These Baltimore Club Tracks Could Stay on Billboard's Top 100 Chart For a Year

There’s an airtight argument to be made that the day that Billboard decided that the Top 100 chart was open to the possibly perceived as "gamificati

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

There’s an airtight argument to be made that the day that Billboard decided that the Top 100 chart was open to the possibly perceived as "gamification" of being swayed by YouTube hits is the exact moment that Baltimore club music could crossover and finally have its true moment in the sun. Recently, much has been made of Marina Shifrin's job-quitting creative dance video set to Kanye West's 2005 single "Gone," allowing the now eight-year old single from West's Late Registration album to see a resurgence in digital sales and a high number of YouTube plays to lead the song to re-surfacing in Billboard's Top 20 charts. In this happening (and mainstream labels having a deep desire to discover methods to maintain their bottom line), it's entirely possible that three classic tunes in the history of Baltimore club music - arguably above any three other songs in all other dance genres combined - have the ability (if pushed and marketed to their fullest potential) to be the kind of enormous smash hits that could make the success of Psy's 2012 hit "Gangnam Style," Baauer's "Harlem Shake" or Ylvis' 2013 "The Fox" look like a drop in the bucket.

Classic Baltimore club's insistence on snatching samples from extremely mainstream-friendly sources, or incredible, original and once-in-a-lifetime vocal drops, plus producers being able to flip them in combination with percussive loops that create the insistent urge to dance in a wild manner would appear to be a tremendous recipe for a mainstream label looking to capture the #1 spot using Billboard's new rules. Even more amazing, it would appear that if a label released a three song compilation EP of the soon-to-be discussed Baltimore club classics, then prior to release pulled a Moby and licensed the songs for advertising campaigns alongside creating viral-ready video clips, they could lock down the top of the charts for a significant portion of the year.

There's a part of me that as a music fanatic is angry that the music industry has in many ways literally become a game. As well, there's a part of me that feels like if its become a game, then why not - like with any other game - take to the internet and post the cheat codes so that everyone can win. If correctly deployed, classic Baltimore club music is the ultimate music industry cheat code, and for a small investment (by comparison to potential earnings) can make labels (and DJ/producers) a TON of money.

KW Griff - "Chris Rock Joint"

Not Available Interstitial

If there were one song that could, in an ideal world, truly show the disruptive abilities of gamification to the Billboard charts, it's Baltimore-based producer KW Griff's "Chris Rock Joint." Getting the samples cleared for the track wouldn't be the hardest part, as the track itself samples Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz's "Chris Rock In the Club" skit from the group's 2005 album Crunk Juice. The bigger budget would be getting the obvious Vegas video together featuring Lil Jon and Chris Rock at say, XS, where feasibly you could have KW Griff opening for Baltimore club-familiar DJ/producer Diplo during a Mad Decent Mondays night as the video shoot. I can't think of two people that mainstream America loves would enjoy watching more than Chris Rock and Lil Jon being Chris Rock and Lil Jon - especially in a club scenario. Furthermore, imagine the potential for a viral video campaign involving folks living, dying, getting [their] car washed, going to school, going to the cleaners, going to church, paying [their] taxes, going to library, and a plethora of other activities in the club. In a manner similar to the viral sensation that was people breaking out in the "Harlem Shake" in random places, folks in Middle America and the most mainstream and casual adopters of EDM culture getting in on the act would appear to be the most obvious of marketable concepts.

Jonny Blaze - "Peanut Butter Jelly Time"

Not Available Interstitial

Much like Kanye West's "Gone," the internet gif set to "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" by Chip-Man and the Buckwheat Boyz already had a significant run with fame between 2007-2009, when the song became internet viral and was made famous by Fox Network's Family Guy program. Baltimore-based DJ and producer Jonny Blaze's remix of the track was released in 2008, and - in a manner similar to so many Baltimore club classics - was likely a timely quick remix of a pop song meant for play for a few months during a pop-leaning nightclub or bar set. However, if a major label could connect the song to a campaign for say, Jif, and as well couple that with viral campaign done between the label and the brand, there's the inherent possibility that a chart-topping hit is more than possible.

Intriguingly enough, the Buckwheat Boyz have already had success with a marketing tie-in for one of their singles as "Ice Cream and Cake" was used in a 2009 Baskin-Robbins advertising campaign that yes, did feature a video contest as well. Given that the road has been previously traveled, there should be absolutely no reason - with the potential promise of a Billboard #1 hit song - that creating a similar campaign for a certainly more EDM-friendly track could easily be successful.

Jimmy Jones and DJ Booman - "Watch Out For The Big Girl"

Not Available Interstitial

With a world gone fitness crazy and health mad, alongside an EDM scene that definitely focuses more on thin women who fit the stereotype of being aesthetically appealing, this twenty-year old Doo Dew Kidz collaboration is a no brainer. Plus-sized women twerking, dropping it low, turning up, getting plurnt or maybe even breaking out the "Spongebob," "Wu-Tang," or "Crazy Legs" to this one could likely make it a guaranteed smash. A mainstream label budgeted video with say, RiFF RAFF or Action Bronson throwing in a sixteen would likely somehow provide an incredibly entertaining and unbelievably unique visual as well. As well, if Instavid, Vine, and WorldStar were ever added to Billboard's algorithm, it would be game over as the levels of ratchetness and "can't turn my head away" replay-ability for clips of individuals creating their own videos set to the song would likely be unbelievably high.

Latest in Music