Lyrical

I have to say, I grew up at an exceptionally good time for music.  Sure, the Beatles, Zep, Disco, folk, anti-war, etc etc.  Throw in Elvis, Chuck Berry, The Rat Pack, and jazz/rock and you can cover 1940s-1979.  That’s a LOT of years.  

Let’s take 1983ish-1995.  Instead of 40 years, it’s a decade.  Again, give or take.  Give me some wiggle in this and let’s not get stuck in the minutia.  Rock completely evolved into it’s modern form and branched out.  Hair, Thrash, Punk, Pop, and Heavy Metal all became a thing.  GNR.  Metallica.  Bon Jovi.  Motley Crue.  RHCP.  Van Halen.  AC/DC.  Def Leopard.  Aerosmith.  Iron Maiden.  

College rock got its come up.  REM.  The Pixies.  10,000 Maniacs.  The Smiths.  Violent Fems.  Sonic Youth.

Electronica/Euro Pop/Euro Synth gave us Depeche.  Erasure.  OMD.  New Order.

Moving on from that, the grunge movement and “seattle sound” and I shouldn’t need to mention Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and the influence on music and rock moving forward and even reverberating to this day still.  

The real big change, IMHO (In My Humble Opinion), is rap.  A niche offshoot of Pop, Disco, and Jazz.  It found a voice and a place early in the 80s, but the advent of NWA, Boogie Down, Public Enemy coupled with DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Young MC, Tone Lōc, and some of the funner and funnier rap or more radio friendly rap really helped create something new and that was here to stay.

Love it or hate it, you can’t discount it.  It has a place in music.  It’s 40ish years now.  That’s not a fad.  And some of those people are not only pioneers, but also socially conscious with something to say.  And I still listen.  Frequently.  TuPac, Digital Underground, Eazy-E, Snoop, Dre, Em, Dilated People, Get Boys, Missy, Warren G, and even some Bone Thug.

It’s that last that spurred the interest to reflect and write on this.  Because the first two Bone Thug albums are really some good rap with something to say.  That includes the song 1st of tha month.  

That song, came on a playlist J and I had on last night.  Kiddo was long crashed, we had watched a Better Call Saul and  was on the PS4 and chillin’, just chatting and playing while J scrolled and hung out.  We shared a scotch and it was great.  

However, we did argue.  About the song.  Because I caught a lyric and it made me laugh.  For those that don’t know, the song is about the 1st day of the month when welfare cheques come in and hood rats get ghetto rich.  The lyrics that made me giggle and started the convo….

Rollin Blunts, smokin, chokin, sippin on 40oz, thuggin.

OK.  I get it.  Roll a blunt.  That’s a marijuana cigarette or joint, usually inside a cigarillo like a Swisher.  

Smoking.  Yes.  You took the time to roll said blunt, smoking is the natural next step.

Choking.  Well, ok.  Sometimes when you hit a bong, blunt, joint, etc, you can choke or cough.  It’s harsh smoke.  Again, this all tracks.

Sipping on a 40oz.  Sure.  Got a 40 ounce beer of Ol English, Hurricane, whatever and you drink because you just choked on the blunt.  Again, so far this tracks.

Thugging.  OK… What????  

So, you spent your welfare on weed and booze, choked on weed while smoking it, and then took a drink of beer….  How does this lead to Thuggin.  Are you a thug because you choke on weed?  Because you drank 40s?  

Hey, I’m sitting around, blog writing, listening to music, sipping on cappuccino, being a mobster.  

See what I mean… One has NOTHING to do with the others.  How does writing and drinking cappuccino track to being a mobster????  It doesn’t.

According to J, it actually does.  Let me explain.

It’s like Monk Life.  The monks in Thailand, well, it’s a lifestyle.  Once a monk, you live the monk life.  24/7.  J ascertains that guys like Bizzy, Lazy, Crazy, Flesh, and Wish from Bone Thugz and Harmony live the same as a monk.  24/7 as a thug.  Therefore, they are in a constant state of Thuggin.

And for those of you who miss it, Bone Thugz, they are Bizzy Bone, Lazy Bone, Crazy Bone, Wish Bone, and Flesh and Bone…. Get it?!?!  It’s clever, when you think about it.

For me, I disagree with J.  Like when Tony Bourdain went to the Waffle House with Sean Brock (Parts Unknown S6E8 Charleston SC) and Tony tried the Heniz 57 Sauce.  “No!  No.  That’s just wrong.  Here’s where we part ways, my friend.” (Quoted from memory, sorry if a word or two are wrong).  

So, if you want to put in your 2 cents on if A or J are correct, please feel free to chime in.  We’d love to see your ridiculous logic on this issue.  Lawd knows, both J and I laughed over it while talking about it last night and again today.  Because it really has no answer and is just silly, but it’s fun.

Thanks for letting me rant on music and silliness.  See ya again later.