Do you all remember the movie Multiplicity? Where Michael Keaton made copies of himself because he was so busy? There was a line in the movie that has stayed with me all these years “sometimes when you make a copy of a copy it’s not that clear” that may not be an exact quote but close enough. Well that line pops in my head when I think about Designer. There’s a lot of talk about his validity as an artist. As the designer imposter Future, Desiigner has become a source of contention for some who think its blasphemous for such a blatant rip-off.

“Back in my day…” is the consensus  regarding this young man. From the fact that most assumed it was Futurec saying he had hoes in Atlanta to the reality that he had zero hoes in Atlanta. Desiigner has become the poster child for “what’s wrong with hip hop 101”

With a release of his “freestyle” of Timmy Turner. Which if you select the close captioning will just show as inaudible is a collection of words that have no meaning. Just as if I typed help shoe oxtail call. It means nothing. Yes, they are words but just because you pour syrup on shit don’t make them pancakes. I looked up the lyrics and apparently Timmy has requested Cosmos and Wanda give him a gun, he has no scruples, and there’s also mention of a young lady who’s on BET (uncut) doing something strange for a piece of change.

In classic old fogey form some took to the streets to exclaim how back in there day it was criminal to reproduce someone else’s style. Big Baby Jesus exclaimed ” I’m a bastard cause ain’t no father to my style” and as has gone ODB so has the mentality that being indistinguishable a negative trait.

I don’t have a hard opinion on Desiigner. Yes he’s young, but also a intentional choice to present as something familiar. Now is he the first gremlin to pop off a mogwi’s back after being fed after midnight? No. Does is seem so blatant it’s almost disrespectful? Yes. But maybe, this is him. Maybe, this is the standard. Maybe Future’s mumble mouthed cadence is the given. For all we know there are hundreds,even thousands of Future knock offs but Desiigner hit. Who knows? If Desiigner manages to submit a full body of work that is well received you can color me surprised, but a lot of things fly today that make me blush. I’m not worried about it. Is it indicative of what’s to come? Possibly. Is he an anomaly? Possibly. Is this another piece of evidence of everything that is wrong with the culture? Possibly.

All those things are possibilities. But more than likely he will be 2016’s Chingy or Domino. Meaning longevity not required. And excuse me if either Chingy or Domino is running a successful pest control or landscaping business and pulling in six figures.

Another example of why it’s important to maintain a standard and keep people off your lawn.

Snuka