Despite being nearly 100 years old, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is still relevant in popular culture. This is because the themes of the novel such as love and wealth are still prominent in today’s society. A prime example of an allusion to Gatsby in popular culture comes from American singer Brent Faiyaz, in his song titled Ghetto Gatsby.
The song’s title Ghetto Gatsby implies that Brent Faiyaz takes some qualities from Gatsby’s persona, such as wealth and status, but puts a “ghetto” spin on it, implying that he doesn’t align himself with the high society aspect of West Egg. The first allusion to Gatsby in the lyrics is the line “Flyer than the wind, I’m Gatsby”, showing that Faiyaz is highly fashionable, paralleling Gatsby’s expensive tastes.
The second allusion to Gatsby comes in the line “Its never enough I just overpaid for a Maybach”. This quote shows that Faiyaz knows he made a poor financial decision but did it anyway, in order to have a fancy car and express his wealth. This is a direct comparison to Gatsby’s Rolls Royce, the Maybach of its day. Like Gatsby, Faiyaz is displaying his wealth in an attempt to show off his wealth. Gatsby was such an influential character that people today still aspire to be like him in terms of wealth and status.
Pictured above is the rapper Gatsby. While he isn’t well known his pseudonym gives insight into how the younger generations perceive Gatsby. By titling himself Gatsby, it’s clear the rapper sees Jay Gatsby as an icon he can aspire to be like.
It’s clear that Gatsby still has a hold on popular culture, and new generations continue to aspire to be like him.
