I can’t remember a day I woke up and didn’t listen to Hip Hop music. It’s like there’s some type of subconscious attraction that naturally gravitates me towards those dope beats and talented MC’s. I’m like millions of other young black people, yearning for that “fix” that never stops coming. The only problem is there’s one kind of “fix” that may be better to let go now before it’s too late.
There’s a new poster child for ignorance that’s taking the Hip Hop world by storm. Many know him by his stage name, 2 Chainz a.k.a Tity Boi. Known for his infatuation with jewelry, in particular his trademark necklaces, that he wears almost religiously, 2 Chainz is exactly what the black community doesn’t need more of. His comical punch lines and lackluster wordplay leave listeners in a trance of endless stupidity. It’s amazing how every few years a new “thug” rapper always makes it to mainstream to promote garbage to our children. Featured on just about everybody’s new hit single, 2 Chainz has been a consistent thorn in the side of black progress.
His blatant disregard for black women is probably his most notable flaw. In one of his most popular singles, “Birthday Song,” featured on his Based on a T.R.U Story album, he starts with one of the weakest bars I’ve ever heard. When an artist begins a song by rapping “she got a big booty/ so I call her big booty,” you can’t possibly expect anything of substance from the rest of the song. Adding visual aid to his madness, 2 Chainz released a video for the song that features a bunch of under-dressed women that gyrate to every foul word that’s expelled from his mouth. Full of alcohol and scripted antics, it’s the type of music video that leads one to wonder if anyone will ever take a stand against this ongoing hypocrisy.
Fortunately, there is at least one person that’s valiant enough to take the much needed stance. Scotty Reid, founder of the Black Talk Radio Network and Black Talk Media Project, was so fed up with the aforementioned video that he started a petition on Change.org, demanding that Def Jam Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Vivendi to pull the video from circulation.
The self proclaimed “Tupac without a nose ring” is continuing in the self destructive legacies of Too Short, Lil Wayne, Biggie Smalls (Yes, Biggie Smalls), and others. There is nothing witty or special about 2 Chainz. He is a repackaged, updated, well-tuned menace to our society. But I’m sure next month around Thanksgiving, he will join in the festivities that just about all mainstream rappers partake in. They bombard you with repetitive songs that rarely deviate from misogyny, materialism, and “pseudo-thuggism,” but a few days out of the year they attempt to create “balance” by handing out book bags and turkeys. I’m sorry, but that math is not adding up. I’m tired of being subjected to the hollow lyrics of rapping cartoon characters. This game is a scam and I want my damn quarters back.
We fought hard to get the physical chains removed, but some of us would prefer to put them back on indefinitely.