There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Sam Adams EP release of Boston's Boy since it has become the #1 hip hop album on iTunes. The question is why? Did Sam Adams really buy thousands of copies of his own CD to do this or is he really that popular?
A lot of hate has been directed Sam's way because he is one of the biggest rappers, or whatever you consider him, to come out of Boston. A lot of people in the Boston hip hop community has called Sam a fraud, citing the accusal of him being a trust fund baby buying his own records. They've also called him a fake saying he's a preppy white boy who has no confidence and has auto tune all his music to make it sound good (no one has questioned Lil Wayne's confidence when he started using autotune, or did I miss something?). The last couple of days while enjoying his EP I've been checking out articles and comments directed towards Adam's way.
Here are a few comments haters have made regarding Adams in the Boston Herald comments section.
Not that difficult to become a #1 Itunes seller when one or two people spend thousands on buying the album/single. This is a total sham and that is why he is being called a fraud in many music circles.
the backlash over this guy is not due to him having some quick success; it's because his horrible music is an afront to anyone who actually cares about hip hop. calling him a boston hip hop artist is an insult to all the true and very talented boston hip hop artists out there.
people are so quick to attribute the backlash against him to jealousy, but in truth there isn't much to be jealous about. it is inevitable that in a month, 6 months, a year, whatever, sam adams is going to be seen as a complete laughing stock to everyone and he'll probably spend the rest of his life trying to live it down. and if you think he's going to get rich of this, he probably won't... if he's lucky, best case scenario, he may make someone else, who is already rich, a little richer. that's just the way the music industry works these days. if you want to write an artile about a true boston hip hop artist, why don't you write something about guru, whose's currently battling for his life. or esoteric, who has been a legend in these parts for a decade plus and has spent the last few years re-inventing himself, making grown man hip hop. do we really need to futher glorify a 22 year old wannabee with nothing to say, who is so unconfident in his own abilities that he has to auto-tune his songs?
I agree with everything that has been said. Where is his billboard presence? Nowhere to be found. Something fishy is going on. This man is a hero to 15 year old girls only. Don't call it hip hop. In a city that has been trying to define itself as a real hip hop contender, this is a real set back.
Ok, let me preface this by saying one thing. I'm into a lot of music. I love hip hop of all kinds. I've heard underground music from Boston (Slaine, guru, etc.) and have liked it. I enjoy all kinds of music and I am apart of the craze that is Sam Adams. With that being said, can you believe this kid is garnering this much hate in the Boston rap community?
It's pure jealousy. People claim it's not. They claim it's not his quick success, but his crappy music. That is complete fabrication. They are jealous because they are the same people who have been trying to make it as big as Adam's. They've tried to increase the popularity of Boston hip hop and have failed. They claim Sam went mainstream, sold out. He did not. He released his EP with an independent record company when he had offers from major companies.
I'd like these same people to go to every college campus on the East coast, not just Trinity either, and see the music that is bumping from dorm rooms because I'd bet...I know, it's Sam Adams.
I want these same people to actually check the hip hop chart before sending hate Adam's way. He's currently, or last time I checked, #7 on the hip hop charts, #1 on iTunes, and has a top ten single on iTunes (Driving Me Crazy). Nothing fishy going on there if you ask me.
Secondly, you can claim that Adams will appeal to 15 year old girls, but I'm pretty sure having close to 20,000+ fans on face book, over 20,000+ views on multiple youtube videos proves this wrong because I highly doubt there are 20,000+ fifteen year old girls that listen to rap music, know who Sam Adams is, and have the ability to sign up for a facebook/youtube account to become a fan of him or view his videos.
The bottom line is this. Adams was very, very smart. He targeted the college scene. Rapped about what college students experience. "I Hate College" was the pure definition of the love-hate relationship students have when attending college. They hate taking tests, going to class, and having a busy schedule but they go through all of this for the degree and the partying. People like to listen to things that relate to them and this hit home hard with a lot of students.
Adams continued releasing music that related to college students. Songs like "Tab Open" and "Better Than You" related to students in college. "Poker Face Remix" was another hit among the crowd because Lady Gaga is simply one of the most popular artists in the music community and college community these days.
Finally, the use of face book, twitter, and youtube among college students is huge. Adams spread down the east coast faster then you could fly from Boston to Miami. Word of mouth among college students is amazing. A new song can spread around a college campus faster than a class can take. Once it spreads around one campus it makes its way onto another through face book or telephone.
You see Adams and his buddy were geniuses. They knew they could spread there music through college students. That's where his music was going to be popular: among that crowd of people. He is not disrespecting the Boston rap scene. He doesn't even claim to be a "rapper." The media is doing that. If you ask Adam's, he'd simply tell you he's making music with an electronica/dance beat.
Just for the record, I'm not claiming Sam Adams to be the best rapper ever. I'm not claiming he's going to make a killing, as he calls it in Coast 2 Coast. All I'm saying is, whether you agree or not, the kid is talented and smart. He knew exactly what he was doing and executed it flawlessly.
So instead of hating his music, just don't listen to it.
Don't try to bring the kid down and claim that he bought his music or relatives/families bought it for him. There is no evidence of that. Oh, and if he did well I guess the joke is on me and the 20,000+ fans on his Facebook page. He must of bought all those fans from his daddy's trust fund, right?
There was another sensation like this about five years ago among college kids. That my friends, is Facebook. Remember how fast that blew up? Yep, about as fast as Sam Adams did.
To read an article that appeared in the Herald about Boston's Boy click below, you'll also find some of these comments that appeared in this post in the comment section: http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1239158
