DDG’s ‘Blame The Chat’: A Bold Experiment or a Reality Check in the Streaming Era?
DDG's latest album, "Blame The Chat," has sparked a heated debate about the intersection of live streaming and hip-hop, raising questions about its impact on the music industry and the artist's own career trajectory. Is this a revolutionary step or a cautionary tale?
The Michigan native, known for blending content creation with his music, allowed fans to participate in the creative process, influencing the tracklist and beats for "Blame The Chat." He even boldly claimed to have "changed the music industry forever" by being the first to create an album live on Twitch. This claim, however, was quickly challenged by legendary producer Statik Selektah, who pointed out numerous instances of artists, including himself with Termanology, Mac Miller, Freddie Gibbs, and Bun B, doing similar projects years prior. Statik Selektah stated, "This is some bullsh*t. We got receipts."
DDG addressed his widely shared remark when he claimed he'd "go broke ASAP" if he ever stopped working. He now admits that was "an exaggeration" and that he's "good."
Despite DDG's confidence and a star-studded feature list including Wiz Khalifa, BIA, Ty Dolla $ign, Rich The Kid, Offset, Queen Naija, and NLE Choppa, "Blame The Chat" has reportedly struggled with sales. According to DDG himself, the album moved only "1230" units. This stark reality has led to commentary from figures like DJ Akademiks, who speculated that DDG might need to reconsider his career path if the downward trend continues. Akademiks assumes DDG is making somewhere between $300,000-$400,00 doing content creation which seems to be holding him up despite the album's failure.
In an interview with Rolling Stone DDG noted that creating 'Pink Dreads' with Plaqueboymax, whose audience is a lot younger, and they follow trends and hate trains around my name, so for me to rap in front of them and show them the raw talent, I feel like that’s where the good reception came from.' Inspired him to create an album live infront of his audience.
DDG, however, remains optimistic, tweeting, "It's all about the growth fr" and focusing on "week 2." He emphasizes the collaborative nature of his process, stating, "So it’s like a collaboration, we go back and forth, we talk, and then we see what really works. So I never let them get to me to the point where I’m like, you know what? I’m just not going to try it." Regarding negative comments in his stream, DDG keeps it fun but respectful to his guest by timing out or banning people.
The album also feature's a lineup of big names like Offset, Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla Sign, PlaqueBoyMax, and NLE Choppa – some of whom have appeared in his Twitch or YouTube streams. And because attention is currency, DDG offered YouTuber IShowSpeed $2 million for a "quick little cameo" in an upcoming music video.
DDG's "Blame The Chat" presents a fascinating case study in the evolving music landscape. Is audience participation the future of music creation, or does it dilute the artistic vision? Will the album's sales improve in the coming weeks, or will it serve as a reminder that innovation doesn't always guarantee success? As for what will come next in his career DDG is already looking into acting roles despite failing to 'Change the Music Industry Forever'.
What are your thoughts on DDG's approach? Leave your comments below!
