Today I continue on my quest to diversify Web Wednesday. As I have said before most of the people I spotlight during these posts are white men. Which is fine. There is nothing wrong with that. I just wanted to make it known that there are people who are not white guys that are on the Internet and are entertaining. Which brings me to the Rap Critic. Who, as you may have guessed, is not white. He also happens to be funny and talented which makes him perfect for Web Wednesday. So let's get to it.
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| It was a bitch finding pictures of the Rap Critic. Most of them have captions from some unknown source. I should also point out that if you look closely you can see Internet Personality Vangelous in the background. |
The Rap Critic (Real Name Darren Jackson) first got into Internet reviews after seeing episodes of the Nostalgia Critic. After some thought he settled on the idea of reviewing Rap songs. It was a natural choice since it was his favorite topic. Being a fan of the genre he had always wondered how some rappers could get away with ridiculous and out of place lines. He would soon learn that most people only really cared about the chorus and beat. With the topic set the Rap Critic had only one hurtle to over come.
That hurtle being actually making the show. He filmed his first episode on a camera borrowed from his old school. The camera was not the best as can be seen in the grainy video. As time went on he would use equipment from the college his mother works at and improve the quality of the show. With the equipment problem solved the Rap Critic was ready to move forward.
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| Image by Andrew Dickman. |
While he planned to film his first episode on a popular song by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg he ended up reviewing the song “My President is Black” due to it chorus. As time went on the Rap Critic featured many popular Rappers possibly as a way to garner attention. He is not the most prolific Internet reviewer but has still done over 30 episodes. Not counting specials, cameos, and crossovers.
His show has a unique appeal due to the fact that the Rap Critic is a rapper himself. He performs under the name Masta Artisan and has released two albums to date. The first being “Starving Artist, Hungry Emcee” and the second “Polarity Switch”. Both are available on Amazon, Itunes, and CD Baby. Videos for a few of the songs (like the one above) are available for viewing on Youtube and ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com. As I have stated before I am not a huge fan of Rap or Hip Hop but I like what I like and I enjoy what I have heard from the man. Take that for what it’s worth and give his music a shot.
I mentioned that the Rap Critic has done cameos and crossovers. All Internet reviewers do them but the Rap Critic truly shine in these appearances. Sometimes a cameo or crossover can come over as forced and unbalanced. The Rap Critic’s appearances’ have not had these problems. His humility and down played personality allow him to mesh with others well.
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| The Rap Critic with Todd In the Shadows. |
Of all the people I have talked about her the Rap Critic may have the most potential. I see him becoming one of the most popular Internet personalities in the next few years. When you have someone who can talk the talk and walk the walk but stay humble the whole time you something rare. Take a few minutes and give some of his videos or songs a try. You won’t regret it and when he becomes huge you can get all “Hipster” and say “I liked him before he became mainstream”. As mainstream as Internet Reviewer can ever get.
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