BALL SO HARD

In rap nowadays, there tends to be 2 main approaches to songwriting. There are rappers who talk about how hard it is, and rappers who talk about how hard it isn’t (Pause?). On the mainstream level, that winds up as rich people talking about the struggle, and rich people talking about the rich life. On the underground level, that means poor people rappin about being poor, and poor people rappin about being rich. Now, the songs you enjoy are really just a matter of taste, and philosophy - some people want to hear songs about being rich to forget that they are poor, and who better to write those songs than either a rich person, or a poor person who like you, wishes they were rich. Then, there are those of us who want to have our realities confirmed in songs that document and make public the condition of working class & poor folks in this country. Who better to do that than other working class people who know it first hand, or rich people who used to be poor. Right? sure.

So then here we have the Kanye and Jay-Z track “N*ggas in Paris” and below it, a new Mos Def cut called “N*ggas in Poorest” which serves as somewhat of a counter narrative to the Watch The Throne hit. While Jay and Ye brought the “ball so hard” feel that we all love to sing, but…keep it real…can’t identify with on any level, Mos did a more literal interpretation, painting the condition of black/brown/all poor folks in the US as it is. For the record, I am no Mos Def fan club member - dude is dope, but I don’t swing from the Mos Def sack. He is hit and miss for me, but this time he landed right on the mark. Towards the end of the song his, “Don’t get caught up in no throne” chant is a great reminder of what greed and money ACTUALLY does to people, right after the “ball so hard” moment comes the elitist, capitalist oppressive class divide that keeps the consumer poor so a chosen few can ball so hard. Props to Mos for this one.

Getback.