Hello NL'ers.

I love music. In spite of all the differences that people have in this world, music always seems to bring people from all backgrounds together.

Everyone always think that American Rap music just glorifies guns, drugs, violence, and bling. but that's not true. at least not of the rap that I grew up listening to. Mainstream Rap music is NOT real rap.

Posted below is a song, by a rapper I like a alot. I want you (especially the young people, even if you are a lurker and dont post) to listen to the song. I will post the lyrics, as well, with explanations of what he means in certain phrases.

By doing this, I hope to lessen the gap between blacks in the motherland, and those of us in Diaspora. We need to understand one another a little bit better, instead of listening to what the white media says we are. I remember watching a CNN special about 419 scammers, and the CNN anchor took a trip to Nigeria to set up a ring up scammers. They were showing the city, and you know what that man said? He certainly had nothing nice to say about Lagos, and said that it was a "disgrace" of a city. Gullible people would have believed what they were told, and you know there are alot of those in this world.

The aforementioned song is posted below.






https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YXia3kECEM








Can't even ride thru da hood n peace...
So Zap. all da police...
Bleep da judge, Bleep da jump out & da district attorney
Check my bank account bitch c wat I'm earning...

(everyone knows that rappers are watched very closely, and are even harassed by the police. "jump-outs" are police who randomly pull you over without probable cause,they might even search your car, trying to find something to pin on you. number one, because this rapper is a black man in an expensive car, number two, because he is black. So what the person is saying is, 'you don't have to stop me on the street, trying to discover any suspicious activities. if you want to know what I am up to, just check my bank records, and you will see, I well have the means to buy this luxury car i'm driving in.')
It's a dirty dirty world n it keep on turning...
Niggas keep gettin shot but dey still ain't learning...
Wrap your dick up cause dey dick of have da hick ups...

(wear a condom,unless you want to catch an std. lol)
Women play games so I advise u get a prenup...
Jena 6 did... u c dis world wicked...
Dey killin at da skools from college to elementary,...
Sum ppl don't do shit for dey child(dirty world)
Sum jobs don't give u shit wen u retire(dirty world)
Ppl get dey money n give it to otha countries...
But ppl n dey same hood livin' like junkies...
So I b like: dear mr.president... y u wanna take my license... send me cross seas to fight n lose sleep at night

[Chorus:]
It's a dirty dirty world dat we live in
Um um um um um um um
It's a dirty dirty world dat we live in [x3]

[Verse 2:]
Can't even trust ya own family at times...
Nigga will make your whole family cry...
It's either rap shoot ball or hustle
Dats da only way u make it out dis motherfucking (the hood)

(alot of young african american men living in the "hood" in poverty, don't see any way out of their circumstances, except through playing basketball, hoping to make it to the pros, through rapping, or selling drugs. There are no role models, and there isn't anyone around telling them that they can use their mind, and through education, can make it out of poverty. they feel, and are often times right, their choices are limited)
Mo money... mo murder, it's real n it's a fact a life,
So watch your boys and watch ya cars and watch da dice
Ya only live once, ya gotta do it big

( young african americans living a fast lifestyle, live for the moment only. Why plan for the future when you know you might not be on the planet for that long? "Doing it big" includes the fancy cars, the jewels, the clothes,etc.)
Like aunt pam tell boosie" torrence do yo shit
Can't leave home w/o my gun
Kinda paranoid
Nigga mite john leenen me cause I'm a supastar...
So keep your souljas on your click...
Look at micheal vick
All dat shit behind em pits...
Dis fuckin world make me sick...
Wen dey kill deers n put dem on da wall... n dey kitchen... (glorify em)
We fight dogs... ya'll fight chickens... wats da fuckin difference...
Judge got a fucking grudge... he saw my gold teeth & labeled me as a thug

(self explanatory. black urban youth are very much aware that they are being judged by the world at large. That's why some always seem to be on the defensive, and a bit touchy. wouldn't you?)
Bleep it...

[Chorus:]
It's a dirty dirty world dat we live n
Um um um um um um um
It's a dirty dirty world dat we live n [x3]

[Verse 3:]
Now dis 3rd verse, 4 my niggas n da pen who cudnt survive n that dirty world
( they are very much aware that jail is the end result of the life they lead)
Go bk again... repeated offender... judge finna eat em 4 dinner...
Last name been n da courthouse before he can remember...
Uncle sam got a nigga life like whoah

( as my grandfather used to say, with the stroke of a pen, the white man got your life in his hands, and when you put yourself in a position to be at his mercy, you're going to get screwed every single time.)
My next meal goin on da motherfuckin floor.
Dez niggas turn states...
Dez niggas turn fake.the rap game fuckers...

(in urban american culture, every body is always ranting about how there are "rules' and "codes" of the streets. But if that were the case, there wouldn't be so many people turning "fake" and "turning state". This basically means talking to the cops, telling on criminal co-conspirators to get your own prison time reduced. yet another pitfall of the "game"
Everybody burn tapes...



Yea so you can probably tell I'm bored. lol. Really I just want to act as an ambassador of sorts, by bridging certain gaps, in order to bring about understanding, and maybe even peace? lol. yea thats a pipe dream.

Not all Rap songs glorify violence, even though the content of songs may discuss it. Alot of these performers talk about the pitfalls, and consequences of living the street life in blunt terms. Being in fear of your life, being paranoid, having to look over your shoulder, is not a life one would choose, if they had any choice. Many young african Americans dont, especially the males,so they play with the cards that they are dealt, and try to make a winner out of that bad hand.







If you have any questions or comments, feel free to respond. I love and appreciate Respectful feedback.



Last but not least, can some one break down and explain to me the lyrics of "chop your dollar" ?


lol @ these censored words and their replacements. "Naughty woman" being a replacement for Beeeethch? lol. Seun, you have got to do better.

LOL. Nne you went far deeper than most NLers would grasp. Too many points raised in your analysis of the lyrics.

I also love rap music a lot, but my interests are restricted to just a few artistes. Rappers who flow tight, fast and whose lyrics send a message and not some gibberish just to fill time. My fav rappers: Eminem, Bone Thugs, some Busta Rhymes and I've recently started to go back to Black Eyed Peas.

I don't trip that much for those ones you'd call hardcore because I view them as hypocritical. You'd find ppl rapping about the hustle and stress they go thru on the streets, facing harassments from the police, but much of their song lyrics and videos glorify the gangsta criminal life so why should you then complain abt police harassment?

Another I noticed; in spite of all the money and fame Eminem has gathered from the game, he hardly makes noise about bling and all those stuff. But that's all you'd find from these other rappers. Why?

Tinyemeka: LOL. Nne you went far deeper than most NLers would grasp. Too many points raised in your analysis of the lyrics.

I also love rap music a lot, but my interests are restricted to just a few artistes. Rappers who flow tight, fast and whose lyrics send a message and not some gibberish just to fill time. My fav rappers: Eminem, Bone Thugs, some Busta Rhymes and I've recently started to go back to Black Eyed Peas.

I don't trip that much for those ones you'd call hardcore because I view them as hypocritical. You'd find ppl rapping about the hustle and stress they go thru on the streets, facing harassments from the police, but much of their song lyrics and videos glorify the gangsta criminal life so why should you then complain abt police harassment?

Another I noticed; in spite of all the money and fame Eminem has gathered from the game, he hardly makes noise about bling and all those stuff. But that's all you'd find from these other rappers. Why?

Many rappers who come from nothing often times feel isolated by their new found success. Through their own blood, sweat and tears they have achieved the American dream. They are rolling in all of this dough, but have no one to turn to in the midst of the adoration that the spotlight has provided them. It is lonely at the top. Partly to look cool, partly to convince themselves that they have not changed and remain true to their roots, they succumb to pressures to do all of the things they said they would never again do once they made it big. They hang out in all their old haunts, and with all of the same people.This assortment of colorful characters do not necessarily have this person's best interests at heart. This entourage may consist of childhood friends,familiar with life previously led by the entertainer, or hanger-ons. These leeches care only of the status being affiliated with a celebrity affords them. To ensure their stay in this inner circle, they become "yes men". Sadly, the rapper receives no instruction nor constructive advice.It is no wonder that they end up behind bars, or even dead, all for the sake of "keeping it real."

At the end of the day, it does not matter how much money you have.You have not been taught any better,so unless you have made a conscious effort to change,you do no better. No matter what you have now become,you still remain the same person and adhere to the old ways that only lead down a path of self destruction.