{"id":481095,"date":"2019-01-19T10:00:58","date_gmt":"2019-01-19T17:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=780460"},"modified":"2019-01-19T10:00:58","modified_gmt":"2019-01-19T17:00:58","slug":"calboys-envy-me-is-only-two-minutes-long-and-a-wrenching-listen-its-still-going-to-be-a-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/music-news\/calboys-envy-me-is-only-two-minutes-long-and-a-wrenching-listen-its-still-going-to-be-a-hit\/","title":{"rendered":"Calboy\u2019s \u2018Envy Me\u2019 Is Only Two Minutes Long and a Wrenching Listen \u2014 It\u2019s Still Going to Be a Hit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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To understand the mechanics of hip-hop in 2019, one could start by looking at\u00a0Calboy<\/a>\u2018s \u201cEnvy Me.\u201d It is currently one of the most successful rap records in the country, though I\u2019m still a little unsure whether to refer to Calboy<\/a> as\u00a0CalBoy, 147 Calboy or 147Calboy. Despite any potential confusion, \u201cEnvy Me\u201d is number 63 on the Billboard<\/em> Hot 100, has two different entries on the SoundCloud Top 50<\/a>, has racked up 25 million views on YouTube since August and been a regular on Shazam charts in major metropolitan cities through the summer. It, of course, also inspired a viral social media challenge.<\/p>\n

Eerie, bright and hyper-violent, the song revels in the dichotomy of Calboy\u2019s delivery and is one of the reasons it\u2019s an off-kilter hit. \u201cI was fighting some demons, in the field, bitch, I\u2019m deep in\/I was raised in the deep end, I know niggas be sinking,\u201d the Chicago rapper sings with glee.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was getting extremely high, bro, at one point in time. I cut off a lot of stuff I usually do and up here wasn\u2019t all the way screwed in,\u201d he told Genius<\/a> about the lyric. \u201cSo, that\u2019s where that line come from. I really had some shit going on outside that I didn\u2019t really have no business being into. I shouldn\u2019t have been there or in that mix, and I was in that mix and it kind of haunted me for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the song\u2019s rise, it\u2019s like the powers-that-be (he\u2019s rumored to be signed to RCA; label reps were unavailable to comment) want to corral its momentum into something more manageable. It\u2019s unclear if the song was re-uploaded to major streaming services on December 13, but\u00a0Google Play<\/a> lists its original release date as September 13. If there is a concerted push to maximize the song\u2019s potential, it appears to be working. \u201cEnvy Me\u201d was among the most added records on mainstream R&B and hip-hop radio according to Nielsen BDS \u2014 16 new radio stations picked it up the week ending January 26.\u00a0In early January, it was added to Spotify\u2019s Rap Caviar and its netted over 15 million plays in a month. There\u2019s a lot to envy.<\/p>\n