POP MUSIC HAIKU: GUCCI GANG (Lil Pump)
The sheer quantity of baldly superficial, uber materialistic rap targeting the teenage demographic is horrifying at best, dystopian at worst. In three-minute vignettes, we see the world reduced to a celebration of violence, misogyny, self-annihilation and butchered grammar. Exposed and vulnerable, our youth, their puerile retinas constantly connected to this audiovisual chaos, are being conditioned for the bleakest interpretation of nihilism.
In steps Lil Pump with the Billboard smashing hit "Gucci Gang" off his debut album Lil Pump released on October 17, 2017. Through subtlety and playfully incoherent vocalization, Lil Pump (aka: Gazzy Garcia) gives voice to this perilous world of teenage angst and desperation while, poignantly offering up tangible nuggets of optimism for his impressionable, oft-pubescent audience.
When entering the dicey realm of teenage sexuality, Mr. Pump doesn't casually refer to coitus in vulgar, misogynistic terms. Rather, his lyrics express his dire need to ensure his sexual partner's engagement, her enjoyment in the experience. Specifically, Mr. Pump's finely-tuned sensitivity dials in on the specific female biological authenticator (the presence of arousal fluid in the labia) as confirmation of his partner's desire to copulate ("Fuck a lil bitch, make her pussy wet").
Unlike other lyricists in the so-called "rap game", Mr. Pump isn't brutally dismissive of those outside his tribal faction. To the contrary, he carefully articulates his concern for the well-being of tribal adversaries with respect to fundamental aspects of life. Specifically, Mr. Pump's "Gucci Gang" lyrics address the following:
- The human need for suitable housing (line 19: "You mamma still lives in a tent, yeah")
- The need for companionship and social inclusion (line 27: "I'd rather fuck a bitch from the projects")
- Ensuring timely delivery of medication to the ailing elderly (line 21: "Me and my grandma take meds, ooh")
And even when Mr. Pump seems to veer off message, descending into the dark malaise of our time, ("I fuck a bitch, I forgot her name") you hear the distress in his highly nuanced vocals, the sheer terror and misfortune plaguing him as he struggles to recall the name of his forgotten lover.
Taking the time to both listen to and read Mr. Pump's lyrics, reveals to the audiophile a greater sense of space and compassion present in the artist's work. It's clear to see that Mr. Pump is not simply peddling a vacuous sort of materialistic nihilism, laden with coded language and self-aggrandizement, but rather a message of community, involvement and self-actualization.
So, dear reader, acting as humble purveyor of pop music, I offer up my modest, unworthy speck of poetic prostration to Lil Pump and his timeless classic of pop music iconography. Please permit my lowly poem of 17 syllables to stand beside this giant of artistic expression, our beloved Lil Pump.
I've probably said this before, your writing is amazing. I'm really glad I found your blog. Keep those stories coming and I'll be reading and studying as I aspire to be as good a writer one day.
This piece got me thinking about stuff and at the same time, light enough to coax a laugh. You should post something for the comedy open mic if you have time.
Once again, great job.
Thanks @take5, really appreciate it. I submitted with comedy open mic a couple times now. I'll definitely post again...need to get something short, sweet and punchy for them :)
I'm just going to memorize this whole post, for personal gratification, and in hopes it teaches me how to write this well.
In defense of new school hip hop, through the years (I'm 40) I've seen a lot of what's amalgamating in today's young rappers already-- simply, not all at once.
Remember the Chronic Album (bare with me.) Now I don't dare to really compare such a legendary album; but it's everything from getting f-cked up to we don't love these h-es.
And some of us dare forget when rap first started, when we are all still a bit metrosexual and wearing fishnet shirts and leather chaps.
Some of us forget that Eric B and Rakim was paid in full, and that KRS ONE was Criminal Minded. And let's not approach when Cam made pink a thing.
What I feel is really going on here is this-- the old school isn't a big fan of stupidity. Generation X is just cynical overall, and really intelligence snobs. That's why we put artists like Eminem on a pedestal for skill or Pac on a pedestal for his EQ.
New school rappers come off as being extremely low functioning despite speaking on the same things the legends did (party, money, power, hoes, drugs, cars, jewelry, crime) and few want to admit they simply don't like when brain dead people talk.
Secondly, I think for at least some of is, the high fashion of today reminds us of our tacky fashion choices of the retro-eras. We were all hoping that rainbow leopard print bandana phase just never existed. We all rested in the fact the internet didn't exist back then. And low and behold, every fashion faux pas we committed is now haute couture.
Because, Boy George dreads.
Digressing, I'm not a fan (at all) but I can't laugh at him without laughing a little at myself at his age. Thankfully, I'm a good sport and laugh at myself frequently. Lol
Thanks for this article, you're awesome.
First of all, nice insight and good job highlighting the evolution of the genre! A healthy tip-of-the-hat to you fair lady.
You make some excellent points. For me, I've come to realize I don't understand anything about fashion, image crafting or the general aesthetics of how a person visually expresses them self. This being the case, I personally don't applaud or scowl at anyone's fashionable expressions...I sort of correlate fashion to (1) rings on a tree - fashion helps me peg/reference eras, and (2) categorization - fashion choices help a person to visually place them inside their chosen social category. So I'm a moron in sussing out the meaning behind the fashion choices.
So, when critiquing, my focus is mostly on the linguistic/lyrical expression coming from Lil Pump (et al). I struggle to see anything other than blunt nihilism/materialism, and (perhaps most importantly) these ideas being clearly directed to the under 18 crowd (let's save a discussion for what age delineates a child from an adult for a later date ;) At least drill (chief keef...), though violent, bleak and young came from the sense of despair present on the streets of southside chicago (giving voice to those screwed by a corrupt govt, cycles of endemic poverty, etc). Stitches is another example of the incredibly un-nuanced violence, however his music actually seemed to be promoted upwards (geared toward a 20 something audience).
But maybe you nail it with "What I feel is really going on here is this-- the old school isn't a big fan of stupidity. Generation X is just cynical overall, and really intelligence snobs." - like if there isn't a bigger message/skill set on display, then what is produced is crap...could be.
So I'm 40 as well, and I def remember the days of (party, money, power, hoes, drugs, cars, jewelry, crime). I remember being 14 years old living (reference here to my mention of 18 above) in my bullshit suburban white-ass safety-shell and listening to NWA. Pretty bleak, violent, misogynistic, etc, but, it came out of the harsh realities blacks in LA were dealing with - things I knew nothing about. It prompted me to learn about police violence, social inequality, racism and the joys of smoking weed :) My point is that there was a deep social context behind the shocking lyrics/imagery.
Or maybe there IS real expression going on here....maybe the utter lack of accountability for anything in our society (banks are criminal enterprises, politicians are brazenly corrupt nowadays, media/corps/institutions broadly are fraudulent and corrupt, and all of these is easily learned about on a minute to minute basis by way of constant connectivity) is causing an expressive backlash. Perhaps the youngest among us (who are now just old enough to have a broad reaching voice) are acting out on this reality, expressing bleak thoughts/ideas for a bleak time.
But, on a lighter note, it is fascinating to look backwards at yourself through the lens of modern hip hop. For me, good memories of working hard (scrubbing dishes and cooking) to buy 2000 watts of phoenix gold amps and 15" Kickers to put inside my black-tinted Acura Integra in order to drive around in the suburbs (my 9mm replicate BB gun under my seat) mean muggin' the neighbors as they manicured their lawns on a sunday afternoon, drinking their stupid fucking juice without a drop of gin in the mothafucka. I was pretty gangsta.
Again, thanks for your comment, it definitely got me brains a churnin'.
Yes you were then pretty gangsta- perhaps still are ;) Thanks for responding. More to think about. I like this post a lot too. Haven't found any hip hop writers on steemit yet.
This is too good man. I'm curious, do you see any good old fashion self denigrating humour in this stuff like childish Gambino (but a mentally challenged version) or do fans take it at face value? I've never heard out heard of this stuff.
Being as obtuse as I am, this thought really never occurred to me! For me it seemed like a logical downward progression (and amalgamation as @omitaylor mentions above) of current hiphop trends over the past few years (lil wayne-->chief keef-->slim jesus-->stitches-->6ix9in...) settling on its new low of position itself within an even younger demographic. But now you have me thinking....I'm sort of hoping this is all a parody, because if it is, it certainly caught me with my pants down. But if it is a parody, it better have a very sharp resolution that is super slick/clever!
What strikes me is that those old rappers were often expressing their own culture and experience while this new stuff is clearly manufactured. It smells like cultural manipulation to me.
yes, yes, yes, smells very manufactured. lots of people being manipulated to their own demise it feels. perhaps the musics isn't meant to express actual culture or experience. maybe it's only meant to express an emerging aspirational culture....essentially create a fantasy land of escapism for people caught in The Trap?? I don't know, perhaps it is art at it's finest, Duchamp's fountain (in modern HipHop form) to get people analyzing the vacuousness american culture creation. Dammit, I've been played!!
Hah. Now I feel like I should go listen to it. I don't think you're a good influence on me.
Oh for Christ's sake, don't do it! Create more of your music to share, don't give any extra clicks to this crapola :)
The white styrofoam cups in the music video are for Xanax which he references that he and his grandma take meds. It became a really popular thing to take Xanax among the rap community in rap videos. It was the same thing LIl Peep overdosed on a few months ago. He was another rapper popular among teenagers. Lil Pump is only 17 by the way. I watched some video clips on YouTube a few months ago and in every video clip he is either smoking weed or really high on it. You also see him surrounded by his managers who are in their 30s and 40s. I think it is kinda messed up that they are profiting off of him and providing him with marijuana and possibly writing his songs for him. He isn't even an adult yet.
Right? It's pretty crazy. One part of me thinks, "Oh, I;m just some old dude now, critical of teenage culture that I don't understand." Then, the rational human being steps in and thinks, "This is really sad. Not only are we glorifying vices (no big deal really, this is the legacy of pop music), but it's being produced by and targeted to kids under 18! It certainly feels like a boundary has been crossed that shouldn't be."
Geez, at least Lil Peep was in his 20s (I'm fairly certain), not that his audience was. And the adults surrounding Pump promoting, profiting, etc...quite bleak. I certainly got an education digging into the meaning of the lyrics (as you point out with the Xanax...)
lean - codeine or xanax mixed with sprite and jollyranchers served in a styro cup
red bottoms - Christian Louboutin shoes
balmains - ridiculously expensive couture
ten racks - $10,000
...and on and on into the vortex of utter hollowness :(
I know I’ve already said this but... you the man dan.
Teeheeheee, always so kind @tbyrd.
You know, I completely forgot to put my lead-in to the haiku! Crap. Anyhow, it's fixed now and the world will be able to sleep peacefully tonight.