Local music artist Azazus received his first hint at 2020’s rising adult subscription content when he noticed an increasing number of Venmo and Cash App usernames in social media bios.
This movement led the Alabama-born musician to create his recent single, “Onlyfans,” a song celebrating the online hustle of young people entering the adult entertainment business and taking advantage of content subscription services like OnlyFans and Patreon.
The song, released April 24, went viral on TikTok this summer, receiving over 100,000 plays by TikTok users. This increased engagement on social media led Azazus to take his next step: filming the music video for “Onlyfans,” which was released on YouTube Aug. 4.
The video received over 10,000 views within the first 12 hours of its release and over 50,000 views by the end of the month.
Filmed and directed by Gainesville’s 86 Studios, the video begins with a short three-minute film that takes place in Swamp City Gallery Lounge, featuring cameos from other local music artists such as Edgar Brann and DJ Mellow Blendz.
Azazus’s choice to solely include Gainesville names was intentional.
“I primarily asked them to have these cameos because of the [COVID-19] pandemic,” Azazus said. “We can’t get out and about like we normally do, and so I wanted to help each and every person’s individual endeavor.”
Following the short film, the music video features an OnlyFans creator, Coco Chanel, introducing Azazus to her online business of making money through pay-to-unlock adult entertainment.
Azazus considers the song an anthem for young creators trying to earn a living in an increasingly digital world.
“The internet right now is so easy for young women to make money,” Azazus said. “The song is encouraging a lot of people to just explore different options to make money.”
John “The Green Ranger” Eagle of 86 Studios said maintaining the vision of the song was one of his biggest priorities when filming the “Onlyfans” video.
“[My goal was] to shine the most light to the culture of the OnlyFans movement,” Eagle said.
The OnlyFans movement isn’t the only cause Azazus supports in his music. His “Azazus & Frands Give Back” playlist located on his website donates proceeds to Black organizations such as the NAACP and the Minnesota Freedom Fund.
While he only plans to release singles for the rest of 2020, Azazus is not afraid to consider himself a trailblazer. The artist has earned spots in local events such as Gator Stompin’ and the Changeville Music and Arts Festival, marking himself as one of the first “outside” hip hop artists to break the surface in Gainesville’s music scene.
“Hip hop is kind of kept in the shadows over here,” Azazus said. “There’s no established kind of venue for people that is just strictly catered to hip hop.”
Eagle tries to support this genre by providing local artists with professional video production well-known musicians are seen using every day.
“I’m able to work with anybody’s budget, and they're able to get the same quality that higher end artists are getting,” Eagle said. “I don’t like outsourcing a lot of the talents from other places. I like to keep it homegrown.”
86 Studios will reunite with Azazus to film the video for his next single “Reaper,” a Halloween-inspired song that will feature a short horror film.
The “Onlyfans” video is available to watch on YouTube now.
Local music artist Azazus released a music video for his recent single, "Onlyfans," on Aug. 4.
