The Rap Class Spotlights Local Music Through Humor & Wit
The Auricular talks a lot about how much musical talent is located here within Richmond. If you love music, it’s a blessing having so many great and different artists in town that are always creating something new. But if you’re a musician… well, it can be a bit of a curse to have so much going on because more often than not, you just get lost in the shuffle. There’s only so much time people can spend in the day seeking out new music, so it’s hard to find the right way to grab people’s attention. With that in mind, it’s always nice to see people thinking outside the box about how to get local musicians exposure, and that’s precisely the case with the new short video series The Rap Class produced by The Mattison Network.
Debuting this past February with a run of five episodes, The Rap Class is a derisive look at the current state of the hip-hop industry, full of exploiting advisors and conflicting directives. Written and directed by Mattison Network head Chris Mattison, each episode follows a “teacher” (hilarously played by Sean King) educating an evolving class on a single lesson with unintended detours and amusing asides. Topics range from lyrical resonance to self-promotion, but the show really excels at just offering sharp commentary on how tricky it is being a hip-hop artist, even if you’ve been in the game for years.
It’s not just influencers and consultants that the show lambasts either. Some of the most biting moments on the show come at the expense of the musicians themselves. “Don’t look at me. Y’all didn’t even listen to my music. I sent it to you two weeks ago,” a fictionalized version of Mattison remarks in episode five after being asked about ideas for content. There are other great comedic moments in the series, such as Dyfferant delivering the requested emotion about a lost cat or Mattison’s perplexed reaction to being called “massive beard,” and it all combines for a biting parody of the predatory nature of the music industry. Each episode closes with a song from a featured MC, with season one featuring Dyfferant, PGB Renegade, Civonnee, Big No, and Sean King, which offers an actual spotlight for artists after lambasting those who seek to promise it in other ventures.
The Mattison Network also recently launched Connecting The Dots, a weekly series featuring candid and in-depth interviews with local hip-hop artists like Radio B, Noah-O, and Michael Millions. These long-form videos are incredibly insightful and join other great local programs like River City Sounds, Liner Notes, This Room Sounds Great, and more. But, as stated earlier, this might not be your cup of tea. You might want something different and creative. For that, we highly recommend you go check out the five-episode run of The Rap Class. Hopefully, enough views will push the group to bring it back for more sharp commentary.
You can watch episode one of The Rap Class below and the whole series is currently available to stream on The Mattison Network’s YouTube channel.
