SoundCentric
Posts
#9: Is Ian Really Mocking Culture?

#9: Is Ian Really Mocking Culture?

Adam Dash
March 17, 2025

Good morning! Welcome back to another edition of the SoundCentric newsletter!

Ladies and gentlemen, it happened! Playboi Carti, after months of teasing us, has finally dropped his highly anticipated album, I AM MUSIC. And so far, I’m pretty happy with it.

Today’s discussion centers around Tyler, the Creator’s comments on Ian. Is he mocking culture? Or is he just a kid wearing his inspirations on his sleeve? And when it comes to blame—should it fall more on him or the labels?

You could be reading anything in the world right now, and you're here with me. So, I appreciate it.

Let’s get to it!

Deep Dive

Why do we draw the line at a white rapper whose music is inspired by Future?

I don’t know if I’m the best person to ask this question, but it’s a free country, and the thought has been racking my brain—so I figured I might as well put it out there. The inspiration for this question comes from the constant criticism of Dallas rapper, Ian.

Let me start by saying this: I’m not necessarily an Ian fan. His track “Hate Me” with Lil Yachty from last year was one of my favorites, but beyond that, nothing has really hooked me. That being said, I do think he’s talented.

He’s got some clever lines—like when he rapped, “I drive this car like I’m beefin’ with the asphalt.” He definitely carries himself with some swagger. His beat selection isn’t always for me, but he’s carved out a niche, and he’s headlining his own tour—so clearly, there’s an audience willing to spend money to see him.

Like many artists before him, Ian has been labeled an “industry plant.” Interestingly enough, he’s signed to BuVision, the same label as 4Batz—another artist who constantly faces industry plant accusations. They also have SAILORR, one of my favorite rising artists, and I can already see her getting hit with the same accusations when she eventually blows up (she’s incredible, and I hope she does).

But this isn’t about industry plant allegations—it’s about the question I posed at the start.

Why is it okay for a white rapper to be clearly inspired by the J. Coles and Kendricks of the world, but when that inspiration comes from someone like Future or Gucci Mane, it suddenly turns into “mocking culture”? I know plenty of white guys who rap like J.I.D. I know a lot who try to sound like MF DOOM. Some even have vocal inflections clearly inspired by MIKE and Earl. Yet, when a white rapper hops on an Alchemist-type beat or an Isaiah Rashad-type beat, no one bats an eye.

Tyler, the Creator recently weighed in on this in an interview with Maverick Carter, saying:

"[Ian's] mocking Future and Gucci Mane, like rap music. And people are like, ‘This shit hard.’ It’s not even satire. It’s like, ‘I’m just joking and I’m just mocking it.’”

I think his use of the word mocking is interesting. To say Ian is mocking these artists implies he’s making fun of them in a negative light. And honestly, I’m surprised Tyler—someone who has always been open about showing love to his inspirations—would view Ian as someone mocking Future rather than just a kid who grew up loving that sound.

Tyler pointed to the late Mac Miller as an example of a white rapper who didn’t mock the culture. Mac was famously a huge hip-hop fan and a student of the game, yet even he was dismissed as a “frat rapper” for much of his early career. In 2011, Danny Brown had some harsh words about him, saying:

"He’s the worst guy around. Don’t get me started. His album cover is like, ‘Ugh, what is this?’ He’s trying to be artistic, huh?... You’re probably a cool guy. I don’t feel violent in any way, but I really hate you. I hate your music, man. It’s just bad.”

Ian finally responded to Tyler’s comments in a recent freestyle, rapping:

“Back then, I really loved Odd Future / I ain’t never sat down tryna mock Future / I ain’t wanna show no disrespect, so I kept my mouth shut and that’s not human.”

Was it the hardest response ever? No. In a year where we saw one of the best rap battles in history, this didn’t exactly leave me running around the house in awe. But I feel for the kid. I started as a skeptic, but as I listened more, I genuinely think he’s just a young artist who loves Southern rap. I don’t think using an album cover inspired by the white guy in Sperrys meme was necessarily the smartest move for his image, but I choose to see it as a kid being funny rather than him mocking hip-hop culture.

If Ian rapped over a DOOM beat, would we be having this conversation? When Playboi Carti literally sounds like a Future clone on “Toxic,” is he mocking Future? I also don’t think his subject matter is all that different from any other rapper—weed, girls, money, cars. From what I’ve heard (and correct me if I’m wrong), he’s not rapping about killing, guns, or glorifying a lifestyle he wasn’t raised in.

I think the much larger discussion is around the coverage Ian gets. In my opinion, I think more of the blame should be placed on the machines and labels that push him rather than blaming the 19-year-old for getting popular off of music he likes making.

Does Ian receive more major promotion from large hip-hop news outlets than some Black artists who are potentially more deserving of that same type of coverage? Yes. But I think some of the hate is pointed in the wrong direction when we get angry at a teenager for becoming successful rather than the machines that are pushing his music through hate-campaigns that they know will get big because of the outrage they incite. Who I think Tyler should be really mad at is the labels and the news outlets, not the kid who grew up inspired by Odd Future, a collective that always promoted creativity and doing what you want and not caring what others have to say.

I’m curious to see where Ian’s career goes. Maybe he’ll have a Mac-esque artistic evolution. The kid is literally 19, and we’ve got grown men trying to shut his career down before he can even legally sip a beer. So while I might not be the best person to deliver this message, I say we let him develop before we run him out of town.