Music's A Joke
Comedy in music has been around for decades--and we're all just now coming around for it.
It's the last 9-0 Wednesday of the semester and some of your best friends are about to end their college career. You've just gotten through a 2 hour line filled with Panda Express, conversations with friendly line inhabitants, and laughs to pass the time. You hand over your real ID, eager for your guaranteed entry. As you and your 4 friends squeeze through the pushy crowd, a couple boys holding 805's and yelling for fun yell,"MAKE SOME ROOM,"as they pave your way to the kinda bartender—you lock eyes. Just as a crisp, cold AMF is being handed to you, you hear,"It's the m**f***** remix," and you nod accordingly with the crowd as you all say,"B**** I go to USC," ready to sing your heart out. You could not have picked a better song for your entrance.
Paying homage to Weird Al's realm of music, artists such as USC's 24K Goldin are tying comedy into their music—and it's working. Streaming on SoundCloud, 24k Goldin's track "B**** I Go To USC" has gained immense popularity among the students. Every party, 9-0 trip, and Banditos run is always accompanied by the Trojan-specific song. The remix speaks to many relatable USC things such as,"I hit Ditos with the gang / AMF is what I drank."Being that the song is filled with comedic lines, everyone seems to justify their appreciation for it by stating,"It's actually pretty good," or "Why is it good?". It turns out, comedic music is actually a hit!
Just take a look at a few of the popular songs in today's popular culture. "Old Town Road" with Lil Naz and Billie Ray Cyrus is filled with hilarious lines, but is dominating serious charts. While artists are starting to infuse comedy into their work, on the opposite side of the spectrum, comedians are beginning to merge their gifts with the world of music. Cody Ko and Noel Miller, two comedians that have taken to YouTube, are on the rise, resulting in a nation-wide tour and popular merchandise. After countering Jake Paul's song "It's Everyday Bro" in a hilarious reaction-type video, the two ended their video with a song of their own titled—"Keep Ya D*** Fat". This lead to the creation of their group name, "The Tiny Meat Gang".
After getting a huge response on their debut single, the Meat boys continued their artistry, making a few other comedic diss tracks to counter videos such as the dated "Hot Girl Problems", a side of comedic music that lacks any garnered support. The amount of support the duo received on each video allowed them to create their own mixtape released on Spotify. Regardless of how you have been introduced to comedic music, you have been exposed somehow to a trend that seems to have never died down.
Jahan and TC, creators of podcast, "Mirror Talk"Rachel Adkins
