There are few artists in our lifetime that will boast the title of
"industry leader". BeatKing, is a trend setting, highly notable recording
artist and producer from Houston, Tx. He has forever changed the release
speed and marketing approach of Southern club music.
Justin "BeatKing"Riley (born November 24, 1984), was first exposed to
music as a child playing the drums alongside his mother, the church
pianist. BeatKing rose to fame in the summer of 2010 with the release of
"Kings of the Club" which included the hit singles "Crush", "Hammer", and
"Lil TJones". Kings Of The Club is one of his highest's selling albums of
all time and its follow up Kings Of The Club 2 was not far behind.
The following year, November 2011, BeatKing released his third solo album,
Club God, which included his second single to reach Billboard "You Aint
Bout That Life" and became one of the most successful projects of the
year. November 2012 BeatKing released Club God 2, and introduced his next
hit single "Throw Dat Ahh". The following 2 years BeatKing released a
total of 5 mixtapes in 18 months, which included Club God 3, Gangsta
Stripper Music, Astroworld, Twerk it for Vine, and Eat'n Everything a
collection of freestyles based on viral videos.
But, where Beatking has separated himself is in his marketing,
specifically him recording humorous quick songs based on videos that go
viral. It seems simple and natural (and maybe it is), but it’s also
effective (cumulatively, his viral songs have been viewed nearly 20
million times). As his hundreds of thousands of faithful followers will
attest, the joy that Beat King brings forth isn’t limited to his ability
to wreck any and every club speaker or car stereo his music touches. What
keeps him trending is his declared intention, since 2010, to “wait for
stupid shit to happen, and then freestyle about it”.