Marcus Brown ’22
In today’s internet culture, many entertainers quickly drift in and out of prominence. However, it is very apparent when a particular artist goes above and beyond to extend their “fifteen minutes of fame.” Considering his massive success in recent weeks, this can be said regarding Atlanta rapper, Gunna. Following the January 7th release of DS4Ever, the cultural impact of Gunna has been unavoidable.
The success of Gunna’s third studio album has stunned the music industry. Debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, DS4Ever blocked Superbowl-performing superstar, The Weeknd, from having his album, Dawn FM, top the chart. This impressive upset becomes more reasonable when considering the grasp Gunna’s songs have on social media trends. On TikTok, there are over 550 thousand videos using his song, “pushin P.” From dancing to lip syncing the song, the thousands of videos and millions of likes are a testament to Gunna’s recent success.
Another unexpected result of the rapper’s recent success is his addition to pop culture itself, not just in rap, but across the entire internet. All over social media, users, communities, and companies using the “P” emoji have been unavoidable. Originating from a Gunna tweet on January 4th, the phrase “pushing P” and its accompanying emoji has been used millions of times. Even the largest users and companies have capitalized off of the trend. In an instagram post, Kim Kardashian used the now infamous emoji in a caption. In a tweet, Nike stated that they will be “pushin 🅿️ all year.” The current reach of Gunna on internet culture is astounding. However, one can only wish for continued success for the Atlanta rapper.
The Salesian Spectator 