Written by Drew Ricketts

Attention deficit music?

Sure. I’m fine with the fact that both Weezy and ‘Ye are giving imprimaturs for nonsensical lines that sound good. I can buy this over the finger snappin’ and kill-em-all aspect. Maybe the pop culture references in their songs will wear thin, or the fact that both men are more prolific than any other artists by way of their postmodern takeovers of any and every tune that comes out will unnerve me eventually. For right here, right now, I could not be more pleased with a summer devoted to hearing airy hits. “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” the song and the mixtape, is much ado about nothing indeed. It’s got references to Kanye before and during the fame – big surprise there – and a few gibberish words like “apologin’” to support some of the acrid rhymes. Then again, that’s the whole point. In the midst of some of the more trenchant records about to grace the music world, Common’s Finding Forever and Curtis making his bid to be reclaimant of the throne, I need some recumbent music to sail into summer. For now, the theme du jour is Fabolous’ Somethin’ to Nothin’ concept, where forgettable is memorable. Mixtapes and hit singles have made it downright impossible to retain a realistic attention span.

Every time I turn around someone asks if I’ve heard the new Lil’ Wayne joint or the new Kanye joint. With some guilt I admit that I have heard the joint in question, and pored over it with a fine-toothed comb for eighties film drops, semiotic significance, poetic mastery, musical appeal and social importance. But then I think about what is really arresting about their music: nothing. It’s not as if they don’t address issues in their lives, views on women (limited), or the wide scope of current events but they are in no way tethered to addressing things in a serious manner. I like that dearth of gravity because it makes Jeezy’s gangster rhetoric less weighty, Hov’s constant financial reports seem fun and silly, and rap what it’s supposed to be, unconsciously good. I crave “Ay Bay Bay”, “Bartender” and “Umbrella” more than I could readily admit because the simplicity/stupidity of it all allows me to sing along blindly.

In my view, Wayne has made more headway with the nothingness feeling than Kanye has. For one, Lil’ Wayne can rhyme with unending dexterity so that his pronunciation-subversion comes off as intentional compared to Kanye’s often clumsy rendering of the English language as he runs out of breath. Wayne avoids most substance like the plague though, probably believing that his casual fans would have reason to criticize him more. He’s correct for assuming that. Catapulting oneself into the world of pithy topics is like swinging the battle axe against everything hip hop is today. My lip gloss is cool. My lip gloss is poppin’. This is why I’m hot. We can easily understand those sentiments more than we can the lamentations about a past hurricane tragedy or the pitfalls of early celebrity and drug use. Wayne may internally pine to express more of the latter, as evidenced by “Feel Like Dying” but he will smoke his “La La La” as the refrain.

‘Ye has never gained my approbation (not that he needs it) because his lyrics fall just short of being anything, either compelling through use of the punchline or mesmerizing by virtue of flow. With “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” Kanye swerves into fingernail polish songs with aplomb. It’s as if he wants me to expect less and be happy with it. Mission accomplished. Irony is the word of the day even if we barely recognize it. Kanye and Weezy are incredibly aware of how to make a “dumb” song versus a “smart” song and use their awareness to do what is least expected. I only hope they can maintain the break-neck celerity they have so far without fizzling in a few months while I’m still hung over from the partying songs.

Loosies

T.I. – Respect This Hustle

50 Cent ft. Robin Thicke – Follow My Lead (Live)

Olivia Feat. Missy Elliot – Cherry Pop

Killer Mike – Good 4 U

Ja Rule Feat Lil Wayne – Uh Oh

Fab Feat NeYo Paperboi & T.I. – Make Me Better (Remix)

Loosies