Produkt is the very talented rapper from the Bronx, New York who has done it all on his own. He maintains a philosophy that you should try to make your fans one by one. That connection is a very special one as it ensures real support and longevity. That same mentality has been adopted by current big names such as J.Cole and Kendrick Lamar and looks as if it really is showing dividends with Produkt as well.
His latest mixtape Inconspicuous which has only been out for a month is creating a major buzz at the moment. Produkt has been recognized for a while now on the underground scene winning multiple awards and song downloads making the Billboard chart sales. It seems as if the underground is bubbling up to the surface as his new tape is doing very well on livemixtapes.com ranking number 50 on the all-time views list.
Some notable names he is currently sitting atop of in just a month of release are Earl Sweatshirt, Big K.R.I.T., Logic, Danny Brown, and even K Camp. All of which have major label support. What makes his current position so astounding, is that at the rate he is going he will be in the top ten in a short amount of time. This would put him along side The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar who have had their tapes posted on the site for years and he is moving up within their company in less than half.
As an independent artist, what Produkt is doing right now can not be under sold. To help understand why the hip hop community has gravitated and supported Produkt has to do with what he talks about. While he is not the first socially conscious rapper, he probably is the most important one for the culture. As a Latino artist, Produkt is the only one that is really speaking on their plight. They suffer the same issues as African-Americans in terms of oppression and discrimination and yet that Latin voice is missing in hip hop.
Produkt is in the rare and extremely important position of having an entire race on his shoulders. He is holding the flag for Latinos in hip hop and is waving it proudly, and it is being noticed. Not discrediting the people he has jumped in mixtape views, but Produkt’s Inconspicuous ‘is just this important for the culture. Some artist work reflect a time and place, while others create one and Produkt’s music fits in the latter.
His time to reach the masses is coming. The amount of people following the music is probably unprecedented for such a sort amount of time. In a saturated industry filled with the same styles and lacking substance, to see someone so thorough and honest is a refreshing take. The early success of Inconspicuous is an indication of the bright future Produkt has in hip hop.
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