"A-ha, yeah...we're not going to talk about where that stain came from."
     He shot me a look of amusement. "Forget I even asked," he muttered out of a crack of a smile.
     I shrugged and lay back on the couch, my feet dangling over the arm and my head on one of the seat cushions. "It's dirty as all fuck, but what would I do without it?"
     Jim didn't answer and just swirled his drink around. He wasn't all too concerned. But then, why would he be? It was my couch regardless.
     I glanced toward the T. V. and quickly glanced away. Bears were losing by 14 points; fantastic. I attempted the classic too-lazy-to-get-up-so-lean-head-as-far-as-possible-to-look-behind-you-upsidedown move (luckily, it's less difficult to perform than to say). Katherine was talking to Tyler by the sliding glass door to the balcony. They had kept the door halfway open, allowing a breeze to waft through easily enough. The light from the stars struck the glass, smearing brilliantly downward.
     Jim gave me a disgusted look, picking at something brown and hard that clung to the fabric. I laughed, despite myself; he quickly withdrew his hands. I waved my own, saying, "No, no - nothing to worry about. It's just a rather old fruit rollup." His look of disgust intensified.
     "It's brown. What'd you do? Wait, lemme guess - you took a perfectly good fruit rollup, smushed it into your couch, and then shat on it. Maybe you took the time to mix all of it together well and evenly."
     I patted my couch nostalgically; "Only the best for my baby." Jim just shook his head, then jumped at the sound of a crash. He was actually always jumpy.
     "Christine?" I asked. He nodded. I sighed.
     I had wanted to paint the walls green, when I had first bought the place. It wasn't like it was a color I liked now, in any case. The walls were a wretched yellow, the color of baby vomit and shattered teenage childhoods.
     Not that the green we were going to use was much better of a color, but that was precisely the point.
     I met Katherine through Christine the day I was moving in. I had needed help and amusement, so I called Christine up. She had a friend over, so I ended up meeting Katherine because she had to tag along. Not that I minded. There was something about Katherine, when I met her right away, that made you pause. She was more withdrawn at first glance.
     "Did you decide to piss all over the place?" Christine asked the second she entered the room.
     "Oh, so you noticed. I was worried it would be too subtle."
     She laughed. "Please tell me the landlord isn't going to make you keep it like this? It's horrid."
     "Oh, I most certainly agree," I told her, falling back against a wall to keep myself up in my laughter.
     Katherine walked around the room, surveying the room and its walls. As she passed by the glass door, she was assaulted by the sun gushing through. Comically, she batted at it like it was a swarm of flies, backing away in a spastic fashion. We all laughed, a semi-embarrassed smirk coming from her own face.
     "You should paint it green," she told me, her face lightly animated.
     "Like a pretty jade?" I asked her. I was patronizing; I can admit that now. She shook her head.
     "Vomit green." I gave her a look of confusion. She simply smiled. "It's not as bad as piss vomit; and you can't really expect things to be ideal. You can only get a little better."
     I had liked the idea, but the landlord refused to let me alter the place. So I was still with baby vomit and smog plastered to my walls.
     "Fuck!" Jim snorted, jolting back.
     "Hey, I never told you to go sniffing my couch," I told him, catching the iPod change to Can I Live. The soft jazz of the beginning wound itself around the sharp contours of the room, trying to mask the desperateness of its question.
     I glanced Katherine shooting daggers from her eyes at Christine. "College is a big moment, they say," I muttered to Jim. He shrugged.
     "I suppose I keep this old thing," I slurred to him slowly, though he already knew despite the difficulty he gave me, "because it's been with me since as long as I can remember. I mean, sure, there's some...well, interesting things it's been through." I rubbed my finger over some plastic that had clutched to the threads from an art project I had worked on. "But that's going to happen. I'm not going to throw some dumb plastic cover over it or try to clean it up. I can't ignore or avoid it. It wouldn't be the same." Jim smirked at my sentimentality. "I'm not throwing this fucker out."

Race, Sex, Sexual Orientation - An Intelligent Assessment of Controversy

 

 

This is NOT the past.

 

We, in America, do not teach about marginalized groups in an appropriate way.

The general conception is we've to treat everyone equally and fairly and everything is solved. Everyone gets along happily and everything is fixed.

As idealistic as this mindset is, it is not adequate to truly understand marginalization.

The first issue we run up against is the way that racism is thought of. I read once somewhere that a man visited high schools and found that black and white students consistently talked past each other on terms of race. The white students see racism as discriminatory actions towards others while the black students see racism often as institutional.

And there is our first problem. I'll give you a hint: it's not that the students see racism in different terms.

The man observing these students makes the claim that the black students see racism one way and the white students another. Ignoring that this binary excludes every other possible race, it makes the mistake of claiming that a certain way of thinking belongs to each race. Not only is this statement momentary and will likely change as time passes (not to mention it is a generalization), it doesn't get at why this is the current way these two races view racism.

Frantz Fanon put out the fantastic argument that systems create racism. Trying to fight racism as actions and opinions is futile because these opinions and views of people will continually be created by the systems in society. Destroy the systems, destroy racism. While I don't entirely agree with this paraphrased version of Fanon, it gets at a point. For example:

Some of the school systems in Chicago are based on (either) a tax system or where the student is living, with each place having a different level of taxes needing to be payed (I can't entirely remember). However, the other drawback is that the schools that receive students from low-tax areas are also poorer in quality. That means the ability to move up in society is greatly reduced. Combination of lower education and poverty (and all the frustration that goes with poverty)? Higher criminal rate and antisocial and -cultural habits within the people. And, as you might've guessed, the majority of people located in these areas are minorities.
This system creates people who act out a role which allows the solidification of racism.

And think about it - don't the stereotypes about blacks include poverty, living in a ghetto, being uneducated, and acting unruly? It's important to remember that this system originated in our nation's racist housing situation starting in the 50s (I won't take the time to explain that one here; I'll just take it on faith that your education in life has covered that part of history).

Of course, you could object - that's not a racist institution. It's discriminatory, sure, but along class lines, not race. It was started by racist intentions, sure - but it's motivated by a monetary situation now. Switch out the blacks for any other race or put a mix of races there and you get the same situation. And, for the most part, I would agree. I actually do take the mainstream opinion that race is based upon the actions people take and views people hold. Racist institutions and groups can be formed, but whether that depends upon the group trying to promote racist ends (KKK) or it only requires a system to be founded with originally racist intentions in mind (the previous Chicago example) is not an important debate.

Fine, don't fight it on arguments of racism. It's still a poor system that needs to be reformed. However, we must understand all of this I've just explained to understand why certain racial groups may argue about racism and the changes necessary to combat it in the way that they do.

Which brings us nicely to Affirmative Action. I right now admit I don't believe I know enough about AA to speak wholly intelligently on it. I already know there are different forms of Affirmative Action; and it doesn't work quite like it is generally portrayed in the mainstream (you're black? Get a full ride for college!). Actually, GodlessLiberal did a well done post on AA quite a while back (if you happen to meander over, check out how the guy's been doing; he's been fading in and out of Xanga for a bit now). To summarize, he argued that AA should be based upon class rather than race (again, I stress, I do not fully understand the ways AA works. I'm assuming that GodlessLiberal's descriptions of it are correct. His serves as a good example, regardless, because of the lesson in perspective learned from it). I agree with his argument. This makes sense. However, if AA is based on race in implementation, we have to see why.

Arguing against a staunch black AA defender that AA is an unfair system will not win the person over. As far as they're concerned, you're simply arguing for further suffering in a system that specifically picks out blacks economically. AA should reverse the inherent racism of the system that holds most blacks back. However, as we've already discussed (at least in this specific example of economic injustice situated in Chicago), the system is not racially motivated (though, even in millions of years, with no change to the system, it's unlikely any large amount of blacks will break from this system in a way that will reduce the number of blacks caught in the system. The most likely difference would be to add and trap other races in this system). The argument really should be that the system is abolished, thereby allowing equal economic opportunities, regardless of race.

All that I've just said? That's the amount of unsaid material that happens in our current discussions on race. Now, I'm not entirely sure what types of systems may exist out there for other marginalized groups and how they may work off the top of my head. Since discussions of race and racism are so large and plentiful in our country, however, it's the easiest example. But this is only one side of the coin (if you've made it this far, I'm impressed; we need more people like you who are willing to adapt their mindsets).

Two topics related to each other, this side of the coin is split in half. The first half is representation.

Often, marginal groups will bring up issues that the majority of the country rolls their eyes at and don't understand the fuss over it. The perspective of the marginal group is lacking. You cannot just apply a veil over everyone and expect to treat and see them all the same. As much as I'd like that (and I do agree with the mainstream again and believe that is the goal), reality keeps us from doing so.

The history of marginalized groups is important and must be taught - because it does inform the present. It explains why things are the way they are (think of the Chicago example above).

Last week, there was an article on the front page that questioned whether Miley's possible use of the word Gay as an insult is offensive or not. Hell, why is it even important? Same question we've heard many times before. And it's here that the picture above draws relevance as well: defamation, ignominy, contempt.

There's a reason why when an artform first created and performed by a marginalized group is taken in and performed by the mainstream and majority, some get angry. The artform was born out of struggle and persecution. Its history is often erased. The representation of your suffering is gone.

"That's so gay!"

Around the world, millions of 15-year-old boys and girls will be told they don't exist. And one of the few non-offensive words (faggot, lesbo, pederast, etc.) that they have to define themselves has been reduced to a mere petty insult. When you spend most of your life growing up being told that you're a fad or a phase and that you really can't be gay, this trivialization is more than just a changing of the meaning of a word and insulting to the very personage.

I AM A MAN; I exist: do not deny me.

The other half of this side of the coin is how we view marginal groups. I'll use myself as an example.

I was raised in the suburbs. As a result, most of my tastes, interests, and what I think was formed by what is generally mainstream society. I consider myself a goth, identifying with the sub-culture. I love rap, writing some of my own as well. Reasonable Doubt by Jay-Z is, to me, one of the best albums ever. I was pretty much raised on Bruce Springsteen. Around high school I discovered Black Sabbath - and fell in love. Most of Freshman to Junior year, actually was stuck somewhere between Atreyu, Slipknot, and Cradle of Filth.I consider myself a nerd, loving video games and the such. My ethnicity is German, Haitian, Spanish, Polish, French, English, Scottish, and American. I grew up eating almost always Haitian food. I was raised Catholic and still piously practice Catholicism.

I don't think I need to be the one to tell you that you could racialize pretty much every single one of those descriptions. But, in that context, some of them seem to contradict each other.

The mainstream (and when I say that this time, I mean the intelligent faction that doesn't make generalized statements about particular races (I'm sure you could think of plenty race jokes for examples)), for the most part, holds the view that race is not attached to culture. As just seen, I'm a decent example of the types of cultural influence that may affect a person.

I actually don't even have a racial identity. I don't see myself in terms of race. Sure, I'm aware that I'm a mixed child. I'm aware that most view me as "black" and that sometimes I'm confused for being mostly Hispanic (or other nationalities). But I don't see race in terms of culture. That makes no sense to me. I recognize my heritage (as listed above) and the cultures associated with each respective culture, and I identify as American and with the American culture. Again, I don't have a racial identity. I would actually argue that race is a socially constructed mechanism for labeling others.

Alright then, why the Black Panthers? Why Afro-centric movements? Why a Latino culture? I remember finding a personal opinion someone had put into Wikipedia under the Harlem Renaissance that both offended me and put the answer quite clearly. Towards the end of the entry on the Harlem Renaissance it's explaining the goals of the movement, particularly in terms of the New Negro and trying to create a unique black culture that would legitimize blacks on the same level as whites of that era. The person who wrote the entry finishes it off with, "But the positive implications of American nativity have never been fully appreciated by them. It seems too simple: the African-American's history and culture is American, more completely so than most other ethnic groups within the United States."

Because the positive implications of American nativity was blatantly clear (or not at all possibly offensive at the time) in contrast to slavery, Jim Crow South, and continual prejudice on many levels from other Americans.

Why might the writer of that quoted statement not understand a refusal of the mainstream culture by blacks?

I believe cultures evolve out of an isolation of specific people (whether voluntary or involuntary) and the creation of rituals, ideals, etc. out of that isolation. America has isolated blacks for years. That is why there is such a thing as a Black Culture.

For those who want that race-blind view, that is problematic. I remember my mother bringing home an Ebony magazine one time. I tried reading the first few pages and stopped. It was too weird. As I said before, I have no racial identity. Having something have meaning out of the concept of being a person of color, as a form of identity, is just weird to me. I wouldn't fit too well into all of current black culture.

But why do these cultures exist? Why might what is considered specific attributes to "blackness" be extolled?

In the case of our example of blacks in America, because of previous prejudice. There would be no Black Panthers if not for prejudice.

And (this is important to understand for those who honestly do believe in a color-blind view of humanity) we cannot simply expect blacks in America to join back into the mainstream culture. For one, they have probably been raised in a different culture most of their lives. Further, racism still exists in America (as we all well know) or, at least, institutions which continue the creation of racism do. These alternate cultures built along the lines of race came into existance due to something. Finally, harking back to the concept of representation - often the mainstream portrays blacks poorly on a consistent basis or doesn't portray them at all (and, yes, that is direly important).

Now, I'm of one of the mainstream opinions. I believe in treating people in a color blind fashion. I believe in associating the culture of a person not with what "race" they are but simply by which culture the person says they identify with (the notion of someone of Korean ethnicity partaking entirely in Irish culture isn't as impossible as some would have us believe, especially if the person was adopted by Irish parents when they were just a baby).

However - this is not realistic in terms of our world. Many people don't see themselves simply as people and identify heavily and strongly with concepts of "race" - for a multitude of reasons which we would do well to know. And while I would argue that the eventual goal is to see marginalized people as simply people rather than in terms of what caused them to marginalized (for example, think of how we see brunettes as people despite a characteristic which does set them apart from others), the history of the marginalized group and what it means is direly important in terms of giving the proper respect to a marginalized group - and understanding that group. In trying to view the world entirely as the same, it often erases the past of marginalized groups and that past does inform the future. A "insert group here"-blind viewing means that equal representation isn't necessary - and in this world, right now, that often means a mainstream dominated by the majority with mindsets thinking that is how the world is. And for many who probably aren't racist, sexist, sexualist, etc. they will still subconsciously think of their world in terms of the majority. I'll save you further examples; I'm sure you can think of others on your own.

I've said twice on here before that race relations in this country were heading toward a complete train crash. I take that back now. We are so talking past each other on issues of race that we couldn't possibly hit, even if we wanted to. Everyone has these different concepts of marginalized groups, for a variety of reasons, and they only understand their own beliefs. Only once we get on the same footing of understanding can we move forward (though quite difficultly) in addressing these issues.

 

 

***note: you'll notice that most of this addresses race (and only in terms of black and white) and touches on sexuality while biological sex (and any other groups) isn't addressed at all. The largest reason for the large focus on race is because of the great attention it has received in our country and, therefore, the familiarity of knowledge with it by most Americans.

This post also makes some pretty generalizing statements and those statements must be understood fluidly for marginalized groups to be fully understood (for nothing stays stagnate). For example, gays and women have less of any type of culture outside the mainstream because they have had less isolation from the majority than those of different races. Another example is that if the concept of looking at everyone as being equal and the same does eventually someday come to fruitation, these concepts will likely become obsolete or must be thought of differently. That day is far, far, far, far off - but we cannot allow our thinking and understanding of concepts to become mired.

Also, the title is an allusion to this Xanga post: http://www.mancouch.com/716194723/race-sex-sexual-orientation-and-abortion/

Well, I futzed a little bit around with the layout, as you might be able to tell (I admit, while the Subscriptions tab in the home page simplifies things greatly and makes it easier to check up on everything in one place, it leaves the whole point of a layout and design really pointless, because people barely see it, other than those few seconds to comment a post).

To remove the issue of the difficulty to read the posts, I moved the picture to the right side. Also, I was kinda irritated by the fact that you could only hear the music on one page. I know some people complain about music just starting up when you reach a page, but - seriously? One, that's just an aspect of the site. It's as important as the text colors and visuals you find on the page to articulating the mood, message, whatever of the layout. Plus what would you expect when going to a site of a peer-to-peer website? Also, computers were made with volume buttons for a reason. But anyway.

As far as the whole content of the layout, and what I had wanted to communicate with it, the song was important. "Can I Live" is a very poetic and reflective review of life and it fits beautifully with the layout.

However, in my attempt to get a playlist of songs (some of which, admittingly, don't entirely fit the message of the layout), I had to transfer the custom module to the Main Content area. Well, despite what the theme page says, I found after saving the changes with the player in the footer section that it still works. So, you can still pause the player (if it so bothers you, though you have to be on the main page) and it still plays on every page. The players, unfortunately, covers the picture if you scroll to the way bottom (despite my attempts at messing around with the code to get it in the center), but it's a short price to pay.

My only real worry is the picture. I'm curious what you guys think - visually, does it work? Regardless of what works best for being able to read the page, etc., does it visually look okay all the way on the right, there? All things considered. Thanks.

 Listening to Reasonable Doubt and Renegade makes me want to start writing again. Most of my verses tend to be angsty rather than reflective. My one somewhat reflective song (Conversation In Song) is far too introspective to be laid back reflection. And, of course, the verses I wrote for the If I Get Locked Up Tonight and my other shock song are mostly for humor (though I do need to write more meaningful shock verses).

My unweildy verses change rhythm and flow far too sporadically for my own poor control over a beat to handle. Plus I find my voice irritating to listen to when emotional (which is a majority of my verses...). Oh well, here's one I'm rather happy with. Though I think I'm too slow at the beginning, the rest I do an excellent job of keeping on the beat. Plus, since the beat was so specific, I actually had to change my flow when writing the verse (instead of my usual constant stream of rhyme schemes). The rhyming itself isn't bad, and it gets the message across.

(I just realized the background music will get in the way. You can listen to my verse (around 1:59) at http://thirst2.xanga.com/audio/782ad3461702/)

However, I would like to work on more complex stuff...just need to get better at actual performing...

No one needs to tell you these days that the rap game's life support is money, bravado, and a bit of misogyny. However, I have my eyes on Chamillionaire and Ludacris. They recently came out with a single. The content has totally been dumped down, but, as someone said, Ultimate Victory had decent content and it didn't sell. So, of course, the single has to be simple bravado to catch attention. However, Cham has a bit of wordplay, which is nice. Ludacris, however, uses none (that I caught) and his rhyme scheme wasn't that impressive. Not to say that he cannot spit. He's one of the few mainstream rappers who actually can use decent wordplay.

To be honest, my evalutation of rap has risen the bar so quickly within the past 6 months that I'm still trying to run up and catch it. A lot of what I used to enjoy I'm starting to wonder why it couldn't be better. Not to say that there isn't a lot of good rap out there. You just have to find it. You may have to sacrifice the nice sounding beats, but good lyricism is out there.

Which brings me to my own hesitive album, which is set back further than before. Reasonable Doubt is daunting to try to match (yes, I probably will refer back to this album a million times in my life).

I've decided to make a slight tribute to Biggie with a similar intro. to Ready to Die. Biggie's intro. started with a heart beat. As the sound slowly increases, you hear the husband telling the wife to push. As you start to hear crying (due to Biggie's birth), Superfly starts to play. As it that fades out with the screams of joy from the father, The Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight starts to play. Layed over this are Biggie's parents; reflecting a troubled home, the father comes in screaming at the mother, demanding she control her son. In retaliation to the abuse, the mother curses the father out. Nothing gets resolved as the cusses and the song fade out once more. Audio Two's Top Billin' comes in as B. I. G. and a handiman argue over robbing a train. In an epic fashion, this closes out with Biggie shouting, "Everybody get on the motherf-ing floor!" and letting off a shot. After this fades, Snoop Dogg's Tha Shiznit (whose beat is a lot more appealing in sound than the title) comes in, followed by Biggie's name and cell number. It ends with the guard telling B. I. G. that he's be back to jail, all blacks eventually wind up there, to which Bigge just laughs, saying that he has "big plans".

As you can see, quite cinematic. The other appealing aspect of it is the reality of it all. While not entirely sure how I'll put it all together, the intro. I have so far is Dr. Jekyll talking about dual personalities. After this, there will be similar birth. Since a good deal of the album will deal (and already does deal) with parental influence and how you behave as a parent affects the child, the intro. will have a fight between the mother and father as well. Instead of a train robbery, however, I think it'll be an attempted homicide on the parents. The argument will be between the two personalities that will emerge later as the insanity sets in. While it'll fade out before you know if anyone gets hurt, the parents will survive, I think. They'll play a part later. For the final portion, instead of jail, the scene will open up in a mental ward with the doctor talking to the main character; he/she will be reading off the mental illnesses the main character will have gotten over. I still need to figure out what songs to use during these scenes, however. I do have a feeling D12's Revelation will be used for the 3rd scene.

The album then proceeds to follow "Dr. Jekyll's" life. Which of course brings forth the other problem. I've cut most of what I've recorded thus far. I have kept the Train remix, Conversation In Song, my un-titled one that's one long verse, and the Miseria Cantare remix. I have kept my other one, which I posted the lyrics to multiple times on her before (you know, the one that took me about 2 years to finish, has the warning before it, and is basically simply bitter (though lyrically, it's quite good)). The Bitch Please remix (off Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP) is really more like filler, but I actually stick with the beat decently (Train was near impossible to get a decent flow with the beat; I rather suck at it, unfortunately) and there's a bit more emotion than I usually put when I perform (something I do need to work on). Plus, despite the content, my verse is funny at points, and rhyme-wise it is good.

I just need to step back and take a look at the content I want to put out. And my delivery needs a lot more help. I get off of the beat so easily, let alone I tend to sound monotone all too often. I suppose that's part of the drawback from starting with just writing and not bothering with performing to begin with. But oh well, I'll just work with it. It'll be a long route until it's finished, but it'll be a ton of fun to work on, undoubtedly.

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Okay, I should totally be doing homework, but I said I was going to do that album review for Reasonable Doubt and I really wanna do it. And it turned out really long….

 

To be clear, the album being reviewed is Reasonable Doubt by Jay-Z, the first album he ever released.

 

Okay, so, to start off, I’ll simply say this – if you love good music and something that will make you think and you won’t wear out in the first couple of weeks you play it, you have got to cop this album. This is honestly one of the most impressive albums I have ever heard, for any genre of music.

 

Now, what many people complain about rap these days (including many rap listeners) is those artists these days never say anything other than garbage. Usually hip hop fans will use this moment to launch into a rant about how it isn’t like it used to be any more and then list off several albums considered classics by most people by now.

 

Even still, people dispute what exactly makes a good track. Some argue it should simply have a good message, others that it is music, so you should just feel good listening to it. Hip hop purists, like myself, tend to desire some level of lyrical talent.

 

Now, I first got into rap due to Eminem. His general style is complex rhyme scheme, meaning playing with the way words sound and getting different types of rhymes. So, I tend to want that as well in an artist, another great example being Big Pun. If you can’t bother to make at least one internal rhyme per line, you’re unlikely to get my attention (unless you like Run D. M. C. and basically got rap noticed in the first place). Jay isn’t exactly that type of rapper. While he can focus on rhyme scheme and there are songs which let off a list of similar rhymed words, he makes up for the lack in word play.

 

And that’s where RD (Reasonable Doubt) is a classic in that there’s so much going on, you find yourself finding flaws for split seconds because you forgot another reason why it was so great an album.

 

To break it down, first and foremost the album is amazing for the word play. There are a ton of clever metaphors and similes and allusions (a mediocre example would be “Like short sleeves, I bear arms”). When he’s not doing that, simply the things he says are insightful or clever. The one thing I love about this album more than anything is that it literally has these saying and things to know about life which are learned from the main character’s experiences. Beyond that, his flow is utterly fantastic. What Jay’ll do (which many other rappers these days have stopped doing) is he’ll insert emotion into what he’s saying, breaking up the usual straightforward rapping. Using this, he’s usually able to convey what he wants to say without straight-out stating it. There’ll be examples later.

 

The last thing that makes this album great is the production. There are some who say it wouldn’t be a classic if it didn’t have as good of production, but I don’t think so. I actually noticed the production last because I’m so used to the generally computer generated beats usually used for rap. Contrasting that, RD samples a lot of jazz and piano, trumpet, and string based music. If you’re like me, it may take a bit to get used to this. I remember I was bored with it at first, which I have to laugh and chide myself for now. Point being, I analyzed the lyrics before noticing the production and I thought they were impeccable standing on their own. Back to production, if you really listen, it’s really great sounding and gives a totally different feel to the album.

 

And that’s important – the album flows. It’s almost a loose concept album and everything seems to fit. The production help to set that mood of ’96 when the album first came out and for the story which it’s trying to tell.

 

And thus my final point before moving into the songs: the background of the album. Before rap, Jay-Z was hustling drugs for his community. For the most part, this is what the album is about. However, as can probably be told by the cover, the viewpoint is from a mafia king pin (hence why the specific genre for the album is Mafioso rap). And this makes another difference between its approach and other albums: it brings back that idea that raps should be narrative and telling a story. This isn’t meant to be all true, all real. We know part of it is, but this is a fictional tale. To quote Jay, “Its mostly backwards/Unless it happens to be as accurate as me/And everything said in song you happen to see/Then actually, believe half of what you see/None of what you hear even if its spat by me/And with that said, I will kill niggas dead/Cut niggas short, give you wheels for legs”.

 

Now, onto the album:

 

1. Can’t Knock the Hustle – 5 stars

 

The song opens with a heartbeat and then one of the dialogs from the beginning of the movie Scarface (“Ah…sí…okay, okay…big man, you wanna make some big bucks, huh, let’s see how tough you are. You know somethin’ ‘bout cocaine? ¡Diga me!” Tony Montana: “You kidding me or what, man?”). Some say this is annoying. I don’t think so. I think it’s totally fitting and not that long anyway. The song then opens with the actual music after the skit. Some say that Jay brags too much over the album and that can get annoying. While there are some points where it does become a bit ridiculous, I wouldn’t say so. It tends to make sense when he is bragging and for the most part when he shouldn’t, he doesn’t. This is one of those bragging times. To me it makes the most sense to open the album with this one because it basically brings you into the world he’s living at the start of this album. And while this is basically bravado, there’s more with the lyrics than that. For those who need rhyming, he has plenty:

 

Chrome socks beamin’

Through my peripheral, I see ya schemin’

Stop dreamin’, I leave your body steamin’

Niggas is fiendin’, what's the meanin’?

I'm leanin’ on any nigga intervenin’

With the sound of my money machine-in’

 

The track also displays the way Jay would use emotion and tweak his voice on the mic throughout the album. You totally can’t actually get it unless you listen to it, but an example would be when he’s describing his guns:

 

Shoppin’ sprees, coppin’ three
Deuce fever – IS's fully loaded, haha – yes

 

As for a message, it’s really the basic one that embodies this album: I’m doing this because there wasn’t another way out. But we’ll touch on that later. Nonetheless, it embodies the chorus by Mary:

 

I’m taking out this time

To give you a piece of my mind

Who do you think you are?

Maybe one day you’ll be a star

But until then, lately

I’m the one who’s crazy?

‘Cause that’s the way you making me feel

 

For the projects in ’96 – don’t judge how others get out, because it’s hard enough as it is. This is complimented by fitting lines from Jay in the last verse:

 

You ain't havin’ it? Good, me either
Let's – get together and make this whole world believe us, huh?
At my arraignment, screamin’
All us blacks got is sports and entertainment

Until we even
Thievin’, as long as I'm breathin’
Can't knock the way a nigga eatin’

 

With perfect production and Jay handling the beat with perfect swagger, it’s a great song which has more than enough going for it to not be labeled commercial.

 

2. Politics As Usual – 4 stars, maybe 5

 

This was one of those beats that took me a long time to get used to. Even still, the lyrics give a lot. After introducing you to the high life, Jay leads into the politics of everything he’s doing. Someone once said he was simply bragging again, but throughout the guy’s review, it became clear he wasn’t actually listening to the album well enough (as soon as he swept over D’evils so quickly, I knew he had no clue what he was reviewing). True, for the most part he kind of is (considering he is talking about the fact others want to knock him off his “throne”). Still, there are just great lines here where the emotion Jay’ll display sometimes does more than enough to get his message across:

 

…tryin’ to escape my trouble
Kids stop the greetin’ me; I'm talkin’ sweet to keys
Cursin’ the very God that bought this grief to be

 

Suckin’ me in like a vacuum – I remember
Tellin’ my family I'll be back soon – that was December

 

[you totally have to listen to the track to get this, but the way he simply does the line is perfect]

Ain't no stoppin’ the champagne from poppin’,
The drawers from droppin’, the law from watchin’ –

I hate ‘em…

 

I give the song 4 stars because the rhyming is decent and there is merit to the song. It’s not misplaced or feels out of place on the album. But compared to the rest of the stuff, it lacks. It could use more wordplay (though I think I’m just not getting a few. Part of the reason this album keeps revealing stuff over the years and you can’t possibly get it in one listen is because some of the wordplay and what he’s saying just goes over your head the first times around).

 

3. Brooklyn’s Finest – 5 stars

 

This one’s a duet with the Notorious B. I. G. (also known as Biggie Smalls). For those who are unfamiliar with rap, he basically put out what most consider two classic albums, before he died. Even when his first album had came out (which was before RD), it was already a hit. What does all this mean? It means that if Jay wanted to keep up, lyrically, he had to really try. For many rap fans, largely because Jay was good friends with Biggie and because Big was to die the next year, this track symbolizes a lot. And it really doesn’t disappoint. Some say this is the best rap duet ever, or one of the best. I’m not sure. Compared to the blatant talent Biggie displayed on Ready to Die, I think he didn’t do his all on here. Also, I think Jay kills Big on the track (though Smalls come close behind). It’s one of those things that hip hop heads will always convene together and fight over whenever discussing the song: you be the judge.

 

This is one of those examples of having to understand rap in order to enjoy the song. Generally, when a rapper freestyles, they try to say the cleverest stuff they can. Historically, that stuff tended to be violent (I’m reminded of Big L’s “I wouldn’t give a chick 10 cent to put cheese on a Whopper/They wanna know why I’m so fly/A girl ask me for a ring and I put one around her whole eye”. Violent and rather crude, but you can’t deny there’s some wordplay (granted, in this case, not that amazing wordplay)). In a freestyle, that makes sense. You’re making crap off the top of your head and you’re trying to amuse friends while you’re performing live at a party. Cool. It doesn’t work so well when you do that for an album. Unless your Eminem and your entire style is shock, it ruins the fluidity of the album, especially if you have introspective songs on there.

 

With this, it doesn’t. The two don’t break the mold by sticking to mafia and drug related violence. Plus, if you’re a king pin, wouldn’t it make sense you committed some crimes at some point? You may argue that it takes away the sincerity of Jay even still of not having much guilt for hurting others, but I suppose that’s the one point where you have to make an exception and acknowledge that we know they’re not being serious. We’re interested in the wordplay. Part of it also is analyzing the structure of the verses and rhyme schemes but unless you’ve listened to rap for some years, you’ll have a harder time picking that out. So if some of the verses make you wonder what the Hell is so amazing about them – that’s why:

 

…fuck fist fights and lame scuffles
Pillow case to your face, make the shell muffle
Shoot your daughter in the calf muscle
Fuck a tussle, nickel-plated
Sprinkle coke on the floor, make it drug related

-Biggie

 

Chill homie, the bitch in the Shownies told me
Your holding more drugs than a pharmacy
You ain't harmin’ me, so pardon me
Pass the safe before I blaze the place and here's six shots just in case

-Biggie

 

Brooklyn, represent – ya'll hit, ya fall
Ya crazy, think a little-bit of rhymes can play me?
I'm from Marcy – I'm varsity; chump, your JV

-Jay-Z

 

Made a fortune off Peru, extradite, china white hero’n
Nigga please, like short sleeves I bear arms

-Jay-Z

 

Also of note is Biggie and Tupac were feuding at the time. As an insult, Pac had said he had slept with Biggie’s wife. To play it off, Big made a joke of it:

 

Gotta go, Coolio mean it's gettin’ Too Hot
If Faith [Biggie’s wife] had twins, she'd probably have two Pacs
Get it? Tu-pac's…

 

There’s a nice piano loop for the beat. Catchy and great wordplay, great song. There’s a skit at the beginning from Carlito’s Way (Okay! I’m reloaded! You motherfuckers think you big time? Fuckin’ with Jay-Z, you goin’ down big time! Here come the pain!). However, this time, it sounds a little too fake. If they were to get it to sound more like the actual movie, it would have been better. Nonetheless, great song.

 

4. Dead Presidents II – 4 stars

 

The reason for the roman numeral 2 is because the single was released with the same beat but different lyrics. While both songs deal with money (the pictures on dollar bills are of presidents who have passed away – hence, dead presidents is money. Coined by rapper Rakim), the messages are different due to different lyrics.

 

For whatever reason, the beat of this song just annoys me. The song is good, but I always get tired of listening to it at first when it comes on. It’s a good beat – mostly piano and a voice sample of rapper Nas – but I never have really warmed up to it, for whatever reason. I give this four stars because while the lyrics are good, it’s just talking on money and not much we haven’t heard before. I think it’s good because it again specifies certain topics into individual songs, but it doesn’t entirely draw my interest. There are many others who would totally disagree with me, but, eh, it might grow on me. I totally didn’t see how amazing this album was (and even after that, how amazing certain songs were) the first times I listened to it.

 

Great rhyming and good vocab, there isn’t as much wordplay. However, once again, Jay demonstrates how emotion can say a lot for a song and we’ve seemed to forgotten that in rap (again, you have to listen to the track to hear the emotion, but it’s well done):

 

Factions from the other side would love to kill me
Spill three quarts of my blood into the street, let alone the heat
Fuck ‘em, they hate a nigga lovin’ his life
In all possible ways, know the Feds is buggin’ my life
Hospital days, reflectin’ when my man laid up
On the Uptown high block – he got his side sprayed up
I saw his life slippin’; this is a minor setback
“Yo, still in all we livin’, just dream about the get back”
That made him smile though his eyes said, "Pray for me"
I'll do you one better and slay these niggas faithfully
Murder is a tough thing to digest, it's a slow process
And I ain't got nothin’ but time

 

5. Feelin’ It – 5 stars

 

As you could probably tell by the title, this is a feel good song. But it does a remarkable job of it. The piano in the background sets a perfect mood right off the bat, along with Mecca’s great performance on the chorus:

 

I'm feelin’ it…

Fill the glass to the top with Moet
Feelin’ it…

Feel the Lex’ pushin’ up on the set
I'm feelin’ it…

Through the high that you get from the lie
Feelin’ it…

If you feel it, raise your L in the sky

 

The song gives me the imagery of drinking at some expensive restaurant in the city, despite (I believe) the music video’s depiction of Jay on a boat, but oh well. Feel good songs are always hard to go about because they help and certainly makes sense to represent some level of enjoyment in your life. However, they can never stand alone because then the content of your album becomes just partying, etc. Feelin’ It is on a level of its own. The song has spectacular rhyming while describing enjoying life (how can you not beat that??):

 

Even if it ain't sunny – hey, I ain't complainin’
I'm in the rain, doing a buck 40, hydroplanin’

What shorty? (Where you disappear to son?)
Maintainin’

Puttin’ myself in a position most of these rappers ain't in
I'm livin’ the ill streets blues, got you hunger painin’
Nothin’ to gain and a whole lot to lose, you still singin’

Fool

I'm thorough – in every borough my name be ringin’
Warmin’ it up for the perfect time to hit your brain in

 

I remember remarking to my brother, “Hydroplaning? Who rhymes something like that?”  There even seems to be some criticism from just the over the top nature of the song (a precursor to the Jay that would end up criticizing the rap game and the ridiculous nature to which it has become?):

 

I’m ‘bout to hit these niggas wit’ some shit that’ll light they life up
If every nigga in your clique is rich, your clique is rugged
Nobody will fall ‘cause everyone would be each other’s crutches
I hope you fools choose to listen: I drop jewels, bust it
These are the rules I follow in my life, you gotta love it
Jiggy jigger lookin’ gully in the joint
If y'all niggas ain’t talkin’ ‘bout large money…what's the point?

 

I’m gonna say not. While that portion could be taken as sarcasm, it doesn’t make sense with the whole of the song. Also, Jay shows again the power of simply adding emotion to your voice:

 

What, y'all ain't heard that nigga, Jay, high?
The Cristals, they keep me wet like Baywatch
I keep it tight for all the nights my mama prayed I'd stop
Said she had dreams that snipers hit me with a fatal shot
Those nightmares ma…
Those dreams you say you got

Give me the chills, but these mils, well, they make me hot

Y'all feel me…
Enough to stop the illin’, right?
But at the same time, these dimes keep me feelin’ tight
I'm so confused…
O. K., I'm gettin’ weeded now

I know I contradicted myself
Look, I don't need that now…
It’s just once in a blue when there's nothin’ to do and
The tension gets too thick for my sober mind to cut through
I get to zonin’

Me and the chick on the island and we're bonin’
I free my mind, sometimes I hear myself moanin’
Take one more toke and I leave that weed alone man
It got me goin’

 

6. D’evils – 5 stars

 

I remember when I first saw this title, my immediate thought was, “How stupid.” At first I was reminded of Cruella de Vil. Then I figured Jay would just pronounce the word as devils. But he doesn’t. He uses it as the contraction it is (da evils=d’evils). Since he does this alone, the idea that these evils are in fact devils in the individual’s life pervades. I like this far more.

 

Again, this is production which is fantastic. The track samples a gospel record and lays out an absolutely haunting beat. For the chorus, Snoop Dogg and Prodigy are sampled, creating an even more haunting atmosphere:

 

[Snoop]: Dear, God, I wonder, can you save me?

[Prodigy]: Illuminati want my mind, soul, and my body

[Snoop]: Dear, God, I wonder, can you save me?

[Prodigy]: Secret society, tryin’ to keep they eye on me

[Snoop]: Dear, God, I wonder, can you save me?

[Prodigy]: Illuminati want my mind, soul, and my body

[Snoop]: Dear, God, I wonder, can you save me?

I can’t die, I can’t die, I can’t die…

 

Jay then proceeds to detail the grittier side of hustling. While we saw some of the pains beforehand, here they get full attention from an utterly sober Jay. It’s honestly ridiculous how much people criticize this track. It’s funny to hear how many self-evangelizing Christians need to stop to say that the song is promoting a life without God and is the Devils work (Devil, D’evil, ha, they’re clever). This isn’t a song that self glorifies and it’s not about celebrating violence and thievery. If anything, this song denounces it. I read somewhere online where someone said it made sense for this to go right after Feelin’ It; while that was celebration of life to an almost ridiculous extreme, this one is total self-reflection and criticizing the lifestyle that allows you to live in the first place (instead of being stuck in the projects with the possibility of going nowhere or dying from a stray bullet or gangs).

 

The first verse starts off with a simple introduction - This shit is wicked on these mean streets/None of my friends speak/We're all tryin' to win. But then it immediately notes the problem from that - But then again/Maybe it's for the best though/’Cause when they're seein' too much/You know they’re tryin’ to get you touched.

 

While some are quick to say this is the best song Jay has ever made, I tend to shy away from that. The wordplay isn’t as high as I’d like (though it’s higher than some) and, to make up for that, what he says isn’t always as creative as it could be. For example:

 

That’s right, it’s wicked

Fast life, I live it
Ain’t askin’ for forgiveness for my sins, ends
I break bread with the late heads

Picking their brains for angles on all the evils that the game’ll do
It gets dan-ger-ous

Money and power is chan-ging us
And now we're lethal, infected with d’Evils...

 

While that has to be said, it’s not all that creative except for the “picking their brains for angles on all the evils that the game’ll do”. That was a bit creative. It doesn’t  destroy the song – I still gave the thing a 5. But it doesn’t qualify it for best song ever, I think. Still, there’s a lot to it. There is some great word play, such as:

 

Throughout my Junior High years, it was all friendly
But now this Higher Learning got the Remy in me
Liquor’s invaded my kidneys
Got me ready to lick off, mama forgive me

 

The higher learning obviously ties in to after Junior High. Higher Learning was also a movie involving a Neo Nazi named Remy. So Jay’s saying as he gets older he becomes more cruel. Then, using that Remy, he ties it into the alcohol drink.

 

Stop screamin’, you know the demon said it's best to die
And even if Jehovah Witness, bet he'll never testify

 

I totally didn’t get that one for so long. One on my favorite lines ever.

 

During the second verse of the song, Jay starts to detail the story of one of his childhood friends who ends up having a baby. Due to him being a threat, Jay “kidnaps” the baby’s mother and gives her money to get information out of her. There’s the clever wordplay with:

 

My hand around her collar, feeding her cheese
She said the taste of dollars was shitty so I fed her fifties
About his whereabouts, I wasn't convinced
So I kept feedin’ her money ‘til her “shit” started to make sense
Who could ever foresee, we used to stay up all night at slumber parties
Now I'm tryin’ to rock this bitch to sleep

 

There’s the obvious plays where collar conjures up the idea of possession, cheese (slang for money) allows for the “’taste’ of money”, and the connection of staying at slumber parties (where you sleep over) to now trying to make her get to sleep. But there’s also the play for sense, where you could think of it as “cents” since the very business he’s in is about getting money.

 

Also, Jay again displays that emotion with the last line about the young mother, which probably says more than any other thing could have. From guilt probably, for helping in the eventual death of her baby’s father (for money, no less), the girl is crying:

 

All the years, we were real close
Now I see his fears through her tears, know, she wishin’ we were still close
Don't cry, it is to be
In time, I’ll take away your miseries and make ‘em mine…d'Evils…

 

Amazing song. Definite 5 stars.

 

7. 22 Two’s – 5 stars

 

Some hate the fact this is almost like a skit. I like it and it gives the album more of the feel that we’re living through this guy’s life. Basically, Jay’s at some nightclub and the hostess happens to notice Jay sitting down. She promptly notes that she had listened to his demo tape for RD and thought it was phat; being so, she tells him to come up and give a freestyle. The first verse is a play off of two, to, and too. While this is a freestyle and a lot of bragging ends up going into it, he does tend to spit a lot of actual truths, saying:

 

To all my brothers, it ain’t too late to come together
‘Cause too much black and too much love equal forever

 

And even when being defiant to those who criticize, he still gives the other side of the story:

 

Listen:

Too many bitches wanna be ladies

So if you a ho, I’mma call you a ho

Too many bitches is shady

Too many these ladies give these niggas too many chances

Too many brothers wanna be lovers – don’t know what romance is

 

For the hook (and the beat, actually), Jay uses A Tribe Called Quest’s Can I Kick it? Personally, I like the tribute to the older rap group. After the first verse, Jay leads into the second. Here’s where I have my one issue with the song. Jay uses the word faggot, though considering it is a freestyle and I’ve heard far worse for other ones, I could let it slide. It’s the only one of the album. All in all, the Big L line was probably more offensive and I had no problem with that. And it was 1996; can’t expect it to be progressive. In any case, through the rest of the verse, there’s good wordplay, such as:

 

I dip, speak quicker than you ever seen
Administer pain next the minister screamin’ your name
At your wake as I peak in – look in your casket,
Feelin’ sarcastic: “Look at him – still sleepin’”

 

The rhyming is good as well. The song ends with the hostess talking up Jay, considering he was starting his own record label to put out his record, something that wasn’t often done back then. Towards the end, the hostess stops and notices she smells weed. She immediately demands to cut the music and begins to lecture the group “that’s why our people don’t have anything: because we don’t know how to go in places and act properly”. A person there quickly responds, “Shut the fuck up!” The hostess, however, demands to know who it is and has the individual removed. For a genre that is supposed to be so incredibly rooted in misogyny, this is striking contrast, presenting a strong woman who is not robbed of her strength and treated with respect. This is part of the reason this album acts as such a strong album as well – there are these messages of building each other up, so long as you listen.

 

8. Can I Live – 5 stars

 

You’ve gotten to the point of the album where it’s just 5 stars after 5 stars. This track is just magnificent, however it is one of those which, if it weren’t for the production, it may not have been as good as it is. It starts in with slow piano, periodically dropping in trumpet blasts, during which Jay gives an classic intro:

 

“We invite you to – something epic, you know? Where we hustle out of a sense of hopelessness, sort of a desperation – through that desperation, we become addicted; sort of like the fiends we accustomed to serving. But we feel we have nothing to lose…so we offer you – well, we offer our lives. What do you bring to the table?”

 

At this point, you should be utterly astonished and asking, “What?” You’re selling me drugs and then have the audacity to say I should give something back to you? I owe you?? Leastwise, that was my reaction. While Jay has bragged about what he’s gained from the money from this, he’s never touched on his clientele, so to speak, before. But as you listen to the song, you start to see more.

 

While I'm watchin’ every nigga watchin’ me closely,
My shit is butter for the bread: they wanna toast me
I keep my head, both of them where they supposed to be
Hoes'll get you sidetracked, then clapped from closed feet
I don't sleep; I'm tired, I feel wired like codeine; these days
A brother gotta admire from four fiends away

 

By the way, that’s a great line: “…these days/A brother gotta admire from four fiends away”. So anyway, okay, it’s hard for you Jay, great, we get it. But then the emotion starts to shift:

 

My pain, wish it was quick to see

From sellin’ ‘caine ‘til brains was fried to a fricassee

Can't lie: at the time it never bothered me

At the bar gettin’ my thug on properly

My squad and me, lack of respect for authority

Laughin’ hard; happy to be escapin’ poverty, however brief

 

And you realize he knows what he’s doing. He gets it. He isn’t dumb. But what other choice does he have? Poor schools and he’s from the projects. There’s barely a way out. So he results to other stuff. To use other quotes:

 

Forgettin’ all I ever knew, convenient amnesia
I suggest you call my lawyer – I know the procedure…
Lock my body, can't trap my mind

Easily explain why we adapt to crime
I'd rather die enormous than live dormant, that's how we on it

 

And there it all is: I’d rather die enormous than live dormant. So if I’m confined to these little rooms where people could be shot and I’m crammed with a ton of other people as well and that’s the bottom of it all – well, then, I’m gonna take the chance to get a little bit more.

 

And suddenly that intro makes a little more sense. It’s representative of what he’s feeling. In a twisted way, if can begin to feel like the crack addicts and whatnot owe you something; after all, you’re risking your life every day, under constant pressure to keep it all together – dang, what are you doing? And while it isn’t right, that’s what this stuff can start doing to you. Which brings us to our spectacular chorus: Jay doesn’t even bother saying much of anything. It’s a simple trumpet fanfare and Jay asking, “Can I live?”. It’s absolutely great and moving.

 

For me the wordplay is okay. Others I’ve talked to seem to think it absolutely genius, but I think I’ve heard better from Jay. He’s an example of the wordplay on the song:

 

My mind is infested with sick thoughts that circle
Like a Lexus: if driven wrong, it’s sure to hurt you
Dual level like duplexes

 

That’s the mediocre stuff. Some of it’s good on here (like the “four fiends away” line), but it isn’t constant. The song makes up for it though in content, how it says that content, and the emotion delivered. I would actually be welcome to hear arguments that this is one of his best songs written, but anyway.

 

The streets school us to spend our money foolish,
Bond with jewelers, and watch for intruders
I stepped it up another level – meditated like a Buddhist
Recruited lieutenants with ludicrous dreams of gettin’ cream

Let's do this

It gets te-di-ous
So I keep one eye open like

C-B-S

Ya see me stressed, right?

 

9. Ain’t No Nigga – 3 stars

 

Originally I would have given this one or two stars. Were this a later Jay, I would have thought this a commercial song and him trying to dump down for his audiences. However, you could make argument for it. The song deals with infidelity. It isn’t sexist, I would argue, because after Jay drops his verses about women, Foxy Brown then does hers with her own commentary about  men. The lyrics do have merit, having good word play and being witty. My major problem is the chorus:

 

Ain’t no nigga like the one I got

No one can fuck you better
Sleeps around but he gives me a lot

 

Okay, that might be harder justifying. Jay does mention that he does this track so that others back from where he lived that he knew could relate, he did it for them. It shows. The chorus kind of destroys the very powerful message in 22 Two’s and the entire thing doesn’t make much sense in the scheme of the album.

Can’t Knock the Hustle – song about the life he’s living now

Politics as Usual – politics of hustling

Brooklyn’s Finest – talks about the crimes he commits during the course of his hustling (psh, kinda; in a sense)

Dead Presidents II – discusses the money he’s making from this

Feelin’ It – enjoying the fruits of his labors

D’evils – reflects upon the evil he’s done due to this life he’s living

22 Two’s – takes a look at his personal life (at a bar) and shows he’s actually going to leave this game

Can I Live – demonstrates the toll this life can take on you

Ain’t No Nigga – talks about cheating on men and women…how is this at all related?

Lyrically, it’s not a bad song. As Jay said, a fun girl-guy call back and forth. But the hook really throws it off and makes it somewhat misogynist, the beat (sorry Jaz) isn’t that impressive, and it just doesn’t fit in with the grand scheme of things. 3 stars because the lyrics are creative and good wordplay, but the song should have been cut.

 

10. Friend or Foe – 5 stars

 

This a really short one (one minute and 49 seconds), but Jay makes up for it in what he demonstrates. It’s basically Jay dealing with a rival who was trying to take him out. He catches the guy before anything happens and kind of talks him down. I think Jay was simply demonstrating how impeccable his flow could be over a beat. Generally, a good MC will match with the beat, landing the words he rhymes on the drum taps (I actually think Jay does some reverse thing where he lands his rhymes between the drum taps). In any case, for the less polished rapper, this makes applying emotion and straying from this rigid pattern difficult. Jay seamlessly does it on this track. You’ve just gotta listen to it.

 

11. Coming of Age – 4 stars

 

This was another one of those beats that took a while to get used to. This song is basically Jay taking under his wing another person to teach the ropes to hustling. The song probably would have been better placed more towards the beginning, before all the realization of the horrid things he’s doing and to give some sense of time to the album, but oh well. The most marking about this track is the total contrast between Jay and Memphis Bleek (the younger “apprentice”). While Jay is cool, smooth, and handles the mic well, Bleek sounds young (I think he was actually 16 or something when he recorded it) and yells a lot, showing an eagerness and impatience. His flow seems more crude, too, as he tries to jam a ton of rhyme into one line at one point. Don’t know if it was intended, but the resulting contrast is good. Not much to say about this one. Logically, was needed topic-wise and it’s fun to listen to. No complaints

 

12. Cashmere Thoughts – 3 stars

 

I’m not sure when it started, but it kind of became a staple for rap artists to do a song about being a pimp, despite the fact that they may never have been one before. Again, this ruins the flow and concept of the album and once again kills the message on 22 Two’s. And this is sad, because the lyrics are pretty decent once again. I actually like the beat for this one. Again, should have been dropped, but three stars because there’s merit to the song. Heh, just don’t take it literally.

 

13. Bring it On – 5 stars

 

This one starts off with these guys talking while playing pool. I think they start to make fun of one of the guys and it ends with just, somewhat obnoxious laughter. The beat again takes a while to get used to, but the lyrics are great. I’ve always taken it, based off the beginning, that it’s about guys making fun of Jay and his business during hustling, which then kind of turns into a show off with Jay, Jaz-O, and Sauce Money showing they shouldn’t be messed around with…through rapping. Okay, so it’s a bit of a stretch, but the concept at least stays intact. I like the song because it does have this sort of gritty feel. Even the beginning where one of them is just talking, the word play is crude:

 

Hey, yo, Jay – word up

These motherfuckers is fucking talking that comeback shit like they cooking crack

Shit, I ain’t fronting – all I want my pockets green like Slim change, you know what I’m saying?

Front to roll back like rubbers, motherfucker

For real…with no trace of AIDS

We keep our pockets fully blown, Roc-a-Fella click

 

However, throughout the song, the wordplay is very clever and they say a lot of truth on the album. I personally think Jay got totally murdered on here (and it’s never good to be out-rapped on your own album), but we benefit from excellent verses from Jaz and Sauce Money. A lot of the references you’re unlikely to get the first time around (I still don’t get all of them), so it may take a while before you get all of it.

 

East coast hostess hostile colossal,

Money flarin’ like nostrils for drug dealin’ apostles

-Sauce Money

 

Great rhyming.

 

Said we was garbage, so fuck college

Street knowledge amazin’ to scholars when we coin phrases for dollars

-Sauce Money

 

That really says it all. Dead presidents is rather well known slang, yet was coined by rap. Above, for the last example I gave for Can I Live, Jay says dreams of getting cream. This term was originated with the Wu-Tang Clan song C. R. E. A. M. (Cash Rolls Everything Around Me). Since then, the term can be used for money, though it’s used less. Anyway, Sauce’s bar really says it all.

 

I'm into cheddick with facial credit

Pure platinum fetish for cheddars

Spread letters you move you're deadish

I make moves that remove pebbles out of shoes

You suck pistol like pipe with the Cristal

John Stockton couldn't assist you

-Jaz-O

 

Again, just crazy rhyming.

 

14. Regrets – 5 stars

 

Perfect song to close the album out with. The title denotes it all. Jay’s got a ton of regrets over what he’s doing. The first verse simply talks about nearly getting caught one time. While Jay normally doesn’t focus on many details and isn’t that much of a storyteller, he does for this verse, quite nicely. The second chorus gives us this haunting view of parents encouraging their children, quite nicely:

 

You used to hold me, told me that I was the best
Anything in this world I want I could possess
All that made me want is all that I could get at
In order to survive, gotta learn to live with regrets…

 

For the second verse, Jay notes the damage he’s doing to his own family by hustling.

 

My moms cryin’ cause her insides are dyin’
Her son tryin’ her patience, keep her heart racin’
A million beats a minute

I know I push you to your limit, but it’s this game, love

I’m caught up all in it
They make it so you can’t prevent it

Never give it, you gotta take it

Can’t fake it, I keep it authentic
My hand got this pistol, shakin’

‘Cause I sense danger like Camp Crystal Lake and
Don’t wanna shoot him, but I got him trapped within this infrared dot

‘Bout to hot him and hit rock bottom
No answers to these trick questions

 

The last one is this ingenious one where he remembers a friend of his who has passed away. As he recalls to the friend what has happened during his “absence”, he finally notes at the end:

 

Anyway, I ain’t tryin’ to hear it

I think I’m touched

This whole verse I been talkin’ to your spirit

A little too much…

What do you do when you don't have a clue anymore? Just keep holding on.

Met this girl today. I think her name was Amy (I'm terrible with names...).

Every moment when something goes right, we tell ourselves things do work out, so we ought to keep trying, no matter how dismal. How about the simple fact we don't have much of any other choice.

Midterms tomorrow.

 

Whoever said illegal was the easy way out
Couldn't understand the mechanics and the workings of the underworld
Granted:
9-to-5 is how you survive
I ain't tryin' to survive
I'm trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot...
-Jay-Z

 

jess thanked me today for all the times I helped her, etc. Hate to sound pretentious but I'm not suprised. Was nice to hear, though.

 

All the years, we were real close
Now I see his fears through her tears
No, she wishing we were still close
Don't cry; it is to be
In time, I take away your miseries and make it mine...
-Jay-Z

Madonna's new tour is called the Sticky and Sweet Tour.

I swear, if I could catch and read into liturature, ideas, and symbolism like I do sexual innuendos, I'd be a fantastic reader.

 

Not a bad weekend. Went to a party Friday and was a total wallflower, though that was expected. Went to Six Flags on Sat. and went on two roller coasters (though one was a moderate for kids, and mostly is significant because I got K. B. to ride a coaster. The one before it my brother probably would have killed to have been the one to get me on). I got no hw done, despite my plans. Today was hw. Missed breakfast and lunch. Ended up being one of the eucharistic ministers because, it seemed, the scheduled ones didn't show. Was unexpected but cool to help out at church. Work after that. Not too bad. And hw again.

I am going to do an album review of Reasonable Doubt. Just taking a while to get to. But I will.

 

 

The sea is calm to-night.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand;
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.

Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the A gaean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.

The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.

Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
-Matthew Arnold