Bryce Vine Tackles Serious Issues With A Comedic Spin In New Video For 'The Thug Song'

Fresh off the success of his first major hit, “Sour Patch Kids” off his EP "Lazy Fair," Bryce Vine is back with yet another catchy tune. While the 26-year-old hip-hop artist has chosen to stay true to his usual “fun” vibe, “The Thug Song” is so much more than that.

Bryce told International Business Times the song, which he wrote two years ago, was originally meant to be his satirical take on “what it means to be a thug” and how far removed from that culture he really is as an artist. What he didn’t expect was for current events to shape the song into something completely different. In "The Thug Song" Bryce raps about the lavish lifestyles of most rappers today as well as their constant effort to maintain a certain image of toughness through violent lyrics and behaviors — something he has never bought into as an artist.

“Some of the lyrics that I have in the song, even though it’s kind of comical, I’m dead serious," Bryce told IBTimes. In light of recent incidents of police brutality in Ferguson, Missouri; Baltimore, Maryland; Staten Island, New York and beyond, Bryce says the song quickly transformed from comedy to reality. Although it was not his intention to speak on those matters, he believes it's a message listeners will pick up on and relate to upon hearing his message and watching the video.

“It’s weird because the more that time has gone by, the more current events — like, everything in the news with African Americans getting shot and police brutality — some of the things that I’m saying kind of parallel with that,” he said. “And it was written before it got really bad. It’s interesting to see how a lot of it kind of played into it.”

While Bryce doesn’t mind taking on serious subjects, he hopes to always “make it a little more fun.” The self-taught musician says he draws inspiration from story tellers like J. Cole, who always have a loud-and-clear message for listeners. Still, he struggles with the idea of ever taking himself “too seriously.”

“If I write a song, and I’m trying to tell a story, I always want that to be the message,” he said. “I just want to have fun with is, so I try to always add comedy and just let people know that I don’t take myself too seriously.”

Check out the video for “The Thug Song” below. Be sure to keep an eye of for new music for Bryce as well as upcoming tour dates.