I feel bad about having ripped PhilaWeakly without giving due time to their brethren at City Paper. Namely music editor Patrick “He’s the DJ, I’m the” Rapa. Here’s what “He’s the DJ, I’m the” Rapa recently had to say about the Roots latest album: Look, we know you’re not out there blingin’ and bangin’, but some of that ol’ gritty, preachy magic was missing from The Tipping Point. Maybe you’ve lost touch a little? Maybe you’re too happy? It was interesting that Rapa decided to write that, because it gave away the fact that he obviously never listened to the album!
Gritty? Did he not find a guest appearance from Kool G. Rap to be gritty enough? How about the song “Guns Are Drawn”? Not preachy enough? The only assumption I can possibly make is that his copy came without the final song (Why? What’s Goin’ On). Are these lyrics not gritty and preachy?
Keepin’ your head above water, hustlin’ to survive
Some people chasin’ a dream, others just chasin’ a high
Some people blind leading the blind, they chasin’ a lie
Some people chokin’ backs broken barely makin’ it by
But still they workin’ all they life, they pushin’ for the light
Givin’ everything they got to stitch them swishes on ya Nike’s
Puttin’ pockets on our jeans, mining diamonds for them rings
Rewarded with small change and bullets in the brains
And it makes me feel strange everything we take for granted
At times I feel stranded on this planet of mine
Now should I pull the hammer, clap it out, and laugh about it
Or stand up, be counted while I cast my ballot
When the undertaker’s busy and the prison’s is crowded
People livin’ in fear because they vision is clouded
But the sky’s the limit, I ain’t cryin’ you a river
Gotta move me a mountain, I’m a git up and shout it
P.S. I actually like Pat a lot. He’s a swell guy. But can’t nobody f*** with the Tipping Point without catching heat from me.