Alright, so if you have heard 3oh!3 chances are you noticed their electro, hip hop, pop fusion type sound. Chances are you also noticed there blatantly obvious misogynic references that are apparent in just about every song they release.
So, 3oh!3 is a group consisting of two white men now 27 years and 28 years old respectively. They come from Boulder, Colorado and their name pronounced 303 is sort of creative take on the area code of Denver. After gaining recognition from their self-titled debut effort. Their sophomore record "Want"reached number 44 on the Billboard 200, and the single off of it "Don't Trust Me" reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.
Growing up I tended to frequent the thriving heavy metal scene of Denver,and my 13 year old mind vividly remembers when I went to see a collection of metal bands, and 3oh!3 somehow was booked to open. Although it was nowhere near anything I was expecting to see, I found myself oddly fond of the piercing synths, catchy hooks, with ever so shocking brash lyrics.
The band then played the Warped Tour and essentially blew up the Denver radio stations with the line "Don't trust a ho, never trust a ho." Although 3oh!3 is by no means your cut from the cloth hip-hop duo, they do include many themes in their music that directly correlate to those in more traditional hip-hop. These themes include the extreme sexualized objectification of women, the usage of drug and alcohol, living lavish lifestyle, and in a very odd way hyper masculinity.
As 3oh!3 continues to make music, they are in no way falling off the map. They continue to gain more airtime and popularity for their now trademarked white-electro-hip-hop-pop style.
Aside from their catchy pop style, what else do you think lead to the popularity of 3oh!3? Also, would you consider 3oh!3 to be a hip-hop duo? Why or why not?
Here's another tune off their sophomore effort "Want." This song "Rich Man" includes references of liquor, objectification, and even the threat of the frontman locking lips with your sister.
Also, check this interview, where the members of 3oh!3 admit that they believe their controversial lyrics attribute to the popularity in the same way NWA's did.
I first heard of 3Oh!3 from watching snowboard videos. They were huge in the "Think Thank" snowboard film team. They were a huge hit when "Don't Trust Me" came out. I thought I was cool because I knew of them long before most people did. I am not sure why they became so popular. I, Myself wouldn't call 3Oh!3 hip hop. I would call them an electro-pop/rock alternative group. In my personal experience they have become extremely un-cool. My friends all think of them as dumb and out-dated. I was not aware that they are still getting attention and growing larger. I find this very interesting.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I feel the same way man. After I entered freshman year of high school I was no longer entertained by them at all. But yes, they are still signed to a major label and are releaseing songs with features such as Ke$ha, Katy Perry, Lil' Jon etc.
ReplyDeleteI heard of 3Oh!3 in high school randomly because one of their songs was used in a performance, but I had never heard of them before and I haven't heard much of them after that. I feel, however, that their popularity could vary by region, because I know that there are some of my friends who are in the mid-west still listen to them. It all depends on the region and the type of music you listen to.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do not think they fit into rap and/or hip hop genre and I think they have pretty much fallen off the music radar.
So I found your post quite interesting. 3Oh!3 was often blasted in the carpool van on the way to swim meets because it was one thing everyone could agree on, weird I know. But anyway I was a HUGE fan of them in middle school and my freshman year and I thought they had fallen off the grid as well, although all their songs still remain on my iPod. Hip hop is not something I think about when listening to them. I see the relation in their themes but there are other songs in other genres that sing about things such as the sexual objectification of women, usage of drug and alcohol, lavish lifestyles and such. So I would definitely not put their music into any sort of classification of hip hop. And side note I loved that you really went outside the box on this with the hip hop posts. Kudos to you!
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