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The Daily Tar Heel

Word to Your Mother: The Rap on Music

As evidenced by last week's Grammys, popular music is in a sorry state. Yeah, the "Moulin Rouge" girls were somewhat successful in rivaling the original version, but as Grammy host Jon Stewart said, they did nothing more than "remind us of the days when the whore houses were about music." At least they welcomed Patti LaBelle at the end to wail as usual and lent some credibility to the group.

Train's "Drops of Jupiter" is a good song, but it epitomizes the blandness of pop music today, by which I mean it gets old after hearing it consistently for three days. 'NSync and Nelly? I don't understand this combination. Let's combine the most popular boy band whose songs all sound the same with one of the most famous rappers whose songs all sound the same and what do we get? A lot of the same boring verses.

I mentioned some exceptions. There was the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, which is excellent, and the performances by the various artists were good. Alicia Keys is awesome as well; she actually plays the piano and sings instead of lip syncing while going through some choreographed dance number. And Outkast: Dre's pink jumpsuit and white wig say it all.

These musicians are the exceptions because their identities are defined by themselves, not MTV. As much as I wouldn't mind Britney Spears being a slave for me, India Arie is the one who puts it best: It's all right that she's not the "average girl from your video." We need more artists like her to help us live outside the box and be what we want to be.

So in honor of last year's performance by Eminem and Elton John, I'd like to demonstrate my lyrical prowess and show how music can shape our lives and help us defy social norms.

What's up Ken, I'm your biggest fan

THE WCC, Ratios and IMs, you da man

You understand where I'm coming from everyday

You present the issues in a better, brighter way

But what's up dawg, slow down, come back here

You're not supposed to write this crap down, you better fear

You're too exclusionary, you dis too many others

Why you gonna do that, what -- you ain't my brotha?

What you doin listen to GNR's, "November Rain?"

Turn that crap off and turn on some "Insane in the Brain"

What are you doin' listening to some Ludacris

Why do you blacks listen to this B.S. -- it's really "ludicrous"

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What you doing, you about to make me die, man

You were supposed to conform to society's plans

So I'm gonna stay in this corner and forget you then

Man, this corner is getting lonely; it's just me and my gin

What's up, y'all, I just been busy,

Just be careful before you dismiss me

Yes I can listen to bluegrass and rock and still be black

It didn't say parental advisory, only for white Jill and Jack

I listen to rappers talk about violence, drugs and money, too

I guess the American Dream doesn't apply to this rap crew

We should close our ears; it's too tough a struggle to hear about

But I thought the tougher it was, the more the clout?

I hope you get this soon, I heard about this guy who died alone

Just him and his gin in a dark room, he wasn't in his own zone

He let society tell him what to do and where he should be

Oh, wait, it was you, G

I know I'm not getting nominated for a Grammy anytime soon, but that's not the point. My intention was to show that just as Alicia and Dre and India live outside the box, we can, too. They don't need to do just another normal video, and we don't need to be just average students. All of us do something expected to gain acceptance, which is OK. But we shouldn't be afraid to do something unexpected. Let's have hope that our lives and our music will evolve.

Ken is ready to sign a record deal now. Reach him at kchandle@email.unc.edu.

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