Now I ain't tryna be the greatest I used to hate hip hop Yup, because the women degraded But Too $hort made me laugh Like a hypocrite, I played it A hypocrite I stated Though I only recited half
This is one of Lupe Fiasco's older songs, but it's probably my favorite. I know plenty of progressively-minded folks that love hip hop. To those people, this song poses a difficult question: how do you reconcile your political and social views with your enjoyment of music that is so often intolerant and regressive?
I had a ghetto boy bop, a Jay-Z boycott 'Cause he said that he never prayed to God, he prayed to Gotti I'm thinkin' golly, God guard me from the ungodly But by my thirtieth watchin of "Streets is Watchin'" I was back to givin' props again And that was botherin' 'Bout as uncomfortable As a untouchable touchin' you The theme songs that n-ggas hustle to seem wrong But these songs was comin' true And it was all becoming cool
I don't think anyone would disagree that mainstream hip hop too often celebrates misogyny, tolerates (at the very least) homophobia and glamorizes crime. Is it okay for us to enjoy music like that? I don't have an answer for you, Dear Reader -- and neither does Mr. Fiasco. You'll have to figure that out on your own. But if you feel at least uncomfortable about it, here's a song for you.
