Over the past few months, a company named DaBlock365 has been working with several notable rap artists — including Fat Joe, Benny The Butcher, Jadakiss, and Dave East, among others — offering indie rappers "mixtape placements" for between $500 and $650 per slot. A thread...

These notable rap artists will post to social media, asking their followers to tag artists who they should be on the look for. Below, you'll see @FatJoe asking his fans to tag an artist who "spits crack." Well played, Joe.

Armed with these social media handles, the company, DaBlock365, then begins DMing artists from the notable rapper's accounts.

The messaging is typical motivational BS:

"Ready to push your music?"
"Ready to invest in your career?"
"Hard work pays off, let's get you on"

Of course, the artists on the receiving end of these DMs cannot believe artists like Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Benny The Butcher, etc..., are reaching out, TO THEM, about a mixtape placement.

Here are just some of their public reactions on Twitter:

On June 20, DaBlock365 posted 'Rap Behind Bars Vol. 7,' "presented by Benny The Butcher," to their @SoundCloud & other small sites.

There are 37 tracks on the tape. The highest play count is 1,414. If you remove that outlier, the avg play count is 60.

https://soundcloud.com/dablock365/sets/rap-behind-bars-vol-7-presented-by-benny-the-butcher

Obviously, spending $650 to generate 60 plays isn't a wise investment. Artists *could* justify the expense as a public "co-sign," but there's little in the way of actual marketing value. Benny hasn't tweeted the project link and only posted once to IG. There's no link in his bio.

I have sent numerous messages to DaBlock365 on social media, asking them to explain what, exactly, they are offering these artists in exchange for $500 - $650 in "placement" costs. To date, they have not replied to my inquiry.

Technically, the DaBlock365 business model isn't a total scam. These young artists are paying for mixtape placements and they are receiving mixtape placements. They just hold 0 value.

You can read more on the most common scams here: http://djbooth.it/scamin 

Companies like DaBlock365 who prey on young artists are dime a dozen, but the morally bankrupt actions of these notable artist participants, who we will assume are aware their name and likeness and social media are being used to solicit money for placements, is disappointing.

So, young artists, in summary:

1. If it seems too good to be true, it likely is.
2. Do research. Everything is online.
3. If you're pitched dream fulfillment, walk away.
4. Always ask for a contract. Always.
5. Don't use CashApp, use Zelle.
6. Mixtapes on SoundCloud = dead.

A special shout out to @phokis, who has been on this story for several weeks on his social media and YouTube:

Posts:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBj13bzhD64/ 

Would you look at that! An hour after this thread went viral, a link to Benny's "presented" mixtape has been tweeted from his account:

https://twitter.com/BennyBsf/status/1277708358494060545

A new reputable artist has joined the #TagAnArtist family of rappers: Trouble.

Same solicitation, same template DM outreach as every other rapper involved.

Nearly 12,000 replies in a week-plus.

The circus continues.