Comments on: Cash. Rules. Everything. Around. Me.

By: seth

seth — Fri, 31 Oct 2003 21:42:58 +0000

Other than Eminem, there really isn’t a white equivalent of Jay-Z, Biggie, Nelly, etc. So you don’t have a big enough sample to compare the stylings of million-selling white hip-hoppers to million-selling black hip-hoppers. When you compare Aesop Rock to his nearest black equivalents, you’ll find a lot of overlap. His labelmate Mr. Lif raps about anti-materialism, the dehumanizing aspect of having a lousy job, etc. much like Aesop Rock does. His labelmates in Cannibal Ox rap about vulnerability, living in lousy conditions, feeling penned-in by life, etc. Del the Funkee Homosapien rhymed about riding the bus and staying out of the way of the tough guys in his neighborhood (when he isn’t rapping on sci-fi themes). Mos Def and Talib Kweli rap abouut the perils associated with rap’s materialism. So bragging about money is less race-related and more genre-related; if you’re attempting to make million-selling albums about all the fun of living the good life, you’re more likely to mention the stuff you own than if you’re trying to make artsy or socially conscious hip-hop. While I tend to listen to artists in the latter category, I’m not immune to the allure of the former. See “Gimme the Loot,” among the most brilliant Biggie tracks about the acquisition of stuff.

By: Karmakin

Karmakin — Sun, 26 Oct 2003 23:57:40 +0000

Money is one thing, Fame is another. That said, I can name off an awful lot of white artists that jump on the nature of fame and the music industry..and making music itself. Smashing Pumpkins. (I of the Morning and Bullet with Butterfly Wings was almost prophetic about the current days of Clear Channel) Incubus:Circles, Drive U2:Discotheque, Kite Garbage:Shut Your Mouth. I’m sure there’s much more, but that comes from my little sphere of music.

By: andrew

andrew — Sun, 26 Oct 2003 07:56:54 +0000

There’s that cover by Dynamite Hack, of a song by N.W.A. – the classic Boyz-in-tha-Hood – except, being white college boys, they do it in a whiny-boy acoustic style. The video has four preppie white guys, sweaters around their necks, playing croquet on the lawn of their mansion. They’ve got wooden-shaft golf clubs and girls with tennis outfits. There’s a Rolls Royce on blocks in the front yard. All the while, they’re giving the orignial lyrics, which are pretty hard. Jockin’ the bitches, clockin’ the dough… It’s pretty funny.

By: cafl

cafl — Sun, 26 Oct 2003 05:08:40 +0000

Randy Newman: “It’s Lonely at the Top” I’ve been around the world Had my pick of any girl You’d think I’d be happy, but I’m not. Everybody knows my name, But it’s just a crazy game. Oh it’s lonely at the top. Etc.

By: Matt

Matt — Sun, 26 Oct 2003 02:19:38 +0000

Not a comment on the thread as a whole, just a comment on drapetomaniac’s nickname, which [for people who read 19th century medical journals] is the coolest I’ve seen in a long time. :-)

By: infamouse

infamouse — Sat, 25 Oct 2003 20:57:43 +0000

Plus, a white guy bragging about getting rich probably doesn’t sit well with too many people. Let’s face it. There are a lot of rich white guys.

By: infamouse

infamouse — Sat, 25 Oct 2003 20:56:49 +0000

They’re neoriche. New rich people are all about proving their wealth to others. Think about what happened to MC Hammer. Why’d he buy all that shit? People who’ve been rich for generations generally don’t behave that way.

By: JP

JP — Sat, 25 Oct 2003 07:41:19 +0000

Just for the record, I think Will Smith does boast about his wealth and success in some of his songs. (On the other hand, it’s probably more subdued than the kinds of boasting you hear in more “authentic” rap.) For example, there are these lines from Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It: 850IS if you need a lift Who’s the kid in the drop Who else Will Smith Livin’ that life some consider a myth Rock from South Street to 1-2-5th Women used to tease me Give it to me now nice and easy Since I moved up like George and Wheezy Cream to the maximum I be askin’ ‘em Would you like to bounce with the brother that’s platinum Never see Will attackin’ ‘em Rather play ball with Shaq and um, Flatten ‘em… (Of course, then he goes on to say “Psyche, Kiddin’, Thought I took a spill, But I didn’t,” which I think just refers to the part about Shaq, but could conceivably refer to the whole section.)

By: John

John — Sat, 25 Oct 2003 07:26:23 +0000

For white braggarts, what about the Stones? While they don’t exactly brag about their wealth in their songs, the whole stones project over the last twenty years has been pretty explicitly “we continue to do this in order to make even more money.” How about that ridiculous “Love is Strong” video where they’re all giants?

By: W. Kiernan

W. Kiernan — Sat, 25 Oct 2003 03:30:34 +0000

The incomparable Boots Riley raps, in “Fat Cats, Bigga Fish” off Genocide And Juice: …I’m wishing that I had an automobile as I feel the cold wind rush past but let me state that I’m a hustler for real so you know I got the stolen bus pass just as the bus pulls up and I step to the rear this old lady look like she drank a forty of fear I see my old school partner said his brother got popped pay my respects can you ring the bell we came to my stop the street light reflects off the piss on the ground which reflects off the hamburger sign that turns round which reflects off the chrome of the BMW which reflects off the fact that I am broke now what the fuck is new… Of course The Coup are hardly typical.

By: Alex

Alex — Sat, 25 Oct 2003 00:47:03 +0000

The examples given above that I’m familiar with don’t really hold. “What’s Your Name” is more a celebration of the sex/drugs/rock n roll/touring lifestyle than of money per se, in the tradition of Grand Funk’s “American Band”. Elvis had a lavish lifestyle, but didn’t brag about it in songs. Other artists talk about their wealth, but the ones I know of are always in a sardonic tone. This includes the Walsh song listed above, several by Randy Newman, the Kinks’ “Sunny Afternoon”, Dr Hook’s “Cover of the Rolling Stone”, Simon’s “You’re So Vain”, etc. This is partly a generational thing. The music I know best as a decrepit fart is that of the 60s through early 80s, and celebrating wealth was unfashionable. Black artists of the period didn’t brag about money in their lyrics either. But I’m not totally unfamiliar with more recent rock, and from what I know I can’t think of any counterexamples.

By: Charlie Murtaugh

Charlie Murtaugh — Fri, 24 Oct 2003 23:42:34 +0000

I actually blogged about this same topic back in January. You can read my post for yourself if you like, but here’s the money shot:

So what gives? To quote then-candidate Bush, it’s “the soft bigotry of low expectations.” Behavior [i.e. open boasting about one’s bling] that no fan would tolerate in a white artist—name me a successful white rapper who boasts about his bling-bling; and yes, Vanilla Ice is the exception that proves the rule—is excusable in a black or (to a less extent) Latino artist. Nor is this confined to music: witness how the White House put BET chairmain Robert Johnson front-and-center in the estate tax debate. Do you think Bush could use even a beloved white CEO, like Jack Welch, as a poster child for what amounts to a tax cut for the rich?

By: enthymeme

enthymeme — Fri, 24 Oct 2003 23:01:41 +0000

Kevinnyc, nice one re: Run DMC. I love Biggie too – I think he’s a lyrical genius! So far no one has mentioned metaphysical rappers the Digable Planets. They’re cute, cerebral (ha), and they don’t rap about money.

By: KevinNYC

KevinNYC — Fri, 24 Oct 2003 22:17:35 +0000

http://1010wins.com/topstories/winstopstories_story_297153613.html I just happened to come across this article in the local news round up, if you’ve been wondering whatever happened to Slick Rick.

By: Jeremy Leader

Jeremy Leader — Fri, 24 Oct 2003 22:00:16 +0000

Didn’t someone come up with a theory recently that the higher your socio-economic class, the more subtle your status symbols? That is, if you’re a poor kid on the street, you aspire to wear clothes that are almost all logo; if your family has been running the country for centuries, you wear clothes that only other members of your in-group can recognize as tastefully expensive.