New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Block Starz Music) German-American independent digital label Block Starz Music, www.blockstarzmusic.com, has announced the signing of satirical rapper Dickward Codgers (pictured in white tee shirt) and the major indie release of his controversial single and music video, "Bath Salts", on Tuesday, August 21.
Satirical rap is a genre of Hip-Hop done in a sarcastic or tongue in cheek way. Popular satirical rappers include Tyler the Creator, Odd Future, and Lil B.
"Dickward is basically an antidote for what is wrong with pop culture and on a broader scale the world as a whole," says Dallas-Fort Worth, TX native and Hip-Hop satirist Jared Kapavik (a/k/a JReal), who created the Dickward Codgers character. "The concepts all come from pop culture. What is trending. Hollywood [expletive]. I watch the news, TMZ, read smut mags and surf the Internet. There is always something."
Video: "Woodstick" by Dickward Codgers a/k/a JReal featuring Ron Chardell
Bath salts is the informal "street name" for a family of designer drugs often containing substituted cathinones, which have effects similar to amphetamine and cocaine. Based on reports to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, use of "bath salts" in the US is thought to have increased significantly between 2010 and 2011. The increase in use is thought to be a result of their widespread availability and sensationalist media coverage.
According to Block Starz Music's official Facebook page, the release of the Dickward Codgers song "Bath Salts", which features what executives deemed to be excessive drug references and graphic depictions of violence, will be the label's first to carry an official disclaimer.
"Some people may view it as 'shock rap', but they still won't be able to get the hook out of their head," says Block Starz Music head of A&R and senior vice president Peppy Johnson. "It's catchy and scary, but underneath it's really a biting criticism of American popular culture as a whole."
