The Billiken's Bluff

I remember listening to Lil' Troy's Wanna be a Baller back in 1998 when my friends first started to get their licenses and began driving. The song had a real laid back beat, something that you could listen to while driving around in the local CVS parking lot in your 86' Volvo.



But even while enjoying the song we all recognized how preposterous some of the lyrics were. A lot of it was really bizarre and nonsensical. Witness Yungstar stumbling over and mumbling the following verse:

Licks in Kuwait,



got links in Pakistan



Boys don't understand virtual reality Caravan



Double doors marble floors naked hoes around me

Preposterous.

This weekend I listened to Kanye West's new album Late Registration. It includes another song that I could see myself listening to whilst cruising around a parking lot - Drive Slow featuring Pall Wall & GLC. The song is full of bragging raps - Rims, Diamond fronts, Candy-coated painting, CL Mercedes, and many many ladies - that sort of thing.

Kanye spits a dubious Yungstar-esque lyric:

My cars like the movies, my cars like the crib
I got more TV's in here then where I live

And rather than me or one of my friends having to critique the logic underlying the lyric, Paul Wall, next up in the song saves us the trouble:

And that don't even make no sense but baby I'm the shit And everything I flip you know is something serious

As far as I'm concerned that is pitch perfect on so many levels. And that don't even make no sense... That line speaks to so many rappers and acts as a commentary on so much rap music.

It doesn't make any sense. But, it doesn't matter. Because I'm the shit.

Rappers can brag about drug connects in Indonesia. Talk about their virtual reality devices in their custom 2007 Lexus Jeeps that haven't even been released yet. They can reference their Teflon-coated silk pajamas. Talk about their Jacuzzi filled with warm champagne, or the caviar eggs from the Loch Ness Monster that they ate while down in MIA. Whatever ridiculous consumer-commericial-wealth references they can string together consecutively. It doesn't matter. It is all a front to show that - baby, I'm the shit.

I love it.