11/25/2005 - Ya Playin Yaself
Song: Ya Playin Yaself
Artist: Jeru the Damaja
Why this song is the current jam: So I mentioned in my last post the phenomenon of disparaging something by describing it as if it were the coolest thing in the world. (see: "Don't Wanna Be a Player" by Joe, "Forget I Was a G" by the Whitehead Brothers, etc etc) So in this post I thought I would post an example of the flip side of that coin. An intelligent critique of such hip hop norms among other things. Jeru here takes to task several elements of hip hop and tries to point out the actual results of their actions - i.e. they end up getting played. (ironically enough, by themselves) I have to say that this song is pretty much as well-put as it gets for cutting insights from hip hop on hip hop. It is really hard to find some unmitigated wisdom on a hip hop track. I have found that in general you have your really tight, insightful lyrics, and then some bizarre bit of misogyny or homophobia or something plain old fuckin stupid. But Jeru keeps it pretty tight on this song. (that being said, when my friend and I saw him in concert, he did within the space of one minute, preach non-violence, and then tell an audience member that he would kill him if he insulted his mother again - but hey, nobody's perfect -- aaand, he DID come out with no shirt on and a flag for a cape - and this is not 50 Cent physique we are talking about here, more like 12-15 cent, but god bless him for not giving a shit) I wish more folks got to hear someone saying something really smart in a rap song. I guess it is happening more and more, especially with the underground hip hop movement, but for now I think that the stereotype of hip hop is the image of really shallow, hypersexualized, violent people. And for now, that image is the stereotype for a very good reason, not because that is necessarily who people in hip hop are, but because these are the most visible (and memorable) images out there. That and the beats for those super shallow hip hop songs are fuckin tight. (Come on underground hip hop and get your beats together so I can listen to what you have to say!) Anyways, this song is a nice mix, I really appreciate this tight beat and above all, the "fake-pimp free flow." I think this song and what it says really reminds me that the images that that run rampant through most of hip hop that I see, are just that - images. It is so easy to let a picture, whether it is one created by someone's lyrics, album cover, video, or anything else combining with suppositions you have in your head, to let that picture just become reality. If you are anywhere close to as mentally lazy as I can be, then you have fallen victim to this kind of thinking and subsequent categorization of people. Anyways, even if you are not into rap, listen to this song, the words even, and remember that the annoying shit in hip hop is often just as annoying to people within hip hop as it is to people who dont even like it.
Artist: Jeru the Damaja
Why this song is the current jam: So I mentioned in my last post the phenomenon of disparaging something by describing it as if it were the coolest thing in the world. (see: "Don't Wanna Be a Player" by Joe, "Forget I Was a G" by the Whitehead Brothers, etc etc) So in this post I thought I would post an example of the flip side of that coin. An intelligent critique of such hip hop norms among other things. Jeru here takes to task several elements of hip hop and tries to point out the actual results of their actions - i.e. they end up getting played. (ironically enough, by themselves) I have to say that this song is pretty much as well-put as it gets for cutting insights from hip hop on hip hop. It is really hard to find some unmitigated wisdom on a hip hop track. I have found that in general you have your really tight, insightful lyrics, and then some bizarre bit of misogyny or homophobia or something plain old fuckin stupid. But Jeru keeps it pretty tight on this song. (that being said, when my friend and I saw him in concert, he did within the space of one minute, preach non-violence, and then tell an audience member that he would kill him if he insulted his mother again - but hey, nobody's perfect -- aaand, he DID come out with no shirt on and a flag for a cape - and this is not 50 Cent physique we are talking about here, more like 12-15 cent, but god bless him for not giving a shit) I wish more folks got to hear someone saying something really smart in a rap song. I guess it is happening more and more, especially with the underground hip hop movement, but for now I think that the stereotype of hip hop is the image of really shallow, hypersexualized, violent people. And for now, that image is the stereotype for a very good reason, not because that is necessarily who people in hip hop are, but because these are the most visible (and memorable) images out there. That and the beats for those super shallow hip hop songs are fuckin tight. (Come on underground hip hop and get your beats together so I can listen to what you have to say!) Anyways, this song is a nice mix, I really appreciate this tight beat and above all, the "fake-pimp free flow." I think this song and what it says really reminds me that the images that that run rampant through most of hip hop that I see, are just that - images. It is so easy to let a picture, whether it is one created by someone's lyrics, album cover, video, or anything else combining with suppositions you have in your head, to let that picture just become reality. If you are anywhere close to as mentally lazy as I can be, then you have fallen victim to this kind of thinking and subsequent categorization of people. Anyways, even if you are not into rap, listen to this song, the words even, and remember that the annoying shit in hip hop is often just as annoying to people within hip hop as it is to people who dont even like it.
posted by Peetski at 1:56 PM
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