Desiigner’s smash hit “Panda” got the 19 year old Brooklyn native a great deal of success—and fast, considering it was the first song we’ve heard from him. You can hear it playing on the radio on your local Hip Hop station, booming out of the systems of passing cars and in night clubs all around the country. The single also lead to an eventual record deal with Kanye West and his G.O.O.D. Music imprint.
Now that the initial buzz of the record is finally starting to die down, fans are waiting to see if he can continue the success with more hits of similar magnitude. This isn’t going to be an easy feat. He’s already dealing with a great deal of criticism due to him sounding extremely similar to one of the hottest artists in the game right now, Future.
Newer fans might not be aware, but the Hip Hop community has dealt with situations similar to this before. The first name that comes to mind is Guerilla Black. If you’re wondering why you don’t know that name it’s because he faded away from Hip Hop as quick as he came. Granted, his record “Compton” didn’t achieve anywhere near the success of “Panda” but he did deal with similar criticism. When fans first heard Guerilla Black the first thing that came to mind was, “This guy sounds exactly like Biggie”. It was an unavoidable statement. He had stated in interviews that it was just how his voice sounded and that the similarity was in no way intentional, but that record was basically his introduction and exit from Hip Hop.
This makes us question whether or not Desiigner will be able to overcome the Future comparisons and make his own stamp in this game, or if in a few years he will just be viewed as the guy who sounded like Future. A lot of fans nowadays don’t seem to be as concerned with authenticity as much as they used to. Nowadays the general consensus seems to be “if it’s hot, it’s hot.” With this viewpoint Desiigner might have a lengthy career ahead of him as long as he can continue to crank out club bangers, but in the event that fans start to get sick of the similarities to Future, like many already have, and demand to hear something that sounds a little more unique from him, then his run in this game could definitely be cut a little short if he doesn’t make the necessary adjustments.
