From its conception in 1979 to the mid-1990s, rap music steadily progressed from a static genre to a flexible one. At its birth, with "Rapper's Delight" in 1979 (the first commercially successful rap song), the genre relied on artists acting as moving pieces who alternated verses. The only thing holding the music together was the instrumental. After a couple years, Kurtis Blow came along and began to tie tracks together with unifying concepts, often including unforgettable hooks (See: "The Breaks," "Basketball"). That continued for years from Ice T to N.W.A. to the Fresh Prince to Vanilla Ice. Though united by a hook or an idea, the aesthetic of rap music until 1990 was disjointed, relative to today's rap. Occasionally, artists would strike a resounding balance during that period, creating pieces of work that would fit together between the rhythm of the artist and the progression of the instrumental (See: "The Message"). However, these tracks were the exception, not the norm.
Regardless of what you think about the content of Fetty Wap compared to the content of N.W.A., it's undeniable that "679" is, sonically, more connected than "F--k Tha Police" (NOTE: This is not to say that "679" is better or more important than anything N.W.A. did). The connective tissue of the sound of the song is just one of many elements to consider when listening. There are still plenty of artists who subscribe to a disjointed style in favor of cohesive content, but until 1992, cohesion of sound was not a priority for major rappers and producers. With the introduction of G-Funk in Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's "Nuthin' But A G Thang," the sound of the music was prioritized on a massively successful scale. Dre struck gold when he got Snoop for this track, because Snoop's effortlessly silky flow wove around drums and punctured the whining instrumental.
By the time the new millennium rolled around, the growth of a cohesive sound allowed for a more polished and grandiose brand of hip hop. The timing coincided perfectly with the era of audacity, which revered powder-blue sweatsuits, shell-toe shoes and cheating on the woman you loved. Perhaps the most fortunate artist of the time was Ja Rule. To date, Ja made more love songs per capita, which also included shouting the word "MURDA," than any rapper. From 2000 to 2006, rap and R&B went through a spectacular gilded age in which the songs sounded bigger than they ever had, and bigger than most have since. In favor of a lush sound, popular artists like Ja had entirely forsaken anything that resembled serious content. Since the Gilded Age, artists have been polarized into either melody-driven quasi-singers (See: Young Thug; Rich Homie Quan; Fetty Wap), or lyric-heavy quasi-prophets (See: Logic; Kendrick Lamar; G-Eazy).
No matter your preference for either end of the spectrum today, if you lived through the reign of Ja, Nelly and Lil Jon, you know it was something to be celebrated. So let's celebrate its highlights.
Confessions Part 1 & 2 by Usher:
Usher is so smooth and in love and romantic that by the end of the song, I'm ready to take him back even though he cheated on me out of town, got a side chick pregnant and lied to my face about it. Even though Part II got all the radio play, Part I is undeniably the better half. Part II is only about the woman on the side getting pregnant. Part I is Usher's initial confession and subsequent apology—the real nitty-gritty of the affair. Also in Part I, Usher says "I'm mad enough to punch me in my face" and having seen him contort his body to do his amazing dance routines, I'm confident he could really do some damage to himself.
Other Usher Classics:"My Boo" feat. Alicia Keys, "Yeah" feat. Lil' Jon and Ludacris, "Burn"
What's Luv by Fat Joe feat. Ja Rule, Ashanti
How weird is it that Fat Joe was a sex symbol in 2003? Indisputably the dustiest song from the Gilded Age, "What's Luv" brings a promisingly open question to an abrupt halt. It's all about sex. Ashanti tries her best to make it romantic, saying "It's about us, it's about trust babe." Joe isn't having it. Here's my impression of Joey Crack (moment of laughter because that's a legit nickname he has) making a multiple choice questionnaire over the question the song raises:
1. What's Luv?
A. Lots of doing it.
B. The Don Joey Crack doing it.
C. It's about us, it's about trust
D. Menage a trois—three people doing it.
E. Just the answers that involve "doing it."
The correct answer, of course, is E.
Other Fat Joe Classics:"Lean Back" feat Terror Squad and Remy
Can't Let You Go by Fabolous feat. Lil' Mo, Mike Shorey
Where Usher indicted his cheating ways, "Can't Let You Go" is all about Fab embracing his role as a cheater (while definitely having a clearly defined main and side piece). Fab's imagery, analogies and metaphors are refreshing deviations from lackluster euphemisms for sex. The best lines, explained by Genius.com via hyperlink, are:
2. It might sound like I'm gassin you, / But it take time to get from the back seat to the passenger.
While we get a good look inside Fab's reasoning, it is clear that his rationale is clearly self-serving to keep his side woman around. But she's not just booty to Fab. The back and forth between whether or not Fab is completely genuine is unclear. If you know anything about a cheater, big statements and ambiguous motives are always a part of the M.O.
Other Fab Classics:"Dip It Low" Christina Milian feat. Fabolous, "Breathe"
Lovers and Friends by Lil Jon feat. Usher, Ludacris
This was my favorite song growing up, but in reviewing the lyrics, you have to cringe a little bit. Usher and Ludacris each have their own potentially rape-y vibe going on here and here. At its core, the song is about having that one friend that you always had funny feelings for, but in one watershed moment, you fall head over heels for them. Which is really sweet. Plot twist: Lil Jon is the only one that tells that whole narrative, leaving room for a little give and take in the boudoir. Go Lil Jon, you consent-getting sexually active person, you.
Other Lil Jon Classics: "Get Low" feat the East Side Boyz, "What U Gon' Do" feat the East Side Boyz and Lil Scrappy, "Snap Yo Fingers"
Shake Ya Tailfeather by Nelly feat. Diddy, Murphy Lee
Nelly's day at the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame would be well deserved if it ever comes. However, his induction into the Homeboy Hall of Fame is a foregone conclusion. What Fetty Wap did with the Remy Boyz was cute. Lil Jon dragging the East Side Boyz to something that almost resembled fame was cool. But neither accomplished half of what Nelly did on behalf of his boys. Nelly got his whole set, the St. Lunatics, into undeniably the most prestigious basketball video game of all time: "NBA Street Vol. 2" (You know, the one with Stretch on the cover between Michael Jordan and some scrub). That was only after he put City Spud, one of the Lunatics, on his classic "Ride Wit Me." Then he backpacked Murphy Lee, also a Lunatic, to "Shake Ya Tailfeather," the theme song of 2003's hottest movie, "Bad Boys II." Not many in the homeboy hall of fame can boast Nelly's credentials as a first-class all-pro homeboy.
Other Nelly Classics: Just Google Nelly and listen to literally anything, even that junk with Tim McGraw.
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