Phonte - The Good Fight

I know it's not sane, but yo, I'm just sayin'
Everybody prays for the day they see the light
But the light at the end of the tunnel is a train
Five dollar gas, and poverty rates
Are rising much higher than your hourly rates
So if you thinkin' 'bout quittin' you should probably wait
'Cause everybody gotta do a fuckin' job that they hate
"Go and live out your dreams!"
That's what they tellin'
Fam' in my ear all day and they yellin':
"Keep it real 'Te, and don't ever sell out!"
But how the fuck you sell out when ain't nobody sellin'?

Far from inspiring, but undeniably real.

Mos Def - Life in Marvelous Times

Ends don't meet where the arms can't reach
Mean streets -- even when its free, it ain't cheap
On-going saga: terminal diagnosis
Basic survival requires super heroics
No space in the budget for a cape
It's when you gotta fly by night to save the day
Crash-landings routinely happen
Some survive; others never rise from the ashes

Fantastic lyricism, but it's pretty bleak stuff. It begs the question: what's with the song title? Life in Marvelous Times? It's line after line about the oppressive nature of inner-city life.  But then --

And we are alive in amazing times
Delicate hearts, diabolical minds
Revelations, hatred, love and war
And more and more and more and more
And more of less than ever before
It's just too much "more" for your mind to absorb
It's scary like hell, but there's no doubt
We can't be alive in no time but now

Life's tough -- for some of us more than others. But we have to make the best of it.  What other option do we have?

J. Cole - Blow Up

Momma said I should reconsider law school
That means I wear a suit and bend the truth and feel awful?
Hell naw! Got a degree but what that cost you?
You make a good salary, just to pay Sally Mae

My life, in four lines. Well, besides the "good salary" part.

Was broke as dishes, tryin' to let it go
Hit the club, she drop it low
Lower than my credit score
Account overdraft
What I got this debit for?
So much debt, it got me drinkin', thinkin' --
Bitch, I better blow
I better blow

Who better captures the malaise of our Great Recession than Mr. Cole? To be sure, his lyrics are peppered with the sort of "I'm rich!" braggadocio one would expect from a rapper, but there is an undercurrent of unease and uncertainty, too.  In another song, Villematic, he seems unsure about his chances for success ("I know my debut will ship, but is it gon' sell?"). There's a thought millions of us can relate to.