HILLARY: Scamming has become the new trapping for a young generation of rappers.
And when it comes to the growing sub-genre of “scam rap” – the mark of choice is
credit card fraud - recently referenced by the City Girls and A$AP Rocky.
HILLARY: But a handful of rappers aren’t just talking about scamming, they’re breaking
it down, step-by-step.
And nobody does it with as much detail as Detroit’s Teejayx6.
Genius News spoke with him about being the current face of scam rap.
TEEJAYX6: Only reason I’m going outside is going to an ATM or a bank.
TEEJAYX6: Selling drugs, robbing somebody those are all outside activities…
It’s a lower chance of you risking, I mean, losing your life doing the scamming shit
than losing your life selling dope and all that bullshit.
HILLARY: Teejay caught attention with his breakout single “Dark Web,” a place on the internet
that the average user can’t see.
CNN: Think of it as the under belly of the internet. It's a network you're only able to access through the TOR network,
an encrypted browser that makes it difficult to identify users.
HILLARY: He explained some of these terms to Genius News.
TEEJAYX6: BINs is just like a debit card, I mean the first six numbers of a debit card….
I’m really helping people in the long run, you know what I mean?
HILLARY: Most of Teejay’s songs are dramatic scam stories that play out like heist movies.
“Swipe Story” tells a tale of a hit at one of America’s most popular stores for
scammers to purchase expensive electronics and more using stolen BINs.
HILLARY: And then there’s “The Fraud Bible.”
TEEJAYX6: Actual methods and everything. BINs and everything.
You get ’The Fraud Bible’ and you get an actually fraud bible.
That’s what I’m doing for everybody with this mixtape.
So when you pre-order it, you get the fraud bible early.
But when you actually buy, you get the shit.
HILLARY: Credit card fraud in the U.S. costs consumers billions of dollars every year.
With its references to BINs and Bitcoin, scam rap can be found everywhere,
from Decatur, Georgia’s Money Man to Brooklyn’s Pop Out Boyz, who ended up charged with grand larceny.
But recently, scam rap has become more closely associated with Detroit rappers
like Kasher Quon, 10K Kev, and Bossman Rich.
HILLARY: The Detroit duo Drego & Beno have also worked closely with scam rappers though
they don’t claim to be a part of the scene.
They explained to Genius News how scamming became so popular in the Motor City.
BENO: Young niggas around this bitch 16 have $200 thousand, $100 thousand, running around
this bitch.
More than niggas’ daddies, you feel me?
DREGO: Detroit known for getting money.
So once they get a new hustle, it’s gonna pop.
HILLARY: But the rap crew Band Gang really set off the popularity of scam rap in Detroit
with member BandGang Lonnie Bands at the forefront.
HILLARY: ShredGang Boogz is also a collaborator of Lonnie Bands.
In September 2018, Boogz was charged with using stolen cards to wire money to himself.
Federal agents investigating say he was once shot in the face over scamming.
WDIV: The feds say Albert Hills used 3,000 stolen credit cards
to fund his fledgling music career.
HILLARY: Ultimately, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Selfmade Kash, like Teejayx6, also made scamming the focus of his rap persona
with song titles like “In Swipe I Trust” and “Swipe God Freestyle.”
HILLARY: In early 2019, Selfmade Kash was indicted on charges of wire fraud, aggravated
identity theft and possession of unauthorized access devices.
WXYZ: This indictment goes deep to highlight Kash’s paid training session to teach others
how to navigate the dark web and purchase stolen credit card info.
HILLARY: Kash faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, highlighting the serious repercussions
for scamming.
Yet some artists are light-heartedly rapping about it like Oakland’s Guapdad 4000,
who gave Genius News his own take on the movement.
GUAPDAD 4000: I fuck with Teejay, that's the lil homie.
He’s angry dude.
Like if black Airforces was a person, they'd be him.
GUAPDAD 4000: I knew niggas who was fucking with credit card theft, and that’s what
I wanted to fuck with ‘cause I’ve never been a dope boy…
Most scammers is like me.
We in the house.
I’m watching ‘Courage The Cowardly Dog’ committing fraud.
HILLARY: Long before he became a surprise favorite on the “Revenge of the Dreamers 3” album,
Guapdad says he was committing petty crimes to support his siblings and grandparents
while his parents were in and out of jail.
GUAPDAD 4000: I got all the equipment.
I ordered it off the internet.
It wasn’t hard to find.
And kind of just started my own, trial and error…
One day I hit, I came home with like six Macy’s bag and a big brown bag from Bloomingdale’s.
And my brother sat me down and he said, ‘What we doin'?’
And it was over from there.
HILLARY: So Guapdad took a chance on music.
The hustles he ran would become inspiration for songs like “Scamboy” and “Scammin.”
HILLARY: He even remixed a Biggie’s “10 Crack Commandments” into a masterclass called
the “10 Scam Commandments.”
HILLARY: While fraud and scamming have been going on for much longer than scam rap--
because hip-hop often reflects what’s already happening in our world -- for better or worse,
it’s a hustle that’s proven to be just as captivating as dope dealing in rap’s digital age,
especially for artists like Guapdad 4000 and Teejayx6,
who’s even caught the eye of one of today’s biggest producers.
TEEJAYX6: Metro Boomin, he just DM’d me randomly and he said he likes my music.
And then from there, he sent me a few beats…
So I’m really just waiting on that.
I’m trying to drop the song and the video with him in it.
HILLARY: I’m Hillary with Genius News, bring you the meaning and the knowledge behind the music.