Photo by David Sampson
Rap is driving music. It blares from open car windows, beats on concrete streets and announces one’s arrival before stepping out of a vehicle. While there is much hand-wringing come August and September about what track gets the elusive "Song of the Summer" title, the Rap Song of the Summer is always obvious and easily determined: it rings out at stoplights, it is the track that announces a party has started, or hits its apex. Rich Homie Quan, who is about to make his third run at the title in as many summers, is the rapper that best captures the season’s jubilance.
"Type of Way", the song that launched him to the Top 40 in 2013, was the *tongue out emoji* in song form. The video captures what that particular life-changing moment meant for Quan as he goes from sensual luxuriation to hanging out with his crew to the recording booth to concert stage. Life cycle of a Quan:
Hardly content with reigning for a single term, Rich Homie Quan and Young Thug found success last summer with the exuberant "Lifestyle". Quan’s collaboration with his fellow eccentrically-dressed Atlanta rapper was a bit of seasonal escapism that felt more jubilant compared to the dour "Hot Nigga" and self-serious "0-100" that were vying for the same spot. The Atlanta pair took a different take and instead of looking inward they took it to the party. The partnership between Quan and Thug only led to one tape before Quan announced his amicable split from the duo, but while the lack of music between the two is a shame, what’s downright tragic is that their separation means no more of their wondrous Instagram videos:
Away from Young Thug and Birdman after splitting with Rich Gang, Rich Homie Quan released what is, to date, ostensibly his Summer Single zenith—"Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)". The song’s rubbery bounce was produced by Nitti, who crafted Young Joc’s beloved mid-2000s hit "It’s Goin' Down", and it perfectly pairs with the sang-froid cool of Quan’s hook and verses. Quan's effortless suave on the song can take a couple listens to fully absorb, but his bikini-doused video for the track video immediately captured that charm.
Quan spends most of the "Flex" video sashaying across a Florida car dealership sporting a tropical print Y-3 coat and gleefully mugging for the camera every time his hook of "Ooh ooh ooh" arrives. In an era where rap videos often settle for grabbing a HD camera and showing a "slice of life", the Instagram filtered look of the video makes it an instant standout. Videos that are so literal in their presentation lack a wistful aspiration that ran through so many rap videos, historically. "Flex" succeeds in part because of the joy of watching Quan parade around enjoying every single second of his beautiful life.
Last month, Rich Homie Quan made headlines with an altercation with a security guard at the Miami nightclub LIV. The story made the news rounds less for the fact of the altercation—a nightclub brawl isn’t exactly surprising—but more for the alleged getaway by Quan and his crew involving a speedboat. The story felt ripped out of a summer blockbuster—perhaps Spring Breakers 2: Quan Time—which only adds to Quan’s singularity around this season.