Hip hop culture/music is notorious for touting a high-rolling life filled with women and money, but once in a while there comes along a musician who goes back to the roots of hip hop by making a thoughtful commentary on culture.
Once in a while, someone like Lupe Fiasco appears on the music scene.
Mr. Fiasco is not without his shortcomings; some of his lyrics play into the very culture he purports to hate.
But, his cultural relevance shines through with a very poignant song, "He Say, She Say" which gives two views of father absence: that of the mom, and that of the child left behind.
It starts out with the mom's perspective:
She said to him, "I want you to be a father / He's your little boy and you don't even bother / You see what his problem is / He don't know where his poppa is / No positive male role model / To play football and build railroad models"
And then switches to the kid's perspective:
Now I'm fighting in class / Got a note last week that say I might not pass / Kids ask me if my daddy is sick of us / 'Cause you ain't never pick me up / 'Cause you ain't been kicking it since I was old enough to hold bottles / Wasn't supposed to get introduced to that / I don't deserve to get used to that
None of America's kids deserve to get used to that. If only more musicians used their status to say something so relevant and thoughtful...
Once in a while, someone like Lupe Fiasco appears on the music scene.
Mr. Fiasco is not without his shortcomings; some of his lyrics play into the very culture he purports to hate.
But, his cultural relevance shines through with a very poignant song, "He Say, She Say" which gives two views of father absence: that of the mom, and that of the child left behind.
It starts out with the mom's perspective:
She said to him, "I want you to be a father / He's your little boy and you don't even bother / You see what his problem is / He don't know where his poppa is / No positive male role model / To play football and build railroad models"
And then switches to the kid's perspective:
Now I'm fighting in class / Got a note last week that say I might not pass / Kids ask me if my daddy is sick of us / 'Cause you ain't never pick me up / 'Cause you ain't been kicking it since I was old enough to hold bottles / Wasn't supposed to get introduced to that / I don't deserve to get used to that
None of America's kids deserve to get used to that. If only more musicians used their status to say something so relevant and thoughtful...
