"..had to tell my son 'cut that bullshit off' them ain't videos that's physcological warfare" - Phnote of Little Brother

  Lupe Fiasco - Bitch Bad

When Nas released I think I can, there were a few over-educated Hip-Hop journalists that viewed it as oversimplified and not lyrical enough. They felt as if, the last verse in particular, were addressing things that were common knowledge, and doing so in a non-complex manner. I felt as though they all completely missed the boat, and feel that many will do the same with this Lupe song.

Lupe employs a simple delivery and calculatedly non-verbose piece of work here in an effort to not have his point missed. I say to my students all of the time when they are writing, "Who is your target audience? And why isn't your tone, voice, and language a reflection of that"?

It is clear that is not a problem for Lupe. From Dumb it Down and American Terrorist, to S.L.R and that shitty song featuring Trey Songz Out of my Head , it is clear that Lupe is intentional when weather he is writing up, or down, so to speak.

I do however hope that he only employs this style and tone occasionaly as he could run the risk of beging to sound like KRS-One eventually did, sanctimomius and preachy.

I am sure however that will not be the case.

The bottom line here is that Wasalu has put together a great story that illustrates a number of issues here. First, the lack of understanding on how to raise a child. I am a die hard hip hop head, and I have a full understanding on what within the genre I can and can't let my daughter listen to, bottom line. Like Saigon once said:

"I listen to rap to but wouldn't let my kid listen to that 

Cuz if my kid listen to that, then it's a wrap

Nikkaz replaced wisdom with materialism

I get on the beat and preach about imperialism..."

Next the fact that these images and sounds are not only impacting young girls, but boys too!
Lastly, the obvious lack of overall thoughtfulness of some of the rappers who are putting out music these days.

Since his first album Lu has been transparent about his feelings about the word bitch and and it's useage in the genre.

"Now I ain't tryna be the greatest
I used to hate hip-hop... yup, because the women degraded
But Too $hort made me laugh, like a hypocrite I played it
A hypocrite I stated, though I only recited half
Omittin the word "bitch," cursin I wouldn't say it
Me and Dog couldn't relate, til a bitch I dated
Forgive my favorite word for hers and hers alike
But I learnt it from a song I heard and sorta liked" - Lupe Hurt Me Soul from Food & Liquor

I happen to love the way Lu goes the extra route and shows what happens when that little confused boy and misguided girl both grow to be teens/young adults and have to learn how to interact with each other.

"Simple ain't it, but complicated."

"Bitch Bad"

[Intro]
Yeah
I say bitch bad, woman good, lady better
Hey, hey, hey, hey

[Verse 1]
Now imagine there’s a shawty, maybe five maybe four
Ridin’ ’round with his mama listening to the radio
And a song comes on and a not far off from being born
Doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong
Now I ain’t trying to make it, too complex
But let’s just say shawty has an undeveloped context
About the perception of women these days
His mama sings along and this what she says
“Niggas I’m a bad bitch, and I’m bad bitch
sootning else far above average”
And maybe other rhyming words like cabbage and savage
And baby carriage and other things that match it
Couple of things that are happenin’ here
First he’s relatin’ the word “bitch” with his mama, comma
And because she’s relatin’ to herself, his most important source of help,
And mental health, he may skew respect for dishonor

[Hook]
Bitch bad, woman good
Lady better, they misunderstood
(I’m killin’ these bitches)
Uh, tell ‘em
Bitch bad, woman good
Lady better, they misunderstood
They misunderstood
(I’m killin’ these bitches)

[Verse 2]
Yeah, now imagine a group of little girls nine through twelve
On the internet watchin’ videos listenin’ to songs by themselves
It doesn’t really matter if they have parental clearance
They understand the internet better than their parents
Now being the interent, the content’s probably uncensored
They’re young, so they’re maleable and probably unmentored
A complicated combination, maybe with no relevance
Until that intelligence meets their favorite singer’s preference
“Bad bitches, bad bitches, bad bitches
That’s all I want and all I like in life is bad bitches, bad bitches”
Now let’s say that they less concerned with him
And more with the video girl acquiescent to his whims
Ah, the plot thickens
High heels, long hair, fat booty, slim
Reality check, I’m not trippin’
They don’t see a paid actress, just what makes a bad bitch

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
Disclaimer: This rhymer, Lupe’s not usin’ bitch as a lesson
But as a psychological weapon
To set in your mind and really mess with your conceptions
Discretions, reflections, it’s clever misdirection
Cause, while I was rappin’ they was growin’ up fast
Nobody stepped in to ever slow ‘em up, gasp
Sure enough, in this little world
The little boy meets one of those little girls
And he thinks she a bad bitch and she thinks she a bad bitch
He thinks disrespectfully, she thinks of that sexually
She got the wrong idea, he don’t wanna fuck her
He thinks she’s bad at being a bitch like his mother
Momma never dress like that, come out the house, hot mess like that
Ass, titties, dress like that
All out to impress like that
Just like that, you see the fruit of the confusion
He caught in a reality, she caught in an illusion
Bad mean good to her, she really nice and smart
But bad mean bad to him, bitch don’t play your part
But bitch still bad to her if you say it the wrong way
But she think she a bitch, what a double entendre

[Hook]

[Outro]
Bitch bad, woman good
Lady better, they misunderstood
You’re misunderstood
Bitch bad, woman good
Lady better, greatest motherhood
(I’m killin’ these bitches)