representational grounds of struggle instead of identity, but that’s a reductive view of how fans engage with artists. His wire-to-wire superiority over the competition raises questions on how much more compelling the show would have been if the bulk of the scouted talent pool was as talented as him. It wasn’t past pain, but conceptually-driven songs that helped him stand out from his competition and win over judges. D Smoke’s backstory doesn’t have back-against-the-wall trauma he exhibits no sorrows, just skills. Smoke admits that he wanted to win the $250K to repay his mother’s sacrifice, but his desire feels different than his peer’s pleas that they have “no other option.” He appears to have plenty of options, but rap is just one he’s talented enough to explore. His story is a relatively nontraditional one that elicits warmth instead of sorrow. His father was incarcerated, but he came back to live with them once he was released, and they’re framed as one big happy family. He’s a teacher and instrumentalist whose mother sang background for icons like Michael Jackson and Tina Turner before quitting to raise her children. In a later episode, Stone Mountain, Georgia rapper Caleb Colossus reflects that “I don’t have the traditional rap story,” and “you would think I would end up in corporate America.”īut the show’s hourlong format doesn’t offer him the space to expand on what could have been a much-needed antithesis to the struggle stories. While the show’s final four contestants - D Smoke, Flawless Real Talk, Londynn B, and Troyman - demonstrated solid song making ability, the pool of artists that they toppled seemed to only be chosen for their stories. Chance’s surprising candor elucidates his awareness that D Smoke, a 33-year-old Inglewood rapper who radiates an undeniable Kendrick Lamar influence, was the exception to the show’s general rule of shameless gimmickry and heart-tugging backstory ahead of talent. ![]() “You don’t necessarily believe that in a workspace like this that you’re gonna find somebody that you really believe in, believe in,” Chance tells eventual Rhythm + Flow winner D Smoke. Rhythm + Flow producers clearly vied to make the “nothing to something” narrative everything, shoving sob stories down the viewers’ throat in a heavy-handed, borderline exploitative fashion. And it’s just as bogged down by hackneyed tropes and an underwhelming talent pool as its predecessors. The 10-episode show, which just wrapped its first season, is just the latest televised rap competition. It’s on those tenuous grounds that Rhythm + Flow rests. J-Pex gets the boot in his initial audition, despite Fat Joe finding novelty in his portly physique. ![]()
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