Don't let money change us

I haven't done a rap song in a while so I thought I'd try and get two songs in at once. The first is "Deception" by Blackalicious (Gift of Gab is one of my favorite rappers, ask why and I'll direct you to "Alphabet Aerobics" or "Chemical Calisthenics"). The other song is "Childrens Story" by Blackstar. Why these two songs you ask? They both have a common story, a lowly rapper rising to stardom and then becoming overwhelmed with power and become corrupt ultimately leading to their demise.

So as usual Mos Def picked up a great beat for "Childrens Story" and tells the story of a rapper who rises to fame on a song that he did. He becomes so consumed by the celebrity that he begins stealing beats and samples for his songs from artists like Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson to the point where his songs completely loose his touch on them. He even picks up a new singer who "couldn't sing for shit, but the mix would assist her." That is one of my major gripes about some music that has been coming out recently, at this point most popular singers are synthetic-human only before the mix.

Gift of Gab

The second song, from Blackalicious, is also the story of a rising rapper. What really gets me about this song is the hook that repeats over and over throughout the song-one of the catchiest hooks I have ever heard. The rest of the story is about the same, but with a much better ending, talking about how he has lost touch with his roots and how that was the ultimate downfall of his career. I won't really ruin too much more about the songs, so I guess you'll have to hear them for yourself, but they are great.

"Deception" by Blackalicious from A to G (1999)

"Childrens Story" by Blackstar from Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Blackstar (1998)

-S