Every once in a while, you get wind of a new artist with a bemusing name whose music you decide to peep. Next thing you know, you're playing it for your co-workers in the office. Before long, people are walking over and want to know what that fire is coming out of your speakers. That's basically what happened at Complex yesterday as Bobby Shmurda and his song "Hot Nigga" went viral in our office.
We first heard about Bobby after this amazing Vine of him tossing his hat and doing the Shmoney Dance started taking off.
Turns out that Vine is a clip from the music video for "Hot Nigga"—a video that's been out since March but recently saw a huge spike in traffic (likely because of the Vine) and now has over 450,000 views. Using the beat to Lloyd Banks' "Jackpot" (produced by Jahlil Beats), "Hot Nigga" finds Bobby rapping with a controlled menace about how he's ready to "gun brawl," how his dad is locked up, and how he's been "selling crack since like the fifth grade." Really the best parts are when he deviates from his elastic flow and lets out a wail ("GS for the gun squaaaad") before his flow snaps right back into place.
Bobby's flow is like is crossing Chicago's Z Money with Uncle Murda—which doesn't feel much like a coincidence. The 20-year-old Bobby hails from East Flatbush, Brooklyn, but his video looks and feels distinctly inspired by Chicago's drill scene. These aren't shirtless kids waving extended clips at the camera, but Bobby and his friends feel like authentically rowdy New York kids—the kind that get into fights on the train—the same way Chief Keef or Lil Reese represented for Chicago's youth. However, unlike someone like Keef, Bobby is much more dexterous on the mic.
Bobby's camp is well aware of the comparison. When we reached out to them for comment, they told us, "Some people compare it to drill music because they don't know what to call it, they have to put it in a box, but we call it GS9 music." GS9 is the name of Bobby's crew. Whatever you want to call it, we're calling it next. Bobby has got a few other songs out on YouTube, like "Shmoney Dance" and "Act Right," but neither is as good as "Hot Nigga." But that's okay, this is just the beginning.
We're not the only people who are fans. Brandon Jennings of the Detroit Pistons recently tweeted:
Shmoney dance tonight....
Obviously, the Shmoney Dance is the movement.
