Time & Place
written by Just K
written by Just K
I’m bumping Drake in the whip. The “Unstoppable” joint was banging in the speakers. Santagold just finished doing her thing on the hook when Weezy came on for his verse.
“she say that I beat that p*$$y better than her gynecologist//
text me any time you want so mo d**k, mo d**k”
This was playing as I pulled into a middle school parking lot. Please believe the volume went way down when I was sliding into that parking spot. It just didn’t feel appropriate to have the volume on high with Wayne speaking that craziness. As much as I love hip-hop and that song, I had to acknowledge that a middle school parking lot wasn’t necessarily the best place to crank that profanity. I had the ability to turn Lil’ Wayne down. I just wish Lil’ Wayne had used that ability on himself during the BET Awards.
Typically I’m not a fan of the BET Awards. This year, however, considering the limited time that BET had to prepare, I think a decent tribute to Michael Jackson was put together. Furthermore, it’s commendable that BET did not fold to the pressure to add Chris Brown to the line-up given his recent guilty plea (I’m not really sure if Don Cornelius should’ve been there either, but that’s another story). Obviously the dark cloud hanging over Chris Breezy would’ve tainted the evening. Why couldn’t BET executives or Lil’ Wayne himself see that a performance of “Every Girl” had that same disastrous potential?
Souljah Boy performing was a bit out of place for the evening, but the song choice was innocent enough. Jay-Z has transcended hip-hop, making his stage show the equivalent of a pop performance. Drake’s brief solo performance started nearing the point of distasteful, but “other hoes ain’t never on it,” so it’s ok. Seriously though, with lyrics like “you can have my heart or we can share it like the last slice” and “sweat pants, hair tied, chilling with no makeup on// that’s when you’re the prettiest I hope that you don’t take it wrong” things hadn’t gone completely wrong yet. Sadly, when Weezy and crew hit the stage singing “I wish I could f*** every girl in the world” followed by “I always stayed strapped,” a night dedicated to the King of Pop took a horribly wrong turn. Imploring fans to “put your hands up for Michael Jackson in this b!t(#” didn’t help matters at all. The onslaught of curse words, the objectionable song topics, the unkempt appearances of the Young Money crew, and the girls on stage who hadn’t yet hit puberty singing along to “Every Girl” had no place in a night meant to celebrate the life and music of MJ. They could’ve cut the act. They could’ve performed a different song. They could’ve created and performed a dedication song; 50 Cent recorded and put out 2 songs in a day dedicated to Mr. Moonwalker, and 50 still uses pen and pad. They could’ve done anything except what they actually did.
Would I play a techno song at a funeral? Probably not. Would I play a country song at Howard’s homecoming? Sure wouldn’t. Would I play a blues song on a Friday night at your favorite club? Hell naw. All music isn’t meant for every occasion. Maybe Michael Jackson’s is, but clearly “Every Girl” is not.
3 comments:
Dopeness.
Its funny i hated that performance but for completely different reasons. Now that I think about it, the subject matter and the teenage girls were probably not the best look on any night let alone a tribute show on BET.
My problem was with the artistic quality of the performance.
1) Goons shouldn't be allowed on that big of stage until they have had practice. I don't care if they are on the song or not. You should have a certain amount of rehersals first! They were just all over the place and didnt know what they were doing.
2) Unless you do what Jamie Foxx did, don't perform an autotune song without autotune - ever! Trying to hear these thugs "sing" that Every Girl song was horrible!!!
Hell even Drake was annonying when he tried to hit some notes during the Hook.
Autotuned songs need to be performed with the same technology!
3) Too many motherf**kers on stage! Unless you are the Wu-Tang Clan or peforming We are the World, there shouldnt be 20-30 people on stage. Why do hip hop dudes do it? I dunno.
4) Baby should never rap in public. Period.
you can take out "in public" and that last sentence is much more accurate.
Sigh. If Drake is going to sing on his CD, he needs to take singing lessons. If you're going to sing, please be prepared to do the same thing in person. Whatever you do on a CD (ok, the Unstoppable joint is definitely excusable) you should be able to do live. Just my thoughts.
Yeah, and it was definitely clear that the Young Money folks haven't really rehearsed on stages like that before. No choreography (trust, even MCs choreograph moves, though it may not be obvious to the naked eye), no stage presence, no idea where they should be on stage.
And that was on top of them coming near the tail end of the MJ tribute show.
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