Eighteen-year-old Brooklyn-born rapper Desiigner reached the
top of the Billboard Hot 100 this week with his smash-hit song
"Panda." The song's appearance at the top of the chart was the first
time in 41 weeks a rap song or American artist held the No. 1 spot, a feat
previously achieved by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's "See You
Again."
You may be thinking—who is this Desiigner guy? Well, if
you've been to a party in the last couple months, you've probably heard
"Panda" without even realizing it. Why wouldn't you realize it?
Because Desiigner sounds exactly like Future. Now, this isn't to
discredit Desiigner, who seems like a fun, chill guy who parlayed his hit
single into a guest spot on Kanye West's The Life of Pablo (and
a record deal with G.O.O.D. Music). But it's hard to talk about the guy without
noting that he sounds extremely similar to Future, who was by many accounts,
the best rapper of the year 2015. (Jermaine Dupri thinks
some of their beats are pretty similar as well.) And though Desiigner has
outwardly stated his support of Future, he also seems to sometimes be in on the
joke, a few weeks back having photoshopped himself onto Prince's Purple
Rain album
cover (Future released a mixtape called Purple Reign in
January), and at SXSW teased a new single called "Pluto." (Future
dropped album called Pluto in 2012.)
The irony here is that Future himself has never had a No. 1
single on the Billboard Hot 100. Future's crooning over Metro Boomin beats led
to a high number of jams across albums and mixtapes such as DS2 and 56
Nights, but "Where Ya At" or "March Madness" never
reached the top spot. Future isn't alone when it comes to lacking a No. 1
single, as his What a Time to Be Alive co-star Drake has also
never had a No. 1 hit. Not even all those "Hotline Bling" vines could
push Drake to No. 1, although he was featured on Rihanna's No. 1 single
"Work," and his breezy banger "One Dance" is currently
third on the Billboard list.
Drake, at least, will mount another run for No. 1 when Views
From the 6 drops this Friday. But if you somehow haven't heard
"Panda" yet, fix that right now.
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