Like most Internet phenoms these days, I first came to Daniel Mcloyd via Twitter. "Funniest video of ‘13 I’m seriously crying," the tweet read. Curious, I clicked the link. It led me to Mcloyd's YouTube page—and into the world of Ice JJ Fish, his nom de plume. His sound is unlike anything I've ever heard—warbled, shaky, uneven, and yet completely transfixing. His singing is so bad, it is impossible not to listen to. If music is meant to entertain, then Mcloyd has certainly achieved that much.
"I want y'all to, like, really get to know me, as a character, you feel me?" Mcloyd says in one video titled "I sing with 100 voices." He continues: "I'm starting to make good music ... I like to put my voices together ... I have a lot of voices in my voice."
The Illinois resident has become something of a curiosity on the Internet in the last week. The seriousness with which he approaches his videos is undeniable. He wants viewers to take him in earnest, so much so that it is difficult to discern if he is trolling us or being forthright. And Mcloyd's legend has only grown since being featured on WorldStarHipHop. The adoration he receives on his Facebook is telling:
What follows is a collection of Ice JJ Fish's best YouTube videos—a mix of covers (Drake, Robin Thicke, etc) and original songs. And while I don't find Mcloyd a particularly gifted singer, his unorthodox ability to captivate and entertain is unquestionable. Here, in our second installment of Internet Idol, we explore The Rise of Ice JJ Fish.
Internet Idol previously profiled Sean Fury, the self-proclaimed "Master of Mood Music." This is the second feature in an ongoing series on Complex.com.
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