Abe Beame checks his pockets when Harmony Korine is in the room.
The Follow is an interview series I plan on putting out occasionally, or frequently, or maybe never again, in which I basically just talk to the people I enjoy following online who are willing to talk to me for a while. It will be about what they come to Twitter for, how they cultivate their online personas, the things they feel passionate enough to contribute to the infinite discourse on this app, and why they feel the need to do it. And on a basic level, it will be two people on Zoom shooting the shit.
What does it mean to be âgoodâ at being online? I would imagine there is no one answer. The cool kids on âTrump Aunt Twitterâ probably deploy an entire bag of jokes, tricks, and rhetorical feints we couldnât fathom. So I think we all have to find our own lodestar, to define what social media success means for ourselves. For me, in my remote corner of middle-aged media rap/basketball/movie Twitter, it looks a lot like the great Harold Bingo.
Harold has the most muscular ears on the internet. Heâs immune to the prejudices of taste that typically confine mere mortal music consumers to distinct regions, styles or eras. He is encyclopedic in his knowledge and wide open in terms of genre, sub-genre, and micro-genres of rap heâs into. His feed, where he posts whatever new artists and songs heâs fucking with throughout the day, many times a day, nearly every day, does the work that was once done for me in my life by The Box, Yo MTV Raps, Future Flavas on Hot 97, and any number of mixtape DJs in the late 90s and early 2000s. Stated simply, he puts me up on game. Heâs earned my trust in his sonic palette, and a repost from him is the 2022 equivalent of a Flex Bomb in my childhood, which is why his feed is more than a personal social account, itâs a public utility.
But heâs more than a human algorithm. Harold has a deep and intimate understanding of the deeply fucked and potentially harmful ways we discuss and debate culture on the internet. He has the response time of an Olympic sprinter when an egregious, dangerous, or annoying poster drops a cringeworthy take. Heâs ready for war but not mean spirited, not histrionic, and doesnât get unnecessarily snarky or combative, but heâs willing to engage with the worst of us on their own terms and thatâs one of the many reasons he has an impeccable online Q ratings and followers who love and respect him.
As you can imagine, when he actually decides to write for this site and others (which he doesnât do nearly enough), heâs very good at it, and is one of my favorite people to spark yet another debate over ranked Nas albums when bored on a Tuesday afternoon. So I had to translate our occasional back and forths in replies to a real life (over Zoom) hourlong convo about rap nerd inside baseball, and a very meta debate about the rules on engagement online, and what it all means.
(Authorâs Note: This interview has been edited and condensed to make me sound like less of an asshole)
(Second Authorâs Note: Harold and I were shmoozing a bit before I hit record, and I thought this opening before we got into the âactualâ interview was interesting so weâre drifting in, Marc Maron style)
Harold Bingo: Iâve been reading the series, and I really like the one yâall did with Lawrence.
Theyâve all been interesting in different ways but particularly for our conversation today, Lawrence has a specialization that I feel like literally nobody else has.
Harold Bingo: Right! Thatâs the problem right now, itâs like, everyone wants to skim the cream off the top of every regional scene, but itâs like no, you need those people who are deep in the trenches who can give you more context for everything.
Alright, well thatâs as good an intro as any. I might use some of that, if you donât mind.
Harold Bingo: (Laughs) No worries!
I follow a lot of professional music critics and writers, but I think you probably listen to more music than anyone on my timeline. How many hours of music do you listen to a day?
Harold Bingo: It honestly depends. It depends on, when Iâm with my son, Iâm trying to expose him to all kinds of stuff.
I can assure you it will all end with him listening to âWe Donât Talk About Brunoâ 30 times a day.
Harold Bingo: (Laughs) Yeah, well. In a given day I can listen to 8-12 hours easily.
Thatâs incredible.
Harold Bingo: I work from home too which definitely plays a big role in that. I can throw on music whenever I want.
And you know, I usually have on music when Iâm working or writing or whatever, but itâs not necessarily stuff I even want to engage with. And I think a lot of people, particularly my age have that relationship with it. Itâs like the time to explore music is dedicated time, and particularly when youâre writing about it itâs work. It just seems to me that you have to be dedicating an incredible amount of time to it because of the breadth and the variety of shit you are posting or writing about, which I find really admirable.
Harold Bingo: YouTube is definitely good for that. Itâs like once you get started, you click on one person and itâs like, âOh this personâs music is cool.â Then you burn through a few songs and itâs like, âOh shit, they have a song with this guy.â Itâs like a never ending rabbithole you can fall into.
So YouTube is your primary source for discovering new music?
Harold Bingo: Yeah, Iâm definitely on the homepage everyday like, âAlright, what do you guys got for me today?â
Training the algorithm.
Harold Bingo: Right. Thereâs so many artists that just arenât really good at keeping us up to date so itâs like âOh so and so dropped a tape last week? I had no ideaâ And YouTube will tell me faster than the other services because a lot of artists donât always put everything right on Apple or Spotify or whatever.
where were you when Drake invented drill music
— . (@HaroldBingo) February 11, 2018
Itâs funny you say that because I was literally talking to Sam Hadelman about sample drill an hour ago, and in the middle of our conversation he was like, âOh shit, did you know Shawny Binladen dropped a tape last night?â I had no idea and, you know, weâre both pretty close to the scene, so I totally get it.
Harold Bingo: Yeah, if Sam doesnât know something dropped–
Yes! He reps some of the bigger artists! I made a list of the last ten artists you posted: Dom Kennedy, YSR Gramz, Curren$y, Camp Lo, Young Dolph, Rob49, ChinaTownRunner, Iayze? (Authorâs Note: I completely fucked up the pronunciation.)
Harold Bingo: Youâre supposed to say it âJayceâ.
Jayce, ok. Roscoe P. Coldchain, and Nigo. So thatâs Cali, Michigan, New Orleans, New York, Denver, Fort Worth, Philly, and Japan. This is a dumb and vague question, but with that range, is there any unifying quality that appeals to you in the incredibly diverse music you respond to and post. It can be something as essential as an âenergyâ, an âattitudeâ, anything.
Harold Bingo: For me itâs a boldness. Because now, thereâs so much stuff, itâs really hard for something to jump out at you. So it’s a natural process. Because sometimes youâll daze out for 10-15 minutes and it all kind of blends together, but then you hear something and itâs like, âOh shit! Whoâs that?â And then you single them out and look into what they got going on.
Like Rob49 would be a good example. Heâs somebody who- the Michigan guys are really good. Theyâll teach you about all the regions if you let them because they collaborate all over the place. I learned about EST before he really blew up because Sada Baby did a song with him.
So Rob49 is somebody where itâs like, âOh he did a song with Babyface Ray.â And then I click over on his âSuggestedâ and itâs like, boom, his stuff is good. And it goes from there.
And then of course production. I feel like people praise the same handful of producers but thereâs so much good production out there. Thatâs something that will grab me quick too. If youâre using production that is interesting. Especially now that weâre in the two bar, sad guitar loop era.
— . (@HaroldBingo) April 9, 2022
I have written in my notes, âI fucking love Rob49â (Laughs). I like that idea though. When thereâs so much content and thereâs so much noise coming at you, itâs almost like this Darwinism that favors the artist that cuts through the noise being the person you tend to latch onto. I think thatâs what weâre really talking about: The difference between active listening and passive listening. When I was 12, if you couldâve explained to me that one day your phone would have every album ever made on demand, my head wouldâve exploded. But as a result of that, the amount youâre able to lock into has declined, for most of us.
So I hate the idea of a Top 5, but Iâll limit it to here, right now, at this moment could you generate Top 5 rappers and Top 5 albums?
Harold Bingo: Of all time? I have three that would be in my Top 5 anytime you ask me, and then the other two spots rotate. The immovables are Big, Jay, and Scarface. Then the other two spots? One day I could say Gucci, one day I could say Prodigy, one day I could say Camâron, those two spots are in constant flux.
Jay-Z 96-03
OutKast 94-03
Scarface 91-02
Tribe 90-96
B.I.G. 94-97
Gang Starr 91-03 https://t.co/F08WJ48c6I— . (@HaroldBingo) June 5, 2019
I have the same thing with Biggie, Big Pun and LL Cool J.
Harold Bingo: LL would be in there on a certain day. LL doesnât get the credit he deserves. A lot of stuff doesnât exist if LL doesnât pave the way for it.
When that whole thing went viral a couple weeks ago where people were taking clips from his admittedly absurd music videos and turning him into a cartoon character, I was sitting back like, âOk, ha ha, it is funny that heâs in the shower with all his clothes on.â But at the same time, you have to put respect on his name. This is one of the greatest–
Harold Bingo: You do. We all have a first favorite rapper growing up, and LL was my first favorite rapper. It was LL and then it went to Snoop. I was watching In The House and everything.
Oh, of course I watched In The House.
Harold Bingo: So yeah. LL some days. Nas could be there, Snoop could be there, Slick Rick could be there.
I appreciate the diversity in your list. There was a time, I used to be mired in these God awful âRap Vs. Hip Hopâ debates. Itâs a question that goes back to Migos, people who were like, âI just want to listen to Roc Marciano and be left alone.â And It was like, âOK, how about you listen to Roc Marciano and be alone?â
Harold Bingo: Right. I was lucky. I never even had that phase as a kid. I had friends who were like, âI listened to Hopsin for a stretch as a kid.â And you just have to judge it, if you want to listen to Roc, and I love Roc, Iâm a huge Roc fan, but if I want to listen to him I wonât listen to Migos. It wonât scratch the same itch.
I always loved pop. So when people were having huge issues with Puff I was like, âNo actually you guys are wrong. I can listen to Jedi Mind Tricks and this, andâ–
Harold Bingo: Right. I never understood why people needed to make it an either or type of deal. And thatâs not to say people should like the other stuff, but Iâve tried to get better with it as I age. I only have so much time on this Earth, so I canât listen to stuff just to say I listened to it as much as I used to. I think I have to let my taste be my guide.
Yeah. Well I generally agree but Iâll never stop making fun of J Cole and you canât make me.
ah these must be the people that needed to hear him with J Cole first https://t.co/f3Vkcmj3I9
— . (@HaroldBingo) February 12, 2022
Harold Bingo: (Laughs) He definitely occupies a weird space now. Because I think he realized, and other people realized âOh shit, I took myself so seriously for way too long.â
I actually have a theory that the reason why J Cole remains a conversation is youâre actually talking about his fanbase, not about him. But heâs such a fucking apple polisher. Like, heâs so fucking corny. I canât- itâs just not for me, and thatâs fine.
Harold Bingo: Like a lot of guys heâs way too concerned with his legacy. And it comes through in a lot of what he does. And itâs like Cordae, you should just make a classic album rather than telling us youâre going to make a classic album.
Thatâs what I mean. A copy of a copy. If you copy a key too many times it doesnât fit in the lock, and thatâs the issue with J Cole. I try so hard to articulate what I donât like about J Cole, like thatâs literally my job if Iâm a âcriticâ, but I keep being left without words, and keep coming back to the idea that heâs just fucking corny. Thatâs the best I can do. Itâs an indelible quality. I canât explain it any better than that.
Harold Bingo: Itâs the lyrics can change the world guys. They love him and Big Sean.
But please, sorry. I derailed the whole convo, letâs get back to albums.
Harold Bingo: For albums, 400 Degreez would have to be one of them. From there you have to decide which Big album. Iâm now leaning more towards Life After Death. I used to be a Ready to Die person but as time goes on I just feel like Life After Death covers so much more ground.
Our friend Jay will love that take, and I forgot to tell you at the beginning of the interview he says hi.
Harold Bingo: Jayâs my guy. Love that guy. No filter, but in the best way.
Itâs already here ? pic.twitter.com/wt4VWmDGIq
— Samuel J. Robinson (@samueljrob) January 28, 2020
Yeah (laughs). Iâm definitely leaving that in.
Harold Bingo: I think heâll appreciate it. Doggystyle would have to be in there too because it was such a formative album for me. One thing I hate is people love to gloss over- they just jump to when they were into the gangsta shit, and itâs like, âBro, I had to listen to Kriss Kross firstâ before I moved into the cool shit. But Doggystyle was such a big deal for me because it was one of the first adult rap albums I dug into.
Also, I donât even know if this is a hot take anymore, but I prefer it to The Chronic. Itâs a âmore perfectâ album.
Harold Bingo: Iâm not going to say The Chronic hasnât aged well, but I definitely go back to 2001 more now.
Wow. There is a hot take.
Harold Bingo: The Chronic obviously has songs I will go back to 1,000 times, but as a whole I probably listen more to 2001 now.
The skits.
Harold Bingo: Yeah, with the skits on some of the old albums, like some were funny? Redman–
De La, Wu.
Harold Bingo: Yeah but itâs not like, I really need to listen to the â$20 Sack Pyramidâ.
So we have Doggystyle, Life After Death, and 400 Degreez… And then the same debate you have with Biggie, I have with Nas, like Iâm an It Was Written person, which gets me yelled at a lot. Like I love Illmatic, Iâm not taking any points away from Illmatic, but itâs the same thing with Life After Death, the second one just had such a broader scope to it.
life after death > illmatic > ready to die for me
— pxt (@paulxt) March 10, 2018
My friend Sach would be very into this argument.
Harold Bingo: Well it was Paul [Thompson] that pointed this out to me when I was being a stick in the mud about Ready to Die, and he said âWell it doesnât really jibe with your Nas take.â
Yeah but, âNas is Comingâ is still on the album. You canât refute that.
Harold Bingo: I get it. I get it.
Itâs just tough for me, and heâs definitelyâŠ.. doing a bit!
Harold Bingo: No thereâs definitely stuff you can say about It Was Written thatâs true. He definitely jumped from staring out the window to mafioso. But itâs so well done to me that I canât even be mad at it. I just find myself throwing on It Was Written so much more in the present day. The peaks are higher to me. I could listen to âThe Messageâ a million times.
âThe Messageâ is a perfect song. So much of it.
Harold Bingo: So yeah, that. I could say an Outkast album, I could say UGK Ridin Dirty, I could say The Infamous, which is about as close as you get to a perfect album.
That would be one of my fixed, always on my list albums. ATLiens or Aquemini?
Harold Bingo: I lean to Aquemini.
Oooof. Most people do, I think. I think this is my version of the It Was Written debate.
Harold Bingo: I think I was once in the minority on that, I think the debate swung to me over time.
I mean there was the whole 5 mics thing. Iâve just always loved ATLiens, for the tone I guess?
Harold Bingo: Camâron Purple Haze is another one thatâs just right there. I also think we donât discuss Diplomatic Immunity enough. That right there belongs in the double album pantheon.
Thatâs a great argument. I love it. It never occurs to me to lump in with Life After Death or All Eyez on Me but I probably should.
Harold Bingo: 8Ball Lost is another one like that too.
But wait! Thatâs a three disc album (laughs)
Harold Bingo: I just donât count the three because the third disc is five extra songs of random artists that Suave House was trying to push on people?
They just slapped it on to pump the retail price.
Harold Bingo: Thatâs the thing now. You can pay $10 or $15 or whatever it is to have the history of recorded music in front of you, but that wouldnât have even gotten you Ready to Die or Life After Death 25 years ago. You didnât even know how many of those songs were good you just would say, âOh itâs Big, I heard two or three songs, letâs do it.â And youâd spend $20 based on that whim.
Yeah. And I think there was something important in that investment you made in the artist and the album. It was something physical and tangible and it made the work and your relationship to it less disposable.
(Authorâs Note/Warning: Harold loves standup and this was the Thursday of the week of The Slap, so I just kind of wanted to kick the tires and get his take on it with a position exceeding Tweet length. Harold immediately knew where I was going and I didnât even need to finish my question before we dived in, if it reads confusingly to you. If youâre traumatized/exhausted by The Slap and the conversation around it, feel free to skim ahead)
Uh, so ok. We can scrap this if you want, we were supposed to discuss yesterday, but even in one day the discourse has become even more exhausting, so itâs up to you, but as somebody who I know appreciates standup–
Will gotta go ahead + slap some more people cause theres no way the gender wars wheel landed on packed lunches https://t.co/7yxIPLgyxC
— . (@HaroldBingo) March 31, 2022
Harold Bingo: Oh boy (laughs emphatically).
I mean I know itâs been an exhausting couple of days–
Harold Bingo: Nah itâs cool, itâs fine. As long as weâre approaching it from an uber-serious angle–
Yeah, more to discuss the echo chamber and how the conversation evolved around it more than the actual thing, that I find far less interesting.
Harold Bingo: I think on social media right now thereâs a big problem people have where theyâre not into standup, which is fine, this isnât like a âYou need to watch standupâ interview, but I think when people are constantly exposed to standup in a negative way, whether itâs like, Dave Chapelle controversy, or this comedian said something people didnât like, itâs like this reflexive thing that people are starting on social media where theyâre just anti standup.
Which I get, if I only saw people arguing about something and only heard negative things about it Iâd say âGet rid of this shit too!â If I wasnât engaging with it normally. So thatâs the part about it thatâs interesting to me–
That The Slap gets interpreted as anti-comedian?
Harold Bingo: Yeah. Comedians came rushing out to be like, âAhhhhh! This sets a precedent!â Like bro, no one is going to come on stage to slap you. Iâm not Will Smith, this is not the Oscars. Theyâre escorting my ass out, I probably get arrested.
So thatâs whatâs frustrating, itâs like I watched the comedians doing that and itâs like, âStop! Stop!â You guys are only fueling the idea that youâre going to become obsolete with this kind of behavior.
Interesting. So youâre saying them getting up in arms and being alarmist about what happened exposes theyâre out of touch with how things actually operate and theyâre making everything about them.
Harold Bingo: Right. Iâve seen so many comedians and comedy figures I like saying the absolute wrong thing about it was heartbreaking.
I think what theyâre imagining is a scenario where if youâre at The Cellar, thereâs literally, I donât know, two feet of separation between you and these bridge and tunnel douchebags youâre basically expected to make fun of. I can see some idiotâs drunken thought process where itâs like, âIs this a viable path to going viral?â
Harold Bingo: I think thatâs the fear. Somebody feels strong and security canât get to it in time. I just feel like most of the people who go to places like that, youâre not going to go to The Comedy Cellar to do something like that. Itâs a huge waste of your time, and âIâm going to catch an assault chargeâ Cause Jim Gaffigan got up there and said something I didnât like? It seems far fetched.
But then again, I say that now and a week from now there will be a situation where someone hauls off on a standup.
Iâm imagining someone telling themselves, âItâs time to take Chapelle down a pegâ and it has a political component-
dont really care to argue people about what they find funny but Dave's POV is way too mainstream to be considered "brave". people gotta stop acting like they're hearing these specials on ham radio, they're beamed into every home with Netflix + Dave is paid handsomely https://t.co/pedfIK70bv
— . (@HaroldBingo) October 7, 2021
Harold Bingo: Chapelle has been lifting weights for years hoping for that to happen. Anyone who thinks Dave–
Heâs ready.
Harold Bingo: Oh my God, Dave wouldâve probably- I guarantee you Dave will have a bit at one point about he wouldâve beat the shit out of Will Smith.
Thatâs awesome, and yes I can also see that coming. Every comedian is going to be- man, I shouldâve went to the Cellar this week Iâm mad at myself.
Harold Bingo: I canât even imagine the bits this week. But yeah, Dave has been sitting around pumping iron and smoking his vapes waiting for somebody to run up.
So, Iâm slow witted and pretty deliberate in my thought, takes me a while to figure out how I feel about most things, and as a result, something I am terrible at and youâre really great at is the instantaneous Quote Tweet clapback.
Harold Bingo: (Laughs) Iâm trying to get better.
When that happens, is it ideas you have locked and loaded or is it kind of a reactionary muscle?
Harold Bingo: Sometimes. Sometimes Iâll see a discourse or conversation going for a while and Iâll have an idea germinating in my head, and then finally somebody says something and I say, âAlright enough! Iâm going to get this idea out of my head before it kills me. And then sometimes itâs just a snap.
I try to avoid the snap ones because itâs like you just get tired of arguing on there. Itâs just pointless. Iâll say my piece and youâll say yours, and nothing is going to materially change. Weâre just talking at each other instead of to each other.
Have you ever taken an L on a QT?
Harold Bingo: Probably at some point. Iâve definitely jumped out on stuff where, more and more now on Twitter itâs hard to read peopleâs humor. Thatâs a reason why I try and refrain. Thereâs definitely been instances where Iâve jumped out on something–
Oh, you take the bait on a sarcastic Tweet.
Harold Bingo: Yeah, and then somebody who knows them a little better will say, âOh dude, theyâre playing.â So definitely. It happens. Thatâs why Iâll try and do some background, and think, âIs this really worth commenting on? Is this person being serious? Whatâs their schtick?â It happens too often. You see somebody being dumb, you make your pithy comment on it, and it turns out theyâre some D-List comedian and you look like an asshole.
Thatâs what tough about quoting. People come on to be dumb on purpose, so for me itâs like, âIn my day, we found people who were actually being dumb.
Thatâs a good point about the layers of irony that are on top of everything now. Thereâs a kind of shorthand thatâs like its own language on Twitter in terms of the prompts and infamous bad Tweets and shit. I only- I say only, at this point itâs a long time, but I got on Twitter at the beginning of the pandemic, and thereâs so many things that you donât understand.
As someone who walks around in the world and engages with other people, thereâs a whole thing happening on peopleâs phones that you donât have access to or really understand at all that people are participating in if youâre not familiar with the bizarre customs and rituals of the space, and the way people communicate with each other here is completely fucked, for the most part.
my favorite is when the number of tweets complaining about "thinkpieces" outnumbers the actual thinkpieces by a 100:1 margin https://t.co/9lpf1EhAjc
— . (@HaroldBingo) April 13, 2022
Harold Bingo: Itâs weird, when you first get started on there you think, âOh this is a realistic way people actually talk.â, and then you realize as time goes on, âNo itâs not.â (Laughs)
There are people on my timeline that I really treasure, Jayson would be a good example of this, heâs as much of a real person as youâre going to get on there. Jayson will be wrong about stuff, Jayson will be right about stuff. Heâs very three dimensional. It makes you appreciate how many people on there are less grandstanding, theyâre trying to communicate how they really feel about things, and then you have your reaction merchants.
Whatâs incredible about Jay is- thereâs some people that Iâve met in real life, where the person you meet is completely different from their account, Jay is exactly like–
Harold Bingo: Thatâs what everyone I know who has ever gotten a chance to meet him says. The person you know on Twitter is who he is (Laughs).
(Laughs) It is stunning. He could be hanging out with my kids at brunch or arguing with a bot about Scorsese flicks, heâs the same guy.
Harold Bingo: Yeah, it sucks that everyoneâs not like that. I think thatâs why the hit rate on the QT thing is all over the place. Itâs always the dumbest shit. I have Tweets I wish everyone would see, and five people like those. And then the dumbest offhand comments go crazy.
When the Awkwafina AAVE controversy happened people tried to clap back by using the Wu-Tang Clan as an example of the Black appropriation of Asian culture, so Tweeted something like âOh yeah, Wu-Tang, the group that famously raps with Asian accents.â And the thing happened to me that we were just talking about. A bunch of people were in my mentions trying to dunk like, âWhat are you talking about, they donât rap in Asian accents!â
Missing the joke.
Harold Bingo: Yeah, like how do you not read the sarcasm in that?
I find it fascinating. What is it that appeals to people about certain posts yet causes them to ignore others?
Harold Bingo: Itâs weird. Iâll have a little sarcastic joke thatâs just traveling through people, everyone gets a normal response out of it, and then itâs like one person reads it the wrong way and you get eight more people who read it the wrong way. Itâs very interesting to watch.
So when it goes from something that people find agreeable to something thatâs misinterpreted as offensive or wrong, thatâs when it blows up and gains traction.
Harold Bingo: Seems like it.
Pretty bleak when you follow that thought to its logical conclusion. Itâs so funny that popularity is built on miscommunication if you buy that interpretation.
So one of my favorite genres of Quote Tweet you do is you have a very strong institutional memory when it comes to bad Twitter takes.
The example I have is when Macklemore won a Grammy over Kendrick, which people dredge up to get mad about every six months.
we're only 4 years removed from Macklemore beating out Kendrick Lamar, y'all gotta stop acting like your personal tastes "scream Grammy", rewarding popularity is what they do https://t.co/EBHRnj7qJs
— . (@HaroldBingo) December 9, 2018
Harold Bingo: Every six months is generous. Itâs like once a week at this point. âDo you guys remember when that happened?!â No not since the last time someone mentioned it fifteen minutes ago.
I think what youâre doing is this very sharp micro form of media criticism even though its just shmucks on their phone. Youâre holding people accountable for lack of awareness or laziness and correcting the record, which has value in my opinion.
But since we did our top 5 for rap earlier, could you give me your top 5 worst regurgitated, reheated Twitter takes?
Harold Bingo: McDonald’s Sprite has gotta be at the top of the list at this point.
McDonaldâs Sprite? What do you mean?
Harold Bingo: I guess the belief is McDonaldâs Sprite comes out stronger than regular Sprite? Everyday thereâs something on it.
JR Smith drinking Hennessy. Thank God he finally retired because that one seems to be falling by the wayside. That one really got me because they asked JR Smith about it and he said, âI donât like Hennessy. I donât even know where they got that.â
Then yeah, the Kendrick/Macklemore thing is constantly brought up.
Then this one, thereâs like a whole group, whether itâs Chris Brown, or Kanye, whenever thereâs a celebrity thatâs polarizing, thereâs group of people that have to argue everyday that people arenât nice enough to this person. Itâs like, no one has to be nice to anyone, this is Twitter!
all the âTwitter is better than stand up comedyâ pandering tweets better stop before we end up with a special with McDonalds Sprite bits + 5 âdid you know depression causes memory loss?â jokes
— . (@HaroldBingo) October 12, 2021
Ok, Iâm very familiar with that one. I could have this wrong. I think when I joined Twitter at the beginning of Covid, I donât think you were on. But you had been on–
Harold Bingo: Nah I wasnât. I took like a year off, but the pandemic boredom broke me.
What made you get off in the first place?
Harold Bingo: Cause you start to feel like youâre having the same conversations a lot. You get to a point where itâs like, we definitely talked about this not that long ago.
Makes sense, well, you clearly have these heartfelt opinions and beliefs, artists you care about championing. And thatâs what your writing has always been about. Iâve always loved the stuff youâve written for Passion, and obviously the Complex piece.
I know you have a kid and of course thatâs going to eat into your productivity because you have to have the time to dedicate to it. But is there anything that made you step away?
Harold Bingo: That I didnât even want to do to be honest with you. I wrote that with such a heavy heart. But I was like, âYouâre going to want to strangle yourself if you see someone else write it, and youâll nitpick it, so you might as well do it yourself.
Did Skelton reach out to you?
Harold Bingo: Yeah Skelton reached out, and the crazy thing is he only reached out because he saw what I wrote on Dolph for POW, so I was like, âDamn. I kind of have to for the home team.â
Youâre doing Godâs work of calling attention to these artists that youâre passionate about with those pieces. Does it make you want to do- like with Rob49, donât you want to get up on a soapbox and say, âHey. Listen to this guy. Heâs fucking nice.â
Harold Bingo: I feel like the gestation period for these guys are getting shorter and shorter. Like Rob49 would be a great example, but he already got a Lil Baby remix. It just happens so fast now.
Isnât that a good thing?
Harold Bingo: Yeah of course, no one needs to languish in the cellar for three years anymore so I get to feel like Iâm up on something, but it definitely cuts down on- like if Iâm going to write on somebody, I want it to be a situation where not enough has been said, or I want people to know- and I feel like those periods are shrinking. And thatâs great. I want people to know. Another good example would be the Baby Stone Gorillas. Theyâre rappers from Cali Iâm super enthused about at the moment, but it feels like that period in between, âOh shit, I found this on YouTubeâ and itâs cool, and they have a proper album out and people know about them is shrinking, which is great.
Well, I would respectfully argue that perhaps your proximity to it–
Harold Bingo: Yeah thatâs probably true–
Personally, as a fan I would love to see more of this passionate advocacy. Thereâs a big difference, for me anyways, between hearing a song that Lil Baby has done with Rob49 and reading an eloquent articulation of what heâs doing and why itâs interesting and what heâs doing. It would be easy to say, âOh, this Lil Baby track is really good! Whoâs this random guy?â
Harold Bingo: I guess another factor is writing is really painstaking for me. Youâre writing about someoneâs livelihood. And thatâs a battle I have with Jeff. Because Jeff will be like,âJust talk your shit.â So itâs those two competing impulses between just write something fun, and treating it with the necessary gravitas. So thatâs something I struggle with now.
Like last year, Jeff asked me to do a breakdown on Stockton California.
Yeah. Incredible piece.
Harold Bingo: It took me literally weeks, because I was torturing myself making sure every word was in place. But you donât- especially being a white dude writing about rap, you donât want to fall into the trap of being overly ridiculous about it. You donât want to do the Pitchfork thing where people are rolling their eyes, right? Thatâs a prime example of what happens when you donât put the proper care into it.
So last question, you donât post under your government, or with your image. I was wondering what your reasons are?
Harold Bingo: Honestly, I never expected an actual following or people paying attention to what I said- so it was as simple as, âIâm a big Curb Your Enthusiasm fanâ, Iâm a Larry David disciple all day, so it was either going to be that or Bob Sacamano.
Well thank you Harold. Keep spreading the gospel, and for all of our sake, WRITE!
death, taxes + Twitter reacting en masse to a tweet that insinuates men are gay if they enjoy an innocuous activity
— . (@HaroldBingo) March 22, 2022