"Tonight its gon be some changes No acting sadity So stop acting and get it clappin" with lyrics like this why wouldn't Pop, Lock and Drop It by Huey be the number two Rap song in the country at the moment. Every morning I wake up to my alarm that’s set to a local "hip hop" station. It’s set to it because no others really come in clear and why not wake up to a good beat. After a couple weeks of waking up to it and listening to the same four songs the station plays I asked myself what the hell are these songs about and who the hell listens to this stuff?
I come from a generation that is defined by artists like NWA, Tupac, Biggie and NAS. Rap and Hip Hop had a huge influence in the changes that society undertook during the 1990's. With lyrics that talked about what was going in the ghetto's of the country. There were party songs too such as California Love but even those had cool beats with decent lyrics talking about different places in
You can argue that comparing NWA or Tupac to Shop Boyz performance of "Party Like a Rockstar" is a bit far fetched and I agree. The comparison comes from the fact that Tupac and Biggie were top selling records in there time and Huey and Unk are top selling artist of our time.
To be fair I decided to print out lyrics and read through them for anything that may be positive or for anything that make any sense and basically found nothing! Have we really turned to lyrics such as "I uwa like I uwa cuz you, know them hoes be tryin us hoe don't you know I F*** wit fine diamonds that look like Pa-me-la...party like a rock party like a rockstar" and "do it wit da black and da white like a cop car whoop, whoop, whoop, wha, whoop"? I mean is this supposed to represent anything? If it does, what does that say about us?
Have we become an illiterate society that walks around singing "pop lock and drop it" instead of concerning ourselves with the latest events in politics or the war? Maybe we can find some insight into the situation through Huey’s lyrics,
"You right in between us
If you a stripteasa then baby don't tease us...
She doin a new dance
What the next man said
I'm like naw she just pop locking on a headstand"
Well maybe not! What the hell is he saying anyways? I mean come on at least try to think while your writing lyrics! Ok lets give Huey a break and look into Unks lyrics. I mean what the hell is a name like Unk but whatever lets stay open minded. Hmmm Two Step now that sounds like an introspective story with lyrics like " Now Gone An 2 Step" [x4] "Now get Jiggy With it"[x4] . Ok that may be a bit harsh considering it's the chorus lets look at a verse.
"Now we Finna Turn it out
now here we go again
you already slow...
I'm shooting at your toes...
two stepping with my stacks"
You already slow I'm shooting at your toes, hey at least it rhymes.
Ok I think I've gone on long enough about this but seriously people lets thing a little about what we are listening to and what we are teaching our kids to listen to. We are supposed to be progressing as a society not regressing. We are trying to learn to advance society and improve our way of living. Moving from the ghetto to suburbia not the other way around. Like Too Short says, yes I said Too Short in Gettin It
"Now let me Holler at ya partner, spit this game
in your ear for a minute, quit complaining,
Bout how you can't spend it cause you ain't got it
You got what it takes but not enough to get started
I hope you get the message....
You should be gettin it, everything you want
Everything you dreamed of, never have to front
you should be gettin it"
Or think about what Nas is saying in Just a Moment:
"This is for my dawgs stuck in the struggle tryin to gain...
trapped in the game, not knowin how to stop and get by
to live it alive, so instead they live it to die
can we please have a moment of Peace?...
Yeah, and can we have another moment of silence?
For brothers who died from black-on-black violence
From here to the
To clients all over the world..."
After reading this are you thinking something, anything? If you aren't then go back to humming "pop lock and drop it".
I know that I have a lot of friends from a lot of different backgrounds and I'm sure each of you have an opinion. This is just mine. Yes I know there are many groups from the later years that sucked but even some of them can compete with the top hits of today. I also know that there is an entire genre of conscious music out there that talks about real stuff. However I remind you that although great it is not what is topping the charts and it is not what most of Americans are walking around humming.
I leave you with a quote from Tupac:
"Hip Hop was supposed to be this new thing that had no boundaries and was so different to everyday music. As long as it has soul to it, hip hop can live on."
Tupac Shakur
I really doubt Tupac was talking about the crap that is out there today. Unless of course you think that Huey, Unk or Shop Boyz got soul. If you do you should just... well I don't want to be mean but lets hope it's just a phase.
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