NBC BLK
One thing is for sure; pretty girls are not the only ones who like trap music — Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz has made that perfectly clear.
What began as a marketing ploy for his latest project, “Pretty Girls like Trap Music,” has sparked a media frenzy and inspired conversations even as the campaign is over.
Michael Wortham, minister of young adults at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA, thought the move – painting a modest house in the metro Atlanta area pink to resemble the album cover of his latest project and painting the words “TRAP” broadly across the front – was a dope marketing campaign.
“I can’t deny that. I haven’t seen anyone put a marketing plan together for an album like that,” he told NBC News, adding that as a fan of the genre, he appreciates not just the musicality but also its art form.
Trap music emerged as a sub-genre of hip-hop in the 1990s thanks to Atlanta artists like Outkast and Goodie Mob. However, it would not be until recently that the culture began to dominate popular culture.
Fans of the music have began associating the word with just about everything, glorifying what Wortham considers a complicated situation.
“The ‘trap’ is a real situation for a lot of people,” he stated. “There are real life people out here struggling with the trap reality each and every day. The music highlights those experiences – the music is the expression of those living it.”
Which is why Wortham is concerned by the attention trap culture has received recently.
“We cannot consume certain entertainment and culture without honestly dealing with the issues that create the culture,” he said. “There are real life experiences that inform the music. We have to be careful not to do the same kind of cultural appropriation we get mad at other cultures for doing.”
In addition to the house, 2 Chainz himself has also done a few “pop-up” trap salons. There is even a group doing a trap fitness boot camp at one of the local parks in Atlanta.
The campaign, which was only supposed to last for a couple weeks, attracted countless tourists and visitors – snapping selfies with the house in the background and sharing them on Instagram, Facebook and SnapChat.
And as the popularity grew of the house via social media, Wortham jokingly commented on his Facebook page, “Trap Karaoke…Trap Brunch…Trap Fitness…It’s only a matter of time before someone hosts ‘Trap Church.’” A few days later, he would be the one along with several community and organization leaders hosting such an event.
The house was sparking something more than promotional attention. Following Trap Church, the house served as a temporary health clinic for HIV testing on the 4th of July.
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