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4Batz is an upcoming artist who recently secured a Drake feature for his hit single titled act ii: date @ 8. Although receiving a co-sign from hip hop's biggest artists is usually a praised event, the 4Batz situation is unusual as he's only released three songs till today.
The small discography has received praise from some of the biggest artists in the world. The Drake remix of his third act was released on Mar 8, 2024 and has already been picking up steam online. Here's a list of notable celebrities who've publicly praised Batz's alternative R&B style.
- Timbaland
- Kanye West
- SZA
- Drake
Prior to the "Drake Remix" releasing, 4Batz was found teasing the single with several posts on his social media.
Note: Some parts of this article are subjective and only reflect the writer's opinions.
The artist, also known as Batz, took to social media to post a BTS shot of him, Drake, and his friends all listening to Drizzy's verse on the newly released single, a few hours before it dropped.
The remix was later independently distributed to all DSPs (Digital Streaming Platforms) via 4Batz, himself, and is the fourth official release from the rapper and R&B singer.
From hit singles to marketing: Dissecting 4Batz's rapid rise to success
A lot of Batz's music style and aesthetic appear to draw inspiration from alternative R&B artists like 6lack, Bryson Tiller, and Brent Faiyaz. From his choice of beats to the flows and cadence incorporated into his songs, all three of Batz's singles create a slow-paced, late-night vibe for their listeners.
At the time of publishing this article, the artist has almost 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Check out our breakdown for all three of Batz's singles below.
act i: Stickerz "99"
Batz released his first single on 27 June 2023, titled act i: Stickerz "99". The song has garnered over 21 million views on his Spotify. The song was produced by Nic Dreams, Jomari, and Soleia.
A few months later, on October 20, Batz dropped the music video for this single to his official YouTube Channel which is currently sitting at 2 million views. The song finds the singer reflecting on the troubles of his complicated relationship with an unnamed woman.
Some notable bars in this song include:
"I might just call and catch a plane / I might just come see you today / You hate I'm stuck up in my ways / But love it when I'm playin' games"
act ii: Date @ 8
4Batz released the biggest song of his discography on 15 December, 2023, to all DSPs which has since amassed over 80 million streams on Spotify.
The music video for the song was uploaded two months later on his YouTube channel. The song was extremely viral for the perfect blend between Batz's vocals and the gritty visuals of violence that accompanied it, making for a unique visual and auditory experience.
Some notable bars from this song include:
"I'll come and slide by 8 PM / And send a text to your DM / Five hunnid for your fu*kin' hair / Two hunnid for your fu*kin' nails"
act iii: on god? (She Like)
Batz unveiled his third single on March 1, 2024, which has gained over 2 million streams since its release.
Although this song is the least streamed title from his discography, Drake decided to hop on as a feature in the remixed version of the song that hit streaming platforms today.
The song finds Drake perfectly blending his harmonies and vocal performance into 4Batz's iconic style, which adds to the spacy vibe the instrumentals create. Some notable bars from Drizzy's verse on the song include:
"The bodies that you caught before / Make me mad or insecure / A thousand on your fu*kin' hair / Two hunnid on your fu*kin' nails, for real"
As the streams on his discography continue to grow each day, the discussions around his sudden rise to fame are ever-present. Check out how the internet has been reacting to 4Batz's music below.
There was a user on X (formerly Twitter) found to be critiquing Batz and his music by stating that his records are "melodic and catchy," they appear to lack variance since the second half of his songs are only repeated verses that are pitched down.
It's important to note that these low-pitched sounds are extremely popular on X (formerly Twitter), so it is possible that Batz is implementing a marketing strategy to influence TikTok users and creators to use the pitched-down parts of his songs to create content.
Many seem to express excitement over the artist's quick success and music direction, whereas there exists a separate group of people online who consider 4Batz to be an accurate representation of an "Industry Plant".
When people call out an individual for being an "IP," they simply mean that they feel deceived by how this person became popular. In the comments section online, netizens are calling out 4Batz's authenticity by implying his success is a cause of powerful connections within the music industry.
Most of the chatter around 4Batz's music and meteoric rise can be seen stemming from the day his first "Off The Block" performance video dropped.
These videos blew up since viewers were left stunned by the gentle voice Batz brought to the table. The juxtaposition of him visually establishing himself as a street rapper but performing soft vocal melodies was clearly effective as this clip received over 8 Million views on YouTube.
4Batz's representation, Amber Baker, works for RCA as a lead creative manager with a background in video and tour production. Her resume on LinkedIn includes managing intellectual property, outside of RCA, for collaboration deals with brands like Balenciaga while representing artists like Gunna and Summer Walker.
What is so unique about 4Batz's marketing?
There are several hundred ways for an individual to promote their music on social media, but only a few are being speculated to have been used by 4Batz to boost his viewership.
Intentional campaigns are a major aspect of the music industry and are considered fair-use strategies for musicians to increase the number of people they can reach.
The following strategy should be considered as speculative information only. This was based on a Rolling Stone Magazine cover of 4Batz, where they cited how they did reach out to Amber Baker for an official comment but failed to receive a response.
To understand the simple, yet supposedly deceitful strategy, one needs to look no further than Instagram's search feed. Just scrolling down an IG feed of somebody who engages with a lot of music content, it becomes evident that certain pages post upcoming or "new" rappers and artists on their page.
One look at the bio for such pages and we find how they openly accept payments for "Promos" or "Enquiries". The thought of paying to be promoted as an upcoming artist, instead of organically growing, is a major contender for the distrust that has been building around 4Batz's rise to fame.
It was recently reported by Billboard Magazine, that multiple Major Labels have entered a supposed "bidding war," in an attempt to sign 4Batz to their roster. Industry Plant or not, 4Batz is definitely going to be an artist to watch out for this year.
