Two great tastes that taste great together
If you remember anything about rap back in the late 90's, it was all about gloss, bling, and ridiculous excess. It was the heyday of Puff Daddy and he churned out hit after hit based on old 80's pop tunes. The record industry was as strong as it has ever been (and will ever be, in my opinion), there was lots of money to be made, and by God, the hip hop artists of the era were celebrating it.
"I Just Want to Love You" is a pretty good example of the type of music and lyrics we were getting at the time. The Neptunes were the hot producers at the moment (and they were pretty good back then), and Pharrel Williams has the best part of the song - the falsetto chorus that calls back old-school funk songs and is also a lyrical shoutout to someone who hadn't been heard form in years at the time - Rick James
Jay Z, in a typical act of rap artist modesty, calls himself "The greatest rapper alive". I'm not willing to go that far (give me Rakim, Q-Tip, or Chuck D), but the dude's good. I think with him, it's more a "sum of the parts" situation. I can't put my finger on any one thing that makes him stand out, but he does lots of little things really well. I think the best thing about his rapping is his phrasing. He doesn't strictly go line to line, verse to verse in the same rhythm. He mixes his delivery up really well which keeps any of his songs from getting monotonous and keeps you listening and interested. For an example of what I'm getting at here, check the "It's - about -to- go-down" delivery about a minute into the song. All the hallmarks of "bling" music are there - Cristal champagne, Prada, Gucci, Remi Martin, "cheddar", weed, ecstasy, Belvedere, and the like. Hell, even Atlanta's infamous Cheetah is name checked.
Lyrically in this song, and I know you may not believe this, but Jay Z seems to have many, many women after him. He warns these ladies that they must be sexualy proficient to spend time with him, but be warned! Although he has lots and lots (and lots) of money, he's NOT willing to spend it on you.
I kid with this, obviously it's not a weighty message of social commentary like "Fight the Power", but I've always felt it's unfair to hold rap songs to standards like that. Shit, 90% of rock music is about chasing tail and getting fucked up, but no one is calling out Van Halen for not having an uplifting, responsible message. Plus, you have to have chuckle at a couplet like this :
Yeah, save the narrative you savin it for marriage
Let's keep it real ma you savin it for cabbage
Embedding is forbidden! So, click here if you'd like to watch the video. It's a party!
8 comments:
I guess Jay Z is OK. I just hate it that he was always dropping little lines in songs when he was producing for Biggie. And that whole relationship w/ J-Lo was just weird. Oh wait. Nevermind. Sometimes I think Karl Rove is in charge of hip-hop. Or possibly Steve Spurrier.
Though I know my son is going to drive me up the wall as he gets older, I cannot for the life of me get into rap and hip-hop. I like the song here and there, mostly oldschool. The Rick Rubin version of "99 Problems" works. I own Revolverlution by Public Enemy but only listen to about half of it.
Jay Z does bug me with the lines he seems to drop into all his songs. His patter of dialogue is just a little too conversational for me, but I know it's the status quo for his level of musicianship.
I mean, how are we supposed to know how badass the artist is if he does not just come out and tell us in plain English?!? I also quite often forget who is singing, so I appreciate it when artists introduce themselves at the beginning of every single damned song. Thanks.
Josh, you expressed exactly what bothers me about Jay Z's style; I just couldn't put my finger on it.
"Conversational" describes it exactly. It's unique to be sure, but not what I'm really looking for in a rap artist. Nice job.
OK... This is the 4th time I have tried to post a comment. I keep deleting my posts because I have been trying to figure out a nice way of saying RAP SUCKS. I have spent time listening to it, and during periods of excessive drug and alcohol abuse, I have enjoyed dancing/partying to it. However, I have gotten to a point in my life at which I accept that I find no connection with the music nor do I see much distinction between one rapper and another. The rap I have listened to in the past is not something I will ever return to. It had a time and place. It is not like other genres/artists whose music I return to periodically because it possesses elements I consider worthwhile at different stages of my life. I agree with y'shua's comments that rappers must introduce who they are, tell everyone how awesome they are, and then get into the song-- if there actually is one beyond that. Yes, B.Mo, KISS, AC/DC, and Van Halen (DL Roth period) all have a ton of songs about chicks and sex. However, these songs are awesome, while rap artists' attempts to do the same fall short. I think one problem is that rap, nowadays at least, just comes right out and says, "Lick my nuts, suck the dick." Look at KISS's Love Gun, Van Halen's Ice Cream Man, or AC/DC's..... well, they just come out and say it (see Squealer). These guys had so much more energy and style behind their music. The reason Cinderella sucks is because they were a cheap knock off of Aerosmith, who with the exception of some of Toys in the Attic also sucks. Rap music seems to be nothing but cheap knock-offs-- dudes saying the same shit, in the same fucking way, with album covers that look identical to each other, wearing identical looking clothes, flaunting the same shit (money and hoes), etc. I just don't see what there is to enjoy about the music. Maybe this is exposing my ignorance. Long story short, it sucks.
B.Mo, click click here. I have no other way to send you such an awesome picture.
Rap has been dead to me since the D.O.C.'s accident. That really made me re-examine my existence. It's gettin' funk-ay, it's gettin' funk-ay!
Click Here - that picture has been the highlight of my Summer thus far. Well done.
Man, I totally agree with you on that.
There's just way too many suckers out there that can't just get it.
In fact, I was fightin with my sort of friend babyjean yesterday about this, and
they wouldn't admit to me that he was wrong. Now I can just show them your blog :)
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