SiMH❤ Encore: The Purses and Suits of Happiness

WHERE DID ALL THE ROMANCE GO?

Excuse me but was I under a rock when the most romantic phrase became “Just throw it in the bag” as rapper Fabolous and the Dream teamed up to sing? I am confused and appalled at this because love seems to now be measured by how much a man spends on you and the price tag and label on what he buys. Money, as it turns out, can buy love!!

According to the world today, happiness is not pursued,it is bought. I will use rap as well as r n b as my case study. If one listens to most rap songs it is clear that money,cars and lavish living are the way to obtain happiness. Kid Cudi sang about the “Pursuit of Happiness” but now what I am seeing are the “Purses and Suits of Happiness”.

 

Even listening to a rap “love song” one is appalled at how love and money are put on the same level. From T.I singing “you can have whatever you like” to “I got a bunch of dollars so I can spend on her/so she can be my lady she can be my lover,” as Rick Ross sings, it is so clear that these men think buying expensive cars and purses is the measure of their love. Now don’t get me wrong, it is nice to spend money on your lady but don’t make it seem like it is the only thing you need to do to keep her happy. What saddens me  is that some women are happy with these kinds of relationships not realising that they are worth way more than that Hermes bag he just purchased.

I really  don’t know why women marry rappers. The message I get from most of their music is that they are super materialistic people who think success is measured by the suits they wear, and the price tag of the purse he bought his girlfriend. I heard this song by The Dream called “Make up bag”, in which this tragedy is applied. Besides the awful lyrics I actually managed to find something more appalling, and that is the meaning and message of the song. So basically in this song The Dream cheats on his girlfriend and she finds out.”I been out all night patroning/she sayin sorry won’t get it.”

The chorus is the killer. Firstly it says something about The Dream’s songwriting skills and more importantly it says a lot about the society in which we are living.

“if you ever make ya girlfriend mad/don’t let your good girl go bad/drop five stacks on a make up bag/”

Really? So if a guy messes up then buys me an expensive bag all will be forgiven? That really isn’t a compliment to us women. What connotations does this have on us? How do you even know if the apology is heartfelt? What an appalling song. Sadly,it isn’t just a concept or a song, some ladies would be happy to receive such an expensive apology. Are these the messages music should be conveying. It isn’t just hip hop that died, R n B and pop went with it. Sad day. Marvin Gaye must be turning in his grave. Mercy,mercy me indeed!

To answer the question at the beginning, romance has clearly gone from peoples’ hearts to their pockets. I am all for old school romance not this new type of love. If you really think about it how much thought does it take to charge a pair of Louboutins to your black American express card? Not much, coz your assistant probably does it for you. I am not fooled by this phenomenon, I see it for what it really is. An act, a cover up, a facade. If you think your bling will blind me, you are grossly mistaken.  In this case I will sing along with J.lo and say “my love don’t cost a thing” So as an independent woman I refuse to have my worth measured by that monogrammed purse you want to buy me. Actually I can buy it myself, thank you.

Hip Hop Hooray on a Tuesday : The Talented Mr Taylor

Six years ago beefing with 50 Cent was career suicide. Remember how Ja Rule became irrelevant literally overnight? Ok so maybe his music wasn’t as good as before but the beef with Mr Jackson didn’t help his case. It’s ironic however that (the) Game also beefed with Fiddy but his career is going from strength to strength. Frankly he’s doing a lot better than 50 Cent(who’s laughing now).

4 albums later Jayceon Terrell Taylor is still relevant and doing pretty well for himself while he’s at it. In terms of rappers, New York is well accounted for with people like Jay-Z, Fabolous and Nas. LA as the birthplace of Gangster rap and home to Tupac Shakur seems to be running out of great rappers. Snoop has lost it, and Dr Dre is more producer than rapper so I think it would be correct to say that Game is holding the flag of the West up high. I have a lot of respect for this guy, he has stayed true to his roots and delivered an amazing album R.E.D which was released earlier this year. Game oozes West Side swag and R.E.D is so Compton you feel like you’re riding in his “Cherry 64” with the ocean breeze in your hair. From the epic words, “this is how we do” until now he has stayed true to himself. He raps about life growing up in a tough city, and escaping it’s traps and life on the other side. From an abusive childhood, foster care, loss, and near death experiences this guy’s life story is remarkable. The fact that he rose above all this and became so successful makes him admirable in my eyes. It’s not about where you’re from it’s about where you’re going. You can feel pain, determination and most importantly passion in every rhyme and verse.  R.E.D is a brilliant album with a wide range of songs for any moment. I listen to this album everyday and it sounds better everyday. By today’s low musical standards, if you can listen to an album without skipping a single track, you have a good album on your hands. Some albums have a few great tracks while others get boring by the 7th song, but not R.E.D. This is an exceptional work and the collaborations with Kendrik Lamar, Tyler the Creator, Nelly Furtado, Big Boi, Lil Wayne and Chris Brown show is far reaching talent.  2011  has been a great year for hip hop and R.E.D has contributed enormously to this fact. That’s why Game is stuck in my headphones..

Lesson 1:The Purses and Suits of Happiness

WHERE DID ALL THE ROMANCE GO?

Excuse me but was I under a rock when the most romantic phrase became “Just throw it in the bag” as rapper Fabolous and the Dream teamed up to sing? I am confused and appalled at this because love seems to now be measured by how much a man spends on you and the price tag and label on what he buys. Money, as it turns out, can buy love!!

According to the world today, happiness is not pursued,it is bought. I will use rap as well as r n b as my case study. If one listens to most rap songs it is clear that money,cars and lavish living are the way to obtain happiness. Kid Cudi sang about the “Pursuit of Happiness” but now what I am seeing are the “Purses and Suits of Happiness”. Even listening to a rap “love song” one is appalled at how love and money are put on the same level. From T.I singing “you can have whatever you like” to “I got a bunch of dollars so I can spend on her/so she can be my lady she can be my lover,” as Rick Ross sings, it is so clear that these men think buying expensive cars and purses is the measure of their love. Now don’t get me wrong, it is nice to spend money on your lady but don’t make it seem like it is the only thing you need to do to keep her happy. What saddens me  is that some women are happy with these kinds of relationships not realising that they are worth way more than that Hermes bag he just purchased. I personally think this is all just an act. Without all the trappings of success,where would these men be. R.Kelly sings,

 “If it wasn’t for the money, cars and movie stars and jewels and all these things I’ve got I wonder,would you still love me?” 

That is a very good question because it seems some women are only with some rich men because of the wealth and the lifestyle attached to it.Rappers label women as gold diggers because it seems that what women are after in a relationship nowadays is material appreciation as opposed to love and affection.  

I really  don’t know why women marry rappers. The message I get from most of their music is that they are super materialistic people who think success is measured by the suits they wear, and the price tag of the purse he bought his girlfriend. I heard this song by The Dream called “Make up bag”, in which this tragedy is applied. Besides the awful lyrics I actually managed to find something more appalling, and that is the meaning and message of the song. So basically in this song The Dream cheats on his girlfriend and she finds out. Here are some of the words.

 

“I been out all night patroning/she sayin sorry won’t get it.”

The chorus is the killer. Firstly it says something about The Dream’s songwriting skills and more importantly it says a lot about the society in which we are living.

“if you ever make ya girlfriend mad/don’t let your good girl go bad/drop five stacks on a make up bag/”

Really? So if a guy messes up then buying me an expensive bag will make me forgive you? That really is not a compliment to us women. What connotations does this have on us? How do you even know if the apology is heartfelt? What an appalling song. The concept of it is just disgusting. Sadly,it isn’t just a concept, some ladies would be happy to receive such an expensive apology. Are these the messages music should be conveying. It isn’t just hip hop that died, R n B and pop went with it. Sad day. Marvin Gaye must be turning in his grave. Mercy,mercy me indeed.

To answer the question at the beginning,romance has clearly gone from peoples’ hearts to their pockets. I am all for old school romance not this new type of love. If you really think about it how much thought does it take to charge a pair of Louboutins to your black American express card? Not much, coz your assistant probably does it for you. I am not fooled by this phenomenon. Even through my bootleg Ray bans,I see it for what it really is. An act, a cover up, a facade. If you think your bling will blind me, you are grossly mistaken.  In this case I will sing along with J.lo and say “my love don’t cost a thing” So as an independent woman I refuse to have my worth measured by that monogrammed purse you want to buy me. Actually I can buy it myself, thank you.