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August 06, 2008

Democratic Convention and Kayne West

Jack Kemp
Rap singer Kayne West will enlighten and elevate the Democratic National Convention with his artistry. As Christopher Cook  wrote in his Modern Conservative article about the convention:

"Few people among any group-white, black, or otherwise-believe that gangsta culture is a particularly good thing for anyone. And yet purveyors of this culture are increasingly showing their support for Obama-in some cases, with verbiage that includes veiled threats of violence if he doesn't win. Perhaps Obama cannot be entirely blamed for this support, but perceptions are perceptions, and since Kanye West is performing at the DNC this year, one can hardly fault people for having those perceptions."

Kayne West's reputation precedes him. Going to a Kayne West lyrics site (which also offered me his ringtones), I come up with the verse to "Breathe in Breathe Out:"

'Yeah, breathe in, breathe out
If ya iced up, pull ya sleeves out
Push a big truck, pull ya keys out
Girls go wild and pull ya deez out
Breathe in, breathe out
Let them hoes fight, pull her weave out
If a nigga act up, pull a Desert E's out
When I pull the piece out niggas like "Peace out!" '

I will assume the term "hoes" here isn't a reference to gardening.

The next tune, "Get 'Em High," has a chorus that goes like this:

"[Chorus: Kanye West]
N-now, th-th-through ya motherfuckin hands
GET EM HIGH
All the girls pass the weed to ya motherfuckin man
GET EM HIGH
Now I ain't never tell you to put down ya hands
KEEP EM HIGH
And if ya losin yo high than smoke again"
I will also assume that the use of the term "weed" here also is not a reference to gardening.

Or how about these lyrics from the second verse of "We Don't Care:"

"We claim other people kids on our income tax
We take that money cop work than push packs to get paid
And we don't care what people say"

This is what you want to hear performed at the Democratic National Convention -- if you are a conservative Republican, that is. Show the word what you got, Kayne, Howard Dean and Barack Obama. And remember, Harry Reid, it's still not to late to download those Kayne West ringtones.  

Jack Kemp is not the politician of the same name.

Posted at 09:30 AM | Email |

Comments

My, but ain't the 'rats classy?

Posted by: Matthew Quigley | August 6, 2008 09:39 AM

We can only hope he gets to perform during prime time coverage of the convention for all Americans to hear the Democratic version of our culture. As part of the Fairness Doctrine the RNC should be allowed to follow Mr. West's act with Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA"!

Posted by: Mark Krueger | August 6, 2008 10:26 AM

Three years ago this month, Time magazine put Kanye West on its cover, declaring him both "Hip-Hop's Class Act" and "The smartest man in pop music." Upon reading the lyrics presented above, it's so obvious why he deserves both those titles. They just ooze intelligence, erudition and class.

Posted by: Elvis Julep | August 6, 2008 11:29 AM

Perception is the truth for most people.

Posted by: MARK | August 6, 2008 04:31 PM

They just rub in our faces that they are going to win. They don't need to pretend to be "God Bless America" people.

Posted by: BillG | August 6, 2008 04:42 PM

oh my god, rap often talks about weed and hoes. if you want to be on the cutting edge of journalism in freaking out about that, you need to go in a time machine back to the eighties.

and by the way, way to take a great song out of context on that last one. "we don't dare" is actually about people who know nothing else, are used to a certain way of living, don't know what else to do - and dealing with the realities of that, and where the African-American community is realistically. How to get out of that on a group level and an individual level are both challenges. hence the chorus line, sung by kids - "we weren't supposed to make it past 25, joke's on you we still alive..."

kanye may be alot of things - full of himself, for example - but he often has some very thought-provoking and interesting lyrics. and good music.

Posted by: claire | August 15, 2008 05:16 PM

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