People ask me all the time how I, as a suburbanite, relate to and love rap. Well...
one of music's greatest gifts is it offers you another vantage point and opportunity to step out of your world - in many ways rap is like a trap closet door in Narnia? (Don't get too excited R. Kelly...)
Now, one of my favorite rap songs that I in no way relate to the premise of or "facts" of, has got to be 1st of The Month by Bone Thugs N Harmony.
The song is about the celebration of the first of the month because once government checks are collected the bone thugs crew be smokin', chokin', rollin' blunts, and sippin' on forty ounces, thuggin.
Now can I, or any other suburbanite, relate to waiting for the first to come around so we can collect a check? Nah. But anyone can relate to the universal aspect of the song, which is the desire for a fresh start and the feeling, no matter how temporary it lasts, of being able to take one day off to breathe life in and chill. (plus, anyone can relate to the feeling of waiting on a check, don't have to be the first)
So whatever April 1 means to you, whether it's a prank you're going to play on someone at work, whether it's one day closer to nice weather (thought it was going to be 60 today, what happened?), whether it's a chance to collect a check, or whether it's simply another day in the life, make it a good one. 100.
Droppin' Knowledge: Nietszche is one of my top five philosophers. He was a perspectivalist, meaning he believed we all look at the world with different sets of eyes, and each of our experiences are unique yet universally relatable. Conclusion? The Nietszche would have definitely fucked with the Bone Thugs Poetic, Hustlers of the Graveyard Shift.
On the side: Remember when the Crossroads video came out? Has got to be top five rap video all time.
1 comment:
"Gotta hold on, gotta stay strong, when the day comes, better believe Bone got a shoulder you can lean on"
Yeah, I know that's Crossroads, not First, but that stanza has the distinction of being the longest stretch of Bone Thugs lyrics I can understand without consulting the internet. If you want to uncover some indecipherable truth, however, read along to the Notorious Thugs lyrics as you listen to the song, and know that Bone is iller than you ever imagined.
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