A ‘RAP THING’ and how it is fundamental to keeping excitement in the industry
We have gotten to a place in rap music where you can’t even say anything anymore without having people taking it out of the context of the rap culture. It’s almost like you have to apologize for certain things which have historically been a staple in the art form of rap music.
Rap is all about culture and we cannot have good rap without cultural references to the people, times, places, and events birthed in that culture. Cultural references to people in the culture make for a good pivot in discussions about our culture.
I am not one of those people who know complete verses of songs but I always remember all the cultural references especially those of people because therein usually lie the take home messages which is only normal because everything in time and space makes no sense on its own without the people. The best ones are usually the lines that provoke controversy or paint a picture of the relationships between rappers without any underlying malice.
Lets take these these lyrics from two of Cameroon’s well known rappers to make the point:-
Stanley Enow - “I leave dis petit rapper dem for back house, stuck in Yaounde they think it’s first class.”
Jovi - “Ya only hit you tif na different man yi beat, And after that all the rest just be na shit, If na say you buy the beat show we receipt, But If receipt no dey that one na tif”
We all know or safely assume Stanley’s lines on ‘Bounce’ were particularly about Jovi because of the work the fans were doing pitting them against each other at the time. It was a good line from Stanley- a little bit more on the subliminal end. I’d like to believe Stanley wrote that particular message in many ways before finally deciding to say it the way he did.
Jovi also did not mention Stanley’s name but we all know he was talking about Stanley and he was a little bit more direct than Stanley with Stanley making a failed attempt at trying to make his line a wild shot by pluralizing it.
Both approaches say a lot about the artists. Stanley we all know is the media trained rapper that knows how to hold back the truth or sugarcoat it in cases where it might spur some conflict while Jovi is more of the ‘call it as you see it’ rapper. Another insight we draw from those lines is the fact that Jovi respects the art of making music while Stanley leans towards the ‘how far can this take me’ end of things. The two rappers are basically using their words to communicate their philosophy of life to the public while attempting to make the case for why their way of seeing things is the right way for the culture.
I remember in one of my songs, which you may never hear again, I had a line that said “I make my own beats, I no be buy am sell am, I dey like Drae Boii some people think I’m better.” Some people think I was taking a shot at Drake Boii but that is far from the truth. I was writing off a comment someone made in the studio when I was working with Drae Boii. Drake Boii produces for this person but when I played a beat, they made a comment along the lines of “that's the kind of beat I like.” Our working relationship ended on a not so nice foot and I was thinking of what could have gone wrong.
I felt at the time that what that person said might have made him uncomfortable, you know, in the sense of- keep this guy away or you might lose a client. I am not sure that was his thinking and even though we talk now, we have not talked about it. However, that was just me dreaming up the worst case scenario of explanations as to why this guy was not as excited about working with me like I was about working with him.
How that went missing in the culture is probably the reason I dropped the mic to do what I do now. Everyone who has been following me on my facebook before I started writing on PoiseSocial knows just how much I have had to say of the lackluster manner in which many of our culture bloggers approach their function. I have had bloggers send me interview questions that revolved around me with little or no inquiry into the space my art plugs in the culture, something which I believe is partly responsible for the fragmented nature of the musical art scene in Cameroon and something I plan to try and change as PoiseSocial grows.
People enjoy listening to music but they only pay for personalities- they like the music and fall in love with the person. If we are unable to construct stories about the artists and how their works relate to each other, the whole thing becomes a boring cycle of loud music competition - then we wonder why the fans are not engaged. It seems like all the music might as well come from one person.
People are more interested in the people behind the music than in the music itself. They are inspired by how these people handle their emotions, how they overcome their obstacles, and how they handle their relationships. It is stuff like that which makes a fan take a liking to a particular artist or feel connected to them - I am talking about the human side of the person behind the music. They want to know that this person putting himself or herself out there is just like them in many ways.
I would love for us to understand more about the importance of cultural references in the creation of our public figures and as a way of airing out our emotions. I know what it feels like to be an artists with a microscope on every one of your actions and it can get difficult. There is a lot these artists are saying in their music about themselves and really about what most of us are dealing with silently but all that gets missing.
Any- Ha!
You can stop reading here but:-
let me add some lines from Jay-Z's new album to help in the discussion and show you how a master cultural referencer does it.
Jay -Z on song ‘Kill Jay-Z’ goes: You almost went Eric Benet -Let the baddest girl in the world get away - don't even know what else to say - N——a, never go Eric Benet -I don't even know what you woulda done - In the future, other n---as playin' football with your son."
Jay-Z makes use of a double entendre with fellow rapper Future’s name. We all know of Future’s separation from Ciara to whom the court gave custody of their son. Ciara is now in another relationship with a football player and Future’s son is being raised by another man. The thought of having his son being raised by another man strikes a chord of fear in Jay-Z who responds by trying to repair his relationship with his wife Beyonce so as not to ever be in a position where he has to sit and watch his son call another man dad.
Jay’s lines also make me want to know more about Eric Benet and why he is being used as an example. That’s more SEO and more content for fans to use in getting to know their stars better.
Jovi and Stanley could be more creative in inserting the names like Jay Z does. I can’t tell them how to do it because I know they know how. We have to chill with the hypersensitivity and let the fans enjoy the art in its purest form.
Of course there are boundaries but as long as we keep it between the rappers and leave uninvolved friends and family out, we should be good.
- Tino Foy