Body Count: Young Jeezy, Nas, and Ghostface Killah

Note: The following video is not recommended to be played at work, in an airport, in church, in the presence of children, and possibly in the privacy of your own home. It is presented here to allow you to hear the music of Young Jeezy, one of three hip-hop artists KingEd has become acquainted with over the past months.

A couple of months ago a friend dropped three then-recent hip-hop releases on me: Young Jeezy‘s The Inspiration, Nas‘ Hip Hop Is Dead, and Ghostface Killah‘s More Fish. “I’d like to get your take on this stuff,” he said. “This Young Jeezy guy is all the rage,” he continued, “it’s hardcore gangsta shit. Some of it’s actually scary.”

This would be some listening assignment, I figured. Just the thought of an artist naming himself Ghostface Killah had been bugging me. Isn’t the body count high enough already? But who am I to judge a rapper by his handle? I spent a few days spinning these CDs as I drove around, and here are my impressions.

Young Jeezy really is nasty. The fist song, “Hypnotize (Intro)”, drops 18 N-bombs. Coupled with the fact that the guy can’t pronounce his own lead-off song title (he repeatedly says “hypmotize”), I’m pretty clear this album will not offer much in the way of critical thought. (Thanks for that helpful, parenthetical hint in the title, by the way.) However, Young Jeezy offers much in the way of unself-conscious social criticism. “Still On It” drops a mere total of 11 N-bombs after a stunning half dozen in the song’s opening seconds. Track 3, “U Know What It Is” gets back on pace with 18 instances of self-hatred. And on and on. Contrary to the album’s title, The Inspiration is the most depressing and vacant music I’ve ever heard. Throw in a cynical mix of canned pop hooks for bad measure.

This Nas guy I’d been hearing of for some time. He’s massively popular, and I figured he’d raise the bar a bit. Instead he delivers self-conscious, documentary-style hip hop that’s poured to the public’s desired level of lapping. I don’t know what’s more shameful, the amoral stupidity and self-hatred of a Young Jeezy or the pandering, voyeuristic, pseudo-confrontational entertainment masquerading as reality that’s served up by Nas. With a moment’s thought, Nas is worse. At least Young Jeezy shows the commitment to wallow in his own mire. Nas can kiss my ass…two times!

Ghostface Killah was the real surprise in this lot. His lyrics are as nasty as his contemporaries’, but it’s in good fun. “Ghost Is Back” announces the album with a foul-mouthed, Redd Foxx-like skit backed by honest-to-goodness music. Music that doesn’t sound like an afterthought or a prepackaged “bed” that a producer looped up to support the skit. Killah takes action, musically speaking, while documenting the requisite niggas, bitches, ice, and whatnot. The songs are more good-natured than the hardcore gansta shit of Jeezy and they’re not as passively accepting of the horrors of urban life that Nas flashes us. It’s about the music, the music benefits, and maybe we do too.

So that was then. Looking back, this was all a bit confusing, even to me. I really did like the Ghostface Killah stuff, and I’m not sure if that means I can only accept this “harsh” stuff when it’s done in jest. If so, what’s that say about white folks, minstrelsy, and all sorts of other heavy topics?