Ice Cream Paint Job

I like rap. Warren G, the Wu Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, and the Notorious B.I.G. were more a part of my formative years than the Eagles, Chicago, and Three Dog Night. Still, it's hard to label modern day rap as anything more than a sideshow. Pioneers have the benefit of being original. Tribe Called Quest, Grandmaster Flash, and Run DMC broke new ground. They were the original gangsta's. (Too much? I think so. No suburban white kid should use the term "original gangsta's" in any serious context) Now, we're left without any mesmerizing, or even polarizing figures within the rap world. In short, there are no icons, which leads to the persistent publishing of poorly put-together lyrics such as the ones in this song:

Don't get me wrong, the chorus is catchy. I spent a lot of last weekend listening, and re-listening to this song and laughing the whole time. I even had a good time listening to it, laughing with my friends as we attempted to dissect (first mistake) the song itself. Therein lies the problem, rap now is nothing more than fodder for its listeners. It's pure junk food. High in saturated lyrics and low in any sustaining value. Another problem is the recycled content. It's the same theme, the same message over and over again.** Rinse, lather, repeat. Churn out another top 40 commercial hit. Is there any current rap song I will listen to 20 years from now?* Clearly not. On the flip side, there's a whole new generation of 10 year olds that listen to the Hot 97.5's of the world and will forever feel thick nostalgia when they hear certain rap songs on their mp3 players 10 years from now. And maybe that's where I make a mistake. Labeling any rap music as timeless is perhaps irresponsible. I'm sure there are salient points to support that argument. But thanks to that era of music, rap has risen to dominate airwaves across America. If that's not influential, then my name's not John Beatty.


*The Chronic came out nearly 20 years ago and I still listen to 'Nuthin But a G Thang' once a week.

**I don't think I have to rigorously explain the major themes of rap music today.