Ty Dolla Sign and 21 Savage aren't the only hip-hop heads obsessed with "Clout"
The measure of influence is either a badge of honor or an easy, easy target. A corny fixation or a magnetic allure.
With just one day left until Ty Dolla $ign drops the deluxe edition of his Beach House 3 LP, the singer has shared his collaboration with 21 Savage, “Clout,” one of the six bonus songs to appear on the rework. Despite the duo detailing, for over three minutes, everything they’ll do to achieve the highest level of the titular power, from the non-threatening to the conning—they’ll “smash,” “mash,” “lie and cheat,” even “sell candy bars”!—the track’s trap beat (produced by Hitmaka, Rekless, and Smash David) fails to ever sound nearly as urgent as their determined claims.
Still, they’re not alone in their obsession with ascending. And, technically, we can’t blame them. We’ve fallen victim to giving a damn, too. Ty and 21 are just two of many who either aim to be the ultimate influencer, or who shade and challenge those who do. Because clout is a finnicky thing. It can belong to you or your possessions. It can be the American Dream or the embarrassing scarlet letter of a try-hard. A badge of honor or an easy, easy target. A corny fixation or a magnetic allure. And because hip-hop is a war between the braggadocious and the unbothered, it’s continually volleyed back and forth, shape-shifting itself into an insult or an appeal.
On “Clout,” it’s their source of pride, but for some of the others below, it’s your sore spot and they’re shooting at it.
2pac, “Hit Em Up”
“And I’m smokin’ Junior M.A.F.I.A. in front of you, nigga / With the ready power / Tucked in my Guess, under my Eddie Bauer / Your clout petty sour.”
Eminem, “313”
“You flowers got no clout with a thing / You could date a stick of dynamite / And wouldn’t go out with a bang.”
G Herbo, “4 Minutes of Hell, Part 3”
“I see lil niggas want some Twitter clout / But I ain’t tryna put ya business out”
Future, “Extra Luv”
“Fell in love with the lifestyle, black shades, night clout / She want to fuck but she don’t love me / Lifestyle, lifestyle.”
J. Cole, “4 Your Eyez Only”
“It’s several ways I could’ve went out, too many to count / Was it the trigger-happy crackers that the badges give clout?”
Meek Mill, “Chiraq”
“I’m the same nigga my city asked about / While you in the cut steady buyin’ clout”
Lil Skies, “Welcome to the Rodeo”
“All these rappers want the clout and the life of bein’ famous / I just wanna be stable, tell my family we made it”
Machine Gun Kelly, “See My Tears”
“Before everything I had clout in the city / Toured the states and never bounced on the city”
Migos, “Bad & Boujee”
“I gave her 10 racks / I told her go shoppin’ and spend it all at the pop-up / These bitches, they fuck and suck dick / And they bustin’ for Instagram, get your clout up”
Playboi Carti, “wokeuplikethis*”
“I just spent a 100 on my watch piece, fuck / I done fell in love with a thottie, fuck / She just wanna fuck me for my clout, fuck / Bitch I’m off the lean I crash the Audi, fuck”
Young M.A, “Walk”
“They was tryna’ get me / They was tryna’ get me out / Like y’all don’t know what I’m about / Y’all do it for the clout.”
J. Cole, “High for Hours”
“Does he see the struggle of his brothers in oppression? / And if so, if you got all the power in the clout / As the President, what’s keepin’ you from helpin’ niggas out?”