{"id":309107,"date":"2025-11-26T23:46:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T23:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/309107\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T23:46:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T23:46:11","slug":"dax-and-the-viral-rise-of-co-worker-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/309107\/","title":{"rendered":"Dax And The Viral Rise Of Co-Worker Music"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dax has become one of the most viral rappers on all of TikTok<\/a>. With 17 million followers and over 260 million likes across his hundreds of videos, you would think he is one of the most well-respected artists in all of hip-hop. Instead, he is mostly considered to be a bit of a meme.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first time you heard of him was probably back in November of 2022 with his now infamous open verse challenge. In the video, Dax is dressed up as the Joker. He\u2019s doing so because he is inviting the audience to record an open verse that complements his song appropriately titled, \u201cJoker.\u201d The video is meant to be stitched, and as the beat continues, Dax just sits there, pretending a bottle of Frank\u2019s Red Hot Sauce is a microphone, all while making some pretty gnarly facial expressions.<\/p>\n

HotNewHipHop Video Essay<\/p>\n

This video blew up and has over 15 million views on the TikTok platform. There are thousands of stitches to this video, and to this day, people are doing their own verses. Albeit mostly as parody. Why? Well, the whole Joker aesthetic is kind of a meme now. If you say that you relate to the Joker, people are just going to clown on you. It\u2019s the same energy as those people who call themselves Sigma males, all while unironically envisioning themselves as a lone wolf in the wild.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s not just Dax\u2019s aesthetic that lends to the widespread criticism. It\u2019s also the way he raps and crafts his songs. His flows and lyrics have been deemed corny by the general public. It also doesn\u2019t help that his beat selection is mostly abysmal. In fact, Dax isn\u2019t really acknowledged by the average hip-hop listener. Instead, he is mostly an internet phenomenon. The last time we saw Dax get mainstream attention was back in 2019, when he was trying to go at Tory Lanez.<\/a> Lanez, a fellow Canadian, acknowledged Dax online, but urged him to apologize for a recent diss track. Dax obliged, and he mostly became an afterthought.<\/p>\n

But with the rise of social media, artists like Dax have been able to become provocateurs. Dax understands that people don\u2019t like his music, and therefore, he leans into the gag more often than not. Even if he is taking himself 100 percent seriously, he still understands what\u2019s going to go viral on social media. Whether that be overacting in his music videos, or being completely unhinged whenever he opens his mouth to rap.<\/p>\n

Origins of Co-Worker Rap<\/p>\n

But to say that Dax doesn\u2019t have real fans would be a complete misread of the situation. In fact, it can be argued that Dax is the leader of a phenomenon that has been dubbed \u201cco-worker music\u201d and more specifically, \u201cco-worker rap.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCo-worker rap\u201d has existed for years at this point; however, it has never been given a proper name. The concept is simple. Imagine you\u2019re in the break room at your job, and your least favorite co-worker comes in to eat lunch with you. They\u2019re the type of co-worker who watches Andrew Tate videos on full blast without a care in the world. They are constantly ranting to you about how the world\u2019s elites are all lizard people and that COVID-19 was a psy-op to make the population gay. Whenever they open their mouth, you\u2019re forced to politely half-listen and wait for the perfect moment to get out of the conversation. Well, that very same co-worker would probably force you to watch a Dax music video all while saying \u201cthis guy is real rap, not that mumble crap.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Co-Worker Music Sound<\/p>\n

What does co-worker music sound like? Well, it\u2019s typically overdramatic for the sake of it. There is a very over-the-top in your face quality about it. There are no metaphors or unique allegories. Instead, everything is plainly explained to you. A great example is Dax\u2019s \u201cJoker,\u201d in which he says things like \u201cyou\u2019re in pain, you\u2019re insane, I can tell by what you\u2019re saying,\u201d or \u201cYou leave a negative comment not knowing what you sew you will reap\/I bet you smile when you post thinking you’re hurting me.\u201d These lyrics are relatable enough for people to relate to it, but they\u2019re also way too corny for an educated rap listener to think this is acceptable. <\/p>\n

Another great example of the co-worker rap sound is an artist named \u201cChandler\u201d who went viral for their song \u201cBubonic.\u201d The snippet that went viral showcases \u201cChandler\u201d shouting a bunch of nonsense before changing up his voice into a lower register that sounds downright demonic. He\u2019s not saying anything of substance, but the bars are meme-worthy. The average person on TikTok takes this song as a joke. However, it becomes a co-worker song because there are people out there who would show you this song and tell you it\u2019s fire, in complete earnest.<\/p>\n

A Hatred of Mumble Rap<\/p>\n

In simpler terms, co-worker rap can mostly be characterized by its absolute seething hatred for mumble rap. There is a contingent of casual rap listeners out there who absolutely despise mumble rap or anything with autotune. As a result, they find themselves enamored with artists who make \u201creal rap.\u201d Their rap fandom begins with Eminem<\/a>, and it eventually branches out into artists like Dax, Chandler, Token, and even Tom McDonald. One could even make the argument that the forefather of the co-worker rap aesthetic is Hopsin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of my first experiences working in a warehouse was with a guy who pulled me aside to show me the Ill Mind of Hopsin on YouTube. The guy wanted to be a rapper himself, and was saying how Hopsin is the only rapper making \u201creal music.\u201d That he wasn\u2019t making hedonistic rap music, and that he actually had a message. Of course, if you\u2019ve listened to Hopsin, then you know that there was a time when most of his music was about how much he despised the current generation of rappers. He even made a song called \u201cNo Words\u201d which is meant to be a parody of mumble rap. Ironically enough, it\u2019s one of his best songs.<\/p>\n

An Ode To Hopsin<\/p>\n

During Hopsin\u2019s prime, the co-worker music label hadn\u2019t been invented yet. Not to mention, the TikTok attention economy had yet to be created. Even YouTube reactors and streamers were in their infancy. As a result, he never got to experience the height of co-worker rap virality. But for artists like Dax, Token, and many others, this new phenomenon has opened up massive opportunities. For instance, guys like Token are going all in on the co-worker music label, with freestyles that are self-referential.<\/p>\n

Whenever Dax, Chandler, or that AI bear named Civ drop a new song on social media, you can guarantee that the comments will be filled with people saying \u201cco-worker music.\u201d It\u2019s become one of the biggest ongoing gags in music promotion, and it\u2019s allowed these artists to take full advantage. What makes it even funnier, is that co-worker music is the furthest thing from a compliment. But it doesn\u2019t matter. Chasing this sound has almost become a form of rage baiting. Without the sea of haters, it\u2019s hard to imagine an artist like Dax hitting 17 million followers on TikTok.<\/p>\n

Co-Worker Music Beyond Rap<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just rap that is dealing with this phenomenon. There are plenty of other genres that have the co-worker music problem. AJR, Benson Boone, and Imagine Dragons<\/a> are all examples on the pop side. Overdramatic songs that are trying to do way too much sonically to the point of parody. However, it is still oddly palatable enough for the average Facebook user to find deep and inspiring. Disturbed\u2019s cover of \u201cThe Sound of Silence\u201d is also a great example of this.<\/p>\n

Now, in all fairness, the term \u201cco-worker music\u201d is a bit mean. It\u2019s also extremely subjective. While you can point to a specific vibe, it\u2019s also up to the person using the term to determine what they believe co-worker music to be. At this point, people use it as a stand-in for music that they don\u2019t like. There are people who will look you dead in the eyes and say that Kendrick Lamar<\/a> is co-worker music. Of course, this isn\u2019t really true, but if someone\u2019s made up their mind, you\u2019ll have a hard time convincing them otherwise.<\/p>\n

There will always be artists who grate on the ears of hardcore music fans, regardless of genre. In the rap world, it just so happens that artists like Dax, Hopsin, Token, and more, have been hit with the \u201clyrical miracle\u201d label. Reaction YouTubers and TikTok comments have turned some of these artists into a running joke. Artists that only your annoying co-worker would enjoy. It\u2019s unfortunate, but if you\u2019re like Dax and you embrace the meme, then you too can become one of the biggest artists on TikTok.<\/p>\n