Okay this one is a little unusual for me as I rarely delve into the politics of the music industry but I saw a music video today and was introduced to a young rapper named Froggy Fresh. His song is called "Dunked On" and as you might assume it is about basketball. I loved it from the start and watched/listened to it 3 or 4 times. It is slick and adorably homemade which further adds to the appeal for me. Langston Wertz, Jr. the sports columnist from the Charlotte Observer who turned me on to "Dunked On" tweeted that this was, "the funniest most original Youtube video I've seen in a minute."Check out the video here.
Froggy Fresh sings with an apparent "southern" accent so I wondered who he is and where he is from and began researching to see what I could discover.
I found out that he was known earlier as "Krispy Kreme" but changed his name earlier this year, claiming the doughnut company Krispy Kreme had fought his use of their trademark. I saw more videos from "Krispy", some of which were rather amateurish, with really corny lines like “Even if you had infinity knives, I would punch you up into the air like a kite” but also with some rather clever rhymes mixed in. I also found another song by Froggy Fresh that I really liked. It could almost be labeled "Christian Rap". That one is called "Same Old Kid" and can be seen here.
As I continued my research, it appeared that the "rap detectives" had already done their work. They believe they have discovered Krispy’s real name, Tyler S. Cassidy. They found a newsletter from The Flint Journal listing
Tyler (under a picture of a guy who’s clearly Krispy Kreme) as the
valedictorian of his high school class, with a 3.95 grade average. So maybe he is not from the South... Froggy Fresh's "southern" accent sounds very genuine, so maybe a parent, grandparent, extended family is from the South if Froggy Fresh is indeed Tyler Cassidy. By the way, I am an accent expert. ;)Additional "evidence" lists a Tyler S. Cassidy as the publisher of Krispy Kreme's songs on ITunes. But then I found out that Tyler Cassidy is also a rapper. Well, imagine that... So I found a song listed for Tyler Cassidy and listened to it. Gone is the country twang and the corny lines. Cassidy's song, "Forever" has very tight rhymes and is reminiscent of Eminem (and that is meant as a huge compliment). Listen to it here.
I tried to hear the same voice in Tyler Cassidy and Froggy Fresh. I thought I could hear similarities but more than one person has said that they can’t tell if that voice could come from the same person. Let me know what you think.
People have been critical of Froggy Fresh, some calling him a redneck, some calling him a hoax, but heck, I don't feel like that at all. I am on the side of him being genius. After all he is his class Valedictorian.
If he can do the Froggy Fresh thing until he (or the world) is ready for all his talent, more power to him. I genuinely love "Dunked On" and Froggy Fresh, Krispy Kreme, or Tyler Cassidy (whoever you are) you have a new Number 1 fan. I wish you the very best and if I can help in any way let me know.
Maybe Froggy will come clean with all his fans soon.. or maybe not. It doesn't matter to me. I'm a fan either way.
He is actually really good, he's definitely doing it for the entertainment aspect of it, I just went through and checked out all his videos, and I gotta say, while it may seem stupid (and it did, believe me) at the same time I couldn't help but offer a honest, "this guy is actually alright! I would like to see where he goes next and if he makes it to bigger than YouTube, I don't know, guess we'll see if others feel the same as you and I.
ReplyDeleteRural Michigan has tons of different accents due to many people coming from all parts of the US to work for the big Auto-Companies (now gone, sadly).
ReplyDeleteIn particular there was a significant influx of residents from Kentucky.
Many places you go in Michigan, you will find all sorts of accents.