As the public only becomes more (rightfully) skeptical of media and celebrity, there’s constant demand for artists who keep it real. Enter 1Up Tee: A fresh-faced Detroit rapper currently blowing up off a string of concept singles that get at the contradictions and unrealistic expectations of a social media-enabled society. Just look at the YouTube comments, where they’re speaking about him like he’s a prophet: “Bro I dropped a tear listening to this much real ass shit!”; “I’m glad real MEN still exist”; “God keep this man in yo prayers watch over him plz he gotta message we need to hear it’s only going up from here sooo motivational god bless.”
I’m not quite on board yet. Tee is a good rapper with an ear for the gentlest Detroit beats and a smooth, patient delivery that gives every bar space to breathe, but some of the messages feel regressive. That’s not to say I can’t listen to rappers I disagree with, but here the meaning is the point. Take “Spoiled Rotten,” where the concept is that he’s lecturing his daughter—a literal baby—about not growing up to be Sexxy Red or whatever. Weird. Leave that shit for the Joe Budden podcast.
His newest single “Lose Lose” is better. This time the idea is that he’s advising the youth that people will find any reason to criticize, so just do you. He goes about this by laying down three minutes of hypothetical lose-lose situations. For example: “They gon’ say I’m lazy, I’m a slob if I ain’t got a job/But if I work, they say I settled for a 9-5.” Or, alternatively, “Girl got a rich man, they say she want his rubber bands/Girl got a broke man, they say she need to up her standards.” You get the point. It’s clever enough, and it’s pretty cool to hear a rapper in this message-based style with a modern flow and beats. Maybe his next song can be about thinking critically about rap lyrics.
With artists releasing songs at a fast and furious pace, it’s difficult for the average hip-hop head to keep track of it all—no matter how tapped in they are. That’s why we created The Ones, a daily post to highlight the song you need to hear.
Check out previous Ones, and listen to new rap from 1Up Tee and more on our Spotify playlist.
