Lil' Wayne is now king of all things. Let's make it official. If it wasn't obvious when four radio songs out of five featured everyone's favorite "tatted up gargoyle mess" then surely it was obvious when he ruled the VMAs to the point of leaping onstage with Kid Rock. (Kanye-who? with the regrettable singing and carnival trinket light-up heart pinned to his chest?)
I'm happy with this state of affairs. Most happy. Usually when someone dominates the airwaves and the ether this much it's a lamebutt like T-Pain. Weezy may be a "syrup-addled libertine," but he's also--relatedly?--an artiste. And a great pop star. Anyone whose resistance held up to the "Lollipop" onslaught was surely felled by "A Milli."
I think the finest specimen to come out of the Wayne surge is "Mr. Carter," a glory lap featuring Jay-Z (because they have the same last name: love it!) Wayne does some good scratchy mumbling at the beginning, at which time he says he feels big, "like colossal." Which is apt. And he goes on to say how the seasons are hating on him:
Man, I got Summer hating on me cause I'm hotter than the sun
Got Spring hating on me cause I ain't never sprung
Winter hating on me cause I'm colder than ya'll
And I would never, I would never, I would never Fall
This song also made me sit up and say, Wait, when did I start liking, not just tolerating, Jay-Z? Maybe he plays well as the graybeard veteran. On "Mr. Carter" his winning verse is Young Carter, go farther, go further, go harder/Is that not why we came and if not then why bother? Next time I'm about to hit "publish" on a shit draft of a plog post, I'll remember that.
This whole Wayne-mania also reminds me of how much I like to consume mainstream culture. To some extent, sure, one wants independence of mind, but it's no fun to be off on your own living a life of purity. I do take to heart the bumper sticker admonition to 'Be the change you want to see in the world.' (Indeed, I dutifully obey all bumper sticker mandates, which, living in the Bay Area, makes me a busy gal.) But I also like to 'Be the world I actually see around me.' (Hey, that's cumbersome and stupid enough to be on a bumper sticker.)
It gives me a warm feeling inside to know that millions of my fellow Americans are listening to "Lollipop" right now, because--I like it too! Deride pop culture all you want, but at least we have that kinship. When it's Lil' Wayne and Barack Obama that we get to be collectively into, count us lucky.
2 comments :
Thank you for this. I share your notions here. My personal favorite off of Carter III is Shoot me Down. Listen to that one closely. Its definitly cashmoney, but his love is the music.
Thank you for this. I share your notions here. My personal favorite off of Carter III is Shoot me Down. Listen to that one closely. Its definitly cashmoney, but his love is the music.
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