That was Jackson hip-hop artist Dear Silasâ initial thought when he first saw a fan-made version of Novemberâs viral Dexter meme that featured his song âSkrr Skrr,â a single from his latest album titled The Last Cherry Blossom.
Born Silas Stapleton, Dear Silas wasnât surprised to see the remixed clip of a 1996 episode of Cartoon Networkâs Dexterâs Laboratory in which two smitten girls at school implore the whiz kid to, âSay it again, Dexter.â
During the episode, Dexter falls asleep while listening to an audio recording of a French language lesson. The next day, only three words come out of Dexterâs mouth: omelette du fromage. In the edited version â the one that launched Silasâ career to new heights â instead of saying the romantic-sounding French phrase, which translates as âcheese omelette,â upon request, Dexter sings Silasâ âSkrr Skrrâ into a girlâs ear. She swoons.
Only 26 seconds long, the video has garnered more than 131,000 views on YouTube. As for the video of the full song, it is Silasâ most watched video on his YouTube channel with over 833,000 views.
âI knew the potential of the song before,â the 32-year-old rapper said during an interview with Mississippi Today. âI was like, âThis is gonna be a big thing. All it takes is for the right people to see it.ââ
And the right people did see it.
With the help of endless social media sharing, âSkrr Skrrâ landed in the Top 40 on iTunesâ Hip-Hop/Rap chart, according to Brad âKamikazeâ Franklin, Silasâ manager.
âSilasâ fans are some of the most aggressive fans that are out there,â he said. âThey really want people to know about Silas.â
âSkrr Skrrâ has also been streamed over 1 million times on both Apple Music and Spotify. For nearly 12 consecutive days, the song was named the No. 1 Viral Record on Spotify.
Those aggressive fans almost didnât even get the chance to hear Silasâ âSkrr Skrr.â The track was the thirteenth and final song to be added to The Last Cherry Blossom.
After hearing the instrumental one summerâs day while at work at the Apple Store in Ridgeland, Silas began singing âskrr skrrâ to the beat of the music. The next day he heard one of his coworkers, who was stocking shelves at the time, singing the two words just as she had heard Silas singing them the day before. Silas realized just how catchy his cadence and lyrics were. That night after work, he went home, listened to the instrumental and decided to finish the song. It made the track list just a month before the album was sent off for final mixing.
Lucky number 13? About a week after the Dexter meme and âSkrr Skrrâ took force, major record labels booked their flights to Jackson in hopes of signing the Southern, trumpet-playing hip-hopper.
âSeveral people were competing for his services, but RCA (Records) and Sony won out,â Franklin said.
It was RCAâs interest in Silasâs artistry and the labelâs extensive research beyond the viral sensation of the meme and the song that ultimately sold Silas and his team. Silas, his wife, his manager and his engineer flew to New York City, and Silas signed the papers the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, making the deal official.
âIt didnât even hit me in that moment when I was sitting down in the room signing the papers,â Silas said. âThey put the paper in front of me, and cameras started flashing. I was like, âWhatâs going on?â Then I was like, âOh yeah, this is a big deal.â Iâm always in work mode. For me I was just like, âOkay, I just got a new job. When I do I clock in?â I had to sit back and realize, âMan, my dreams are coming true.'â
Â
So Iâm having a sh** ton of anxiety right now & my emotions are all over the place. I donât wanna ramble too much so Iâm just gonna say Iâm proud to announce that Iâm extremely happy be apart of the @RCARecords @SonyMusicGlobal family! DREAMS COME TRUE! ?? pic.twitter.com/09hUC5wvAw
â Dear Silas (@dearsilas) December 5, 2018
Rather than seeing it as a traditional record deal, Franklin recognizes Silasâ recent signing to RCA as a solidification of a partnership. He encourages other artists to present themselves to labels as âentitiesâ in order to retain complete creative control.
âSigning as an artist directly to a label is indentured servitude basically,â he said. âWe already had momentum going. Silas is going to be an inspiration to other artists out there. You should go there with your chips on the table. Approach it not as an artist, but as entities and companies. And form partnerships as opposed to being signed. Silas is the leverage. Silas is the entity. They canât spend a dime unless we green light it.â
How did Silas manage to attract numerous record labels and build such a loyal fan base without even leaving Mississippi? For him, it all falls back on staying true to himself.
âYou have to take time to cultivate what it is that you have going on,â he said. âDonât be concerned with everything else going on on the outside. Stuff started to change for me once I decided that I wanted to make music for myself and people who think like me. The people who take to you will gravitate to you in time. Focus on yourself. I focused on me.â
At one point, Silas did decide to leave the state to attend college at the University of Louisiana in Monroe, where he studied music performance. Only 18 hours shy of obtaining his degree, Silas says he stepped out on faith and left college to focus on his music career. Unlike many aspiring hip-hop artists, his next move wasnât to Atlanta, home to two of Silasâ biggest inspirations: Outkast and Ludacris. It was Mississippi, home to Silas and his biggest supporters.
âMy 8-year-old daughter loves Silas,â Franklin said. âShe gets to see Silas succeed here in the city of Jackson. So when she grows up, I may not have to persuade her to stay in Mississippi. She can get use to seeing people from here succeed. I think Silas is the beginning of this. This is going to be happening in many different fields and many different genres. I think Dear Silas is a prime example of what you can do if you stay here and fight the good fight.â
Mississippi leads the U.S. in losing millennials. Often referred to as the âbrain drain,â the outmigration of the stateâs educated and skilled young people has evoked continuous conversation since Mississippi Today first looked at the trend in 2017. When it comes to music, hip-hop in particular, only a few Mississippi artists may come to mind. Franklin hopes Silasâ success will change that.
âWeâve lost so many talented people because they have been told and groomed and conditioned to think that being in Mississippi is like being in a position of inferiority,â Franklin said.â This is the birthplace of American music, and itâs time that we start acting like it. We should have music labels and entities coming here to mine our talent. Dear Silas is going to change the narrative of whatâs going to happen here in music. People are calling me asking, âWhoâs next in Mississippi?â.â
As he continues to write music dedicated to himself first, hence the name âDear Silas,â he wants his art to be an eye-opener to those who listen as well. And he hopes his story of hustle, self-awareness and success will help put a positive spin on the narrative of making it in Mississippi.
âItâs such a dark cloud over Mississippi as a whole when it pertains to music,â Silas said. âThis is the birthplace of a lot of music, and a lot of people donât know that. If I can be a beacon of light that can change that just a little bit, that makes me happy. If I can make people talk about music in Mississippi more than theyâre talking about it now, Iâm all for that.â
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