Steve 'Flash' JuonIs it all over for 6ix9ine? You might question why I’d start a review of “BLACKBALLED” that way, but I had similar questions when I looked up the album. Wikipedia is ostensibly not supposed to have any kind of editorial bias, but the anonymous writer who penned the words “the album would fail to achieve any commercial or critical success” seems to be throwing some shade at Mr. Hernandez. That’s the reason I asked the opening question. Statements like that usually cause a notice at the top of a Wiki article saying the article’s tone needs to be cleaned up, and sentences like that often cause another editor to say “citation needed” to prove the voracity of the claim. Nobody has challenged the accuracy of calling 6ix9ine’s last album a total failure — and that suggests to me that nobody CARES.
The views for “GOOO” suggest that’s not an accurate narrative. Now it’s true that it’s not the 1.5 billion views of “BEBE,” the billion views of “FEFE” or the 900 million+ of “GOOBA,” but I’m still going to opine that nearly five million views for “GOOO” is a success. Whoever dubbed him a failure is comparing an unsustainable level of virality to a more reasonable expectation of audience participation. I guarantee you any struggling artist would be ecstatic to have five million views or five million streams of a song on any platform. “FEEFAFO” featuring Ben El Tavori and Yailin La Más Viral has done DOUBLE that number.
Reggaeton feels like a natural fit for Hernandez. It has worked for him in the past and continues to work for him today. It might be because that limits how much time he spends yelling at the top of his lungs when his collaborators need room to breathe, or it might be that his Puerto Rican/Nuyorican roots give him a natural feel for the music that’s hard to come by accidentally. Either way the harder he leans into it the better his songs become, peaking on “BLACKBALLED” with the song “SHAKA LAKA” featuring the aforementioned Yailin along with Kodak Black. The video for this one currently sits at over 80 million views so saying “BLACKBALLED” failed to achieve any commercial success is a blatant lie.
Even though I’m challenging the tone of a completely anonymous writer who themselves has probably had their edits rewritten dozens of times, I can somewhat understand the hive mind mentality that produced this posture. 6ix9ine is one of the most divisive rappers of modern times. His colorful look, his hyper aggressive lyrics and delivery, his constant run-ins with the law, and (perhaps most damning of all) accusations he sold out his friends to get lenient sentencing have made him the internet’s favorite punching bag. It’s also low hanging fruit. I’m not above pulling down that branch or taking a bite of that apple myself, I’m just saying that it can lead to a lack of curiosity about whether or not his modern music is a “success” or a “failure” by any of the metrics we’ve collectively established.
“They say they outside, but they never outside
I’m really outside, I’m really with the guys”
Hernandez may for better or worse be accurate on “SIMMY.” I say for better because so many of his haters talk a big game but don’t really do shit, which is exactly how I’d like it to remain. Whether you like his music or not, leave it at that and don’t harass the man. I don’t like Kanye West but I’ll say the exact same thing about him (though it’s a hell of a coincidence the two have worked closely together). If 6ix9ine betrayed the people closest to him, that’s their problem, not yours. If he continues to find himself in legal trouble, that’s a problem for the law. Above all else “BLACKBALLED” shows me he still has fans, and within the reggaeton sphere, there’s plenty of reason for him to continue giving them what they want. He lives to piss people off though, and some of those people are like pro wrestling fans who can’t see they’re being worked. If he made you mad enough to call him a failure, he succeeded.