Crazy in Love: The Blueface Effect

This piece originally appeared on November 2, 2023 in Sound Signal, our biweekly newsletter that identifies emerging artists, scenes, and trending tracks, crafted by the world's best writers and curators. Sign up here to never miss our take on what's next in music.

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These days, hip-hop and reality TV star Blueface is making headlines for his love life instead of his music. The multi-platinum California rapper continues to draw heavy backlash for publicizing his drama-filled love life with ex-girlfriend Chrisean Rock on the hit Zeus Network reality show Chrisean & Blueface: Crazy in Love and social media.  

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After he and Rock split this year, he reunited with his former girlfriend, JaidynAlexis, and proposed in late October. Amid the complicated love triangle, Chrisean Rock and JaidynAlexis are using their affiliation with the “Thotiana” rapper to their advantage, establishing music careers of their own. In a social media-driven climate where drama and clout-chasing thrive, Rock and Alexis are converting their followers into fans.

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Since Blueface’s fractured relationship with Chrisean Rock, he’s putting all his energy into making his fiancée a star. After releasing “Stewie,” “Workout,” and “Post opp,” Alexis’ latest single, “Barbie,” which takes aim at Rock, is her breakthrough moment. Released on October 2, the Blueface-penned song sparked an online frenzy, garnering 5M Spotify streams and becoming a ubiquitous viral mainstay, nabbing the No. 13 spot on Billboard’s TikTok Music chart with over 260K creations on the app.        

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On October 17, just three weeks after Chrisean Rock shared the DeCarlo-produced trap single, “Baby Father Drama,” a response to Blueface’s September release, “Baby momma drama,” she teamed up with her new flame, rapper Lil Mabu (and Sound Signal alum) for “MR. TAKE YA B*TCH.” The brash diss track generated 7.5M Spotify streams and entered the Billboard TikTok Music chart at No. 33, with over 599K creations that have garnered 461.9M views on the app.

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Despite capitalizing on the drama, Blueface’s latest music isn’t drawing the same crowds. With only 227,000 streams on Spotify, “Baby momma drama” is severely underperforming his protégés. His Spotify monthly listeners has dropped 51K in the past three months, and his Chartmetric rank has dipped 228 spots since October—a far cry from the success of his breakout hit, “Thotiana” which peaked Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 8 in 2019. With his social media channels booming, (an increase of 200K followers on TikTok and 650K followers on Instagram since July), this messy love war may be raising his reach, but the notoriety isn’t benefiting his rap career.

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