Fetty Wap’s songs contain some of the most unavoidable and misheard lyrics among young people in 2015.

Wherever you go, it’s nearly impossible to avoid a Fetty Wap song, and there will always be someone saying “And I’ve got that fruit roll up” after hearing his hit “679,” despite the fact that those certainly aren’t the lyrics.

Fetty’s voice is now one of the most recognizable on the charts. Even though the quality of his lyrics is debatable, they are some of the most quoted and memorable of 2015. “1738” jokes linger everywhere on the Internet, and every other person’s “bae” is their “trap queen” on Instagram.

Fetty’s other hits, including “Again” and “My Way,” which feature artists Remy Boyz and Monty, respectively, are deceptively addictive. Listeners just can’t seem to understand how despite his uninspiring lyrics, Fetty Wap manages to entrance them.

It’s all in his extremely catchy choruses. Even if you hate them, Fetty knows how to get a song stuck in your head until you find yourself loving it, no matter how hard you fight. Or, at the very least, he gets you to the point that you are horrified that you know every word to his songs.

Whether or not you like Fetty Wap’s music, in the last year alone, he has managed to generate a massive, loyal fan base. Their devoted loyalty was clear after he was involved in a motorcycle accident Sept. 26 in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey. Fans flooded social media with support for Fetty, even creating #PrayForFetty.

Luckily, despite a leg injury, Fetty is expected to recover. The accident occurred just a day before his first album, eponymously named “Fetty Wap,” was released. The album has gained a lot of attention, soaring to the top of the Billboard 200 chart. It seems that his fans channeled their support for the artist, both in his personal life and in his artistry.

The media, however, have hardly focused on his accident, probably due to how successful his album has been, as well as the relatively mild nature of his injury. Little focus has been placed on the fact that Fetty was not wearing a helmet while riding his motorcycle, had no insurance or registration in his possession for his vehicle, and drove without a license, resulting in a citation for three offenses. This is yet another example of how the media tend to separate an artist’s career from his/her real-life behavior.

It is possible that the focus on Fetty’s music rather than the circumstances of the accident is because it was overshadowed by the album’s popularity, but it is also an indication of the media’s treatment of rap and hip-hop artists. There is almost apathy, or worse, a tone of expectance, in reporting about any legal digression a rapper or hip-hop artist is involved in.

Though plenty of big-name rappers have had legal troubles in the recent past (50 Cent, T.I., Lil Wayne, to name a few), it should not be treated as a normal, expected, everyday occurrence. Had an artist like Justin Bieber not had his license, registration, or insurance, such an accident and the incident that followed, would have continued to be covered all over the media, whether or not he released a successful album shortly after. Fetty Wap’s citations following the accident have been casually stated at the tail ends of articles about the incident like an afterthought, or have not been mentioned at all.

By representing any rappers’ behavior in such a situation as the norm, the media pigeonholes them — homogenizing the culture of an entire genre (despite its diversity), as one of unlawfulness and recklessness. This is particularly problematic within a genre largely dominated by talented black artists.

It implies that such behavior is prevalent within the black community more than others, which is a blatant misrepresentation that simply perpetuates negative tropes about African Americans and black-oriented music genres in America. So yes, while Fetty Wap’s behavior was reckless, so was the media’s.

Isha Damle is a junior television, radio and film major. She rarely knows the actual lyrics to songs, but is good at faking it until she makes it. Plus, her version is probably better. She can be reached at idamle@syr.edu or on Twitter @ishadamle.

Published on October 6, 2015 at 9:36 pm