A year ago this week a viral hit gave an insight into the future of AI music: “BBL Drizzy”.
The song was created during the feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. When the rapper Disses exchanged, a comedian based in New York named Willonius Hatcher-Schh King Willonious – brought his own trail into the beef.
Inspired by a dubious claim that Drake had a Brazilian butt lift, “BBL Drizzy” -Misch -Ki, comedy, pop culture and music. The song quickly became viral. It was later tried in a beat by Star Producer Metro Boomin, who was also viral, and was covered by Drake himself.
“BBL Drizzy” became a cultural test stone. The Washington Post called it “a real breakthrough for AI art” while Wired described it as “the beginning of the future of AI music”. Time magazine called Willionius one of the 100 most influential people in AI.
Willonius – Who will speak TNW conference On June 19 – is modest about his creation. “It was just one of these things where everything was perfectly aligned,” he says. But that sells his success briefly. Willonius has set up a proven track record for creating online sensations. Here are some of his tips on the striking internet gold.
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1. Honen your skills
Willonius had spent his craft as a comedian and writer for years before moving the focus on AI. He challenged himself to write 30 scripts in 30 days, to produce an album every monthand “enter my 10,000 hours”To master comedy music.
He applied the same work ethic on AI. From December 2022 to April 2023, he spent eight hours a day in Chatgpt. He also experimented intensively with visual tools, created Midjourney over 30,000 pictures and generated film trailer for his scripts.
“You never know what could be viral,” he says. “Everything you can do is only a system and a work morality to maintain. Even if [‘BBL Drizzy’] I became viral, my whole thing was to continue working. “
2. Enter a zeitgeist
Timing is an important part of viral success – and “BBL Drizzy” came to a perfect moment. The public had tied up the interest in AI and the Drake Kendrick-Fehde.
In April, Rapper Rick Ross made his own contribution to beef and claimed that Drake's rear posterior was surgically improved. Days earlier, a team of former Google Deepmind researchers published the beta version of a powerful new AI music generator called Udio.
Willonius brought together all of this. He wrote comedy texts that gently mocked Drake and caused Udio to transform them into different songs. Finally, he decided on a vintage soul sound of the 70s. With a catchy title and a choir over the alleged butt, the track brought the feud to a new dimension.
“There were comedians who tried to make jokes about it,” says Willonius. “But don't really make songs about this beef.”
3. Follow not only the amount
Willonius was always fascinated by new forms of creativity. In 2007 he scored a viral hit on YouTube – A parody Soulja Boy is widely mocked and yet wildly influential “crank that”. But he soon searched for the original paths.
Instead of following the trends, he was looking for new approaches.
“If I had made sketches on Tikkok, I would have just done it because everyone else would have done it,” he says. “And in my career I had the greatest success every time I went my own way.”
4. Be consistent
There is no guaranteed formula for viral success. Willonius prefers to focus on the factors that he can control. One of them is consistency.
When he started creating AI videos, they did not always bring the views he expected. “It made me contain my expectations of my content – because they don't know what will ever become viral.”
Instead of obsessing every view, Willonius focused on publishing a steady stream of high -quality content. The brand finally hit.
“Don't worry about the views,” he suggests. “Just worry about consistency and if you like what you produce. Everything else is outside of your control.”
5. Hugging Kaizen
In his approach to consistency, Willonius uses a Japanese concept called “Kaizen”. Kaizen, a philosophy of continuous improvement, emphasizes the importance of small, incremental changes.
“Every time you do art, you should be able to be better than the last time you did art,” he says.
“These are two things that I do: stay consistent and try to get better every time. And when I do these two things, I am satisfied with the result.”
6. Quality counts
A big reason for BBL Drizzy's success? It's just a great song
The catchy hook, the unforgettable texts and the classic soul sound are a joy in the ear.
“I think it has shown that people don't really care whether a song is generated or not,” says Willonius.
“They just wanted to enjoy it and let them feel something. And when you heard this song, it made you laugh.”
7. Find your audience
When the beef between Drake and Lamar became ugly, “BBL Drizzy” offered a welcome break. It was a funny, carefree, good-natured switch of a malignant rap feud.
The approach gave the route a broad attraction.
“It's a fun song – the lyrics are funny and it's clean,” says Willonius. “Everyone in every age group, in every age group and in every gender can enjoy it. Small children can sing it – and it is a very sensible song.”
8. Keep an eye on the future
Pop culture and technology move quickly. Willonius follows each of them carefully and is looking for emerging trends. He is particularly happy about the creative possibilities of AI video.
“We are now at the point where someone could make a AI feature film if they wanted … The models are getting better,” he says. “You look more realistic and lifelong.”
A big advantage, he says, is the democratizing effect. For creators from marginalized backgrounds and those with limited resources, AI can open new doors to success.
“It is an exciting time to be a creator,” he says. “And it's an exciting time for AI because it is getting better and better.”
There is still no magical formula for viral hits. But Ki can give creators new tricks in the sleeves.
If you want to catch King Willonius' conversation or something else on the full agenda for the TNW conference, we have a special offer for you. Use the Code TNWXMedia2025 at the cash register to get a 30% discount on your ticket.
