I could have chosen to just destroy Lil' Wayne's "No Ceilings" but that was just far too easy. Instead, I figured I would allow H to the izzO V to the izzA to handle that. Rap, for the most part, is obnoxious and incessant rambling about hos, guns and money also, rap, which I thought came from poetry which is supposed to be a way of expressing...deep things or something, has now become a way of making lots of money by doing absolutely nothing but being a billboard for...everything really...
Basically, if you haven't heard "Empire State of Mind", go bash your own skull in because if a promising rap song was every written, this is it. Seriously, it's got everything.
A. Great beat. Sweet instrumental.
B. Solid verses.
C. Viciously addictive chorus.
It seems that everyone that frequents the genre is just looking for a simple 4/4 "dee da deet da dee" and some lyrics about shit that they'll never afford and lifestyles they'll never understand. Even better if they can shake their booty and cease synapse fire. Well, too bad heartless androids, Jay-Z, yet again, is, has and will continue to keep it real.
To make this song, this album and this artist even better, Jay-Z is suggeting (very bluntly) that he is the new Sinatra and pushing to make this song the new anthem for New York. You're right Paris, that's hot.
So, if you're not bothered by the "serious business" that is Jay-Z's alledged connection with Satan and the occult...please, go buy this album or steal it off some sweet torrent site. Trust me, you'll be doing yourself a favor.
Susej redrum redrum and stuff.
"This might need a verse from Jeezy, I might send this to the mixtape weezy,
Get somebody from BMF to talk on this, give this to a blood let a crip walk on it,
50 thou to style on this, I just don’t need nobody to smile on this,
You rappers singing too much, get back to rap you t-paining too much."
Get somebody from BMF to talk on this, give this to a blood let a crip walk on it,
50 thou to style on this, I just don’t need nobody to smile on this,
You rappers singing too much, get back to rap you t-paining too much."
Speaking of rap being stupid, I would like to use Young Jeezy's "My President" as a shining example (out of oh-so-many possibilities).
ReplyDeleteWe have a (half) black president! Hey, I didn't vote for him, but I can recognize history when it happens, so a rap song ABOUT the first black president makes sense. This should be pretty thought-provoking, right? Maybe even striving to be on the same politically-motivated level as Public Enemy?
WRONG.
As we see, Mr. Jeezy opens this track with a short introduction:
"Yeah this be the realest shit I never wrote / I ain't write this shit by the way Nigga / Some real shit right here Nigga / This will be the realest shit you ever quote"
Already, he claims that he didn't actually write any of the track. Interesting way to present something with your name on it, especially when you're a commercially marketed artist. Additionally, the word "shit" appears in every line. At this point, I feel less like he's bragging, and more like admitting that what he has created is sub-par drivel. Then, rhyming "Nigga" with "Nigga" is not actually rhyming. That's repetition, which is a poetic device, but for a rhyme to be a rhyme, the sound(s) need be approximate, not exact. Honestly, the middle two lines seem to exist only for the express goal of pointing out how much shit the track actually is, as well as addressing what I can only be the target demographic, the "Nigga" (the President?).
Here comes the chorus!
"My President Is Black, My Lambo's Blue
/ And I Be God Damn If My Rims Aint Too / My Momma Aint At Home & Daddy Still In Jail / Tryna Make A Plate Anybody Seen The Scale"
Alright, starting off I think we might be going somewhere, but following up history in the making with the color of your Lamborghini? And then bragging about your rims? Mr. Jeezy, I'm sure being rich is very nice, but your priorities seem out of order. Moving on, we get a bit of social commentary, but nothing more than what I can only assume is the same working-class argument that has been around since women entered the workforce. "Dad's in jail and my mom works two jobs." Hmmm. Unoriginal at best, contrived at worst.
I'd critique the rest of the song, but really, as a Political Science major, I'm already grinding my teeth. Stellar lines such as "Jus Cuz You Got An Opinion Does That Make You A Politician" go no where, referencing both Kanye West, Glenn Beck, Spike Lee, and Rush Limbaugh in a single vague breath. "Bush Robbed All Of Us Would That Make Him A Criminal / & Den He Cheated In Florida Would Dat Make Him a Seminole" makes absolutely no sense. How does cheating in Florida make one a Seminole? Hm.
Anyway, I can't stand to listen to this anymore as it makes we want to drive hot irons into my ear drums.