Wasalu Muhammed Jaco aka "Lupe Fiasco" is a Chicago born rapper, who initially despised rap music for it's vulgarity. It was only after he found his own style and a little assistance from prominent rapper, Jay-Z, that Lupe embraced the culture and signed a record deal. Since 2006, Lupe's lyrics have become conversational pieces and topics of controversy (mainly, his song "Words I Never Said").
Lupe Fiasco- Words I Never Said
Lupe is one that is committed to staying true to his beliefs and ideals on culture, politics, religion, etc. With that being said, it should come as no surprise that Lupe's latest video "Bitch Bad" has the entertainment industry buzzing and the streets talking! Before we delve into the lyrics of this song, lets discuss the concept and content of this video. The visual of this song is portrayed in a way to explain the long-term psychological effects of the connotations and use of the word "Bitch".
We, the audience watch how the word is introduced to a little boy by his mother and it is introduced to a little girl by a rapper; these introductions cause both to have skewed views of the phrase "Bad Bitch". We are taken on a journey through time, which displays the growth process between the little boy and little girl, now a young man and young woman. These skewed ideals are displayed once they try to interact with each other on a romantic level. He connotes "Bad Bitch" with a woman that looks like his mother and she associates "Bad Bitch" with the oversexed woman in the music video, causing a psychological disconnect between the two. Lupe interviewed for RapFix on MTV and stated "I think it's something [the word bitch] --the idea of it, the 'bad bitch' -- it's very subtle but it definitely has some destructive elements to it." "It has some troubling elements to in. Especially when you look at who it's being marketed towards. That's why we put the children in the video."
Lets get into the lyrics a bit, Lupe divided the video into three acts. In Act I, he introduces us to the little boy and his mother:
Now imagine there's a shorty, maybe five maybe four
Ridin' 'round with his mama listening to the radio...
His mama sings along and this is what she says
"Niggas I'm a bad bitch, and I'm bad bitch
far above average"...
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
In Act II, we are introduced to a group of little girls that are being raised by the internet and what it has to offer:
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...
... their favorite singer's preference
"Bad bitches, bad bitches, bad bitches
That's all I want and all I like in life is bad bitched, bad bitches"...
...ideal girl acquiescent to his whims
... High heels, long hair, fat booty, slim
Reality check, I'm not trippin'
They don't see a paid actress, just what make a bad bitch
Finally, in Act III Lupe bridges the boy's understanding of what a "Bad Bitch" is and the girls interpretation of what a "Bad Bitch" is:
The little boy meets one of those little girls
and he thinks she's a bad bitch and she thinks she's 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...
Just like that, you see the fruit of 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...
Lupe Fiasco-Bitch Bad
Lupe vividly paints a Picasso piece of artwork for the audience. It's almost impossible not to give the phrase "Bad Bitch" a second thought. Although some may not agree with Lupe's ideas of it's effect on children and society, he did succeed with presenting a piece of work that is guaranteed to evoke strong opinions and open a platform for conversation... Your thoughts? Your opinions?
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