Kreayshawn
May 31, 2011 11:44 AM Subscribe

Gucci Gucci, Louis Louis, Fendi Fendi, Prada
Basic bitches wear that shit so I don't even bother

int erv iews, twitter, tumblr, website, wikipedia

posted by finite (139 comments total) 30 users marked this as a favorite

MML: Natassia Zolot (born September 24, 1989), better known by her stage name Kreayshawn, is an American hip hop singer-songwriter from Oakland, California occasionally billed as "the female Lil B" or the "based goddess". With training from Berkeley Film School, Kreayshawn has also acted as director for fellow East Bay rapper Lil B's videos.[1] Kreayshawn additionally performs as part of the White Girl Mob, consisting of herself, fellow vocalist V-Nasty, and DJ Lil' Debbie.
She is most known for her single, "Gucci Gucci" in which she proclaims her disdain for wearing designer brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, or Prada because "Basic bitches wear that shit, so I don't even bother.
posted by zamboni at 11:47 AM on May 31, 2011 [7 favorites]

At first I was all, "damn, this is obnoxious," and then it hit me with this:

I got the swag and it's pumpin' out my ovaries.

I'm sold.
posted by phunniemee at 11:53 AM on May 31, 2011 [11 favorites]

A lot of local hiphop folks I respect have been linking her stuff lately. I think a key point is that she's involved in the scene and not doing the hipster thing- which is to co-opt it and build a parallel scene and not engage with the original folks doing it.

Overall, I'm just loving the return of women rapping. I really have to thank the internet and youtube for giving space for women to really come up and have alternative options for getting their music out.
posted by yeloson at 11:56 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]

For those among you who felt a snarky urge to type, "Is this something one would need a Youtube to care about?" or some derivative, yet refrained because you don't care to thread-shit...

Especially if your mind wearily recalled the recent Meta about this kind of post, convincing you to just back away without bothering....

Here's some useful background info to answer your unspoken question of "...and why do we care about this?" It comes from one of the cutely-buried multi-links within the word "interviews" in the FPP.

In a matter of mere weeks, Natassia "Kreayshawn" Zolot has become a viral sensation who went from Internet oddity to possible million dollar signee. Her infectious anti-consumer anthem "Gucci Gucci" was posted on Youtube two weeks ago and already it's racked up nearly 1.5 million page views and counting. Thanks to its success, Kreayshawn (pronounced Kre-ay-shawn or Kray-shawn, a play on the word creation) has been courted by every major label and is rumored to have signed to Sony. But who is Kreayshawn?

tl;dr old farts version: "Kreayshawn" is somewhat like the annoying Friday song girl.
posted by pineapple at 11:56 AM on May 31, 2011

Born 1989? Fuck me with a rake.
posted by Electrius at 11:58 AM on May 31, 2011 [16 favorites]

This is serious? I assumed it was a parody. Pity if it isn't. My main reaction to the video was "Christ, I loathe piercings and tattoos". Is that ugly bullshit ever going to go out of fasion? Come on, kids. Put the cellphone down for a minute and rebel, for fuck's sake. Even your parents have tattoos and piercings now, right? Right?
posted by Decani at 11:58 AM on May 31, 2011

"One big room, full of bad bitches." I heard this a couple weeks ago, and it's been running through my head off and on ever since. Also the chorus, and also "Bitch you ain't no Barbie, I see you work at Arby's" and also yeah, most of it.
posted by MadamM at 12:00 PM on May 31, 2011

Maybe I like it because I was also born in 1989? Sorry, Electrius.
posted by MadamM at 12:01 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Anything that is a counter reaction to the crass materialism in mainstream hip-hop is fine in my book.
posted by photoslob at 12:01 PM on May 31, 2011 [8 favorites]

Decani: “This is serious? I assumed it was a parody. Pity if it isn't. My main reaction to the video was "Christ, I loathe piercings and tattoos". Is that ugly bullshit ever going to go out of fasion? Come on, kids. Put the cellphone down for a minute and rebel, for fuck's sake. Even your parents have tattoos and piercings now, right? Right?”

Faze put you up to this, right?
posted by koeselitz at 12:03 PM on May 31, 2011 [34 favorites]

tl;dr old farts version: "Kreayshawn" is somewhat like the annoying Friday song girl.

...and Justin Bieber, and it's possible that this might just be where we get our famous people from now on, and it's not even worth mentioning anymore.
posted by rusty at 12:07 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

"Christ, I loathe piercings and tattoos". Is that ugly bullshit ever going to go out of fasion?

Yes. Tattoos and piercings are a very, very recent phenomena and will likely soon fade away.
posted by airing nerdy laundry at 12:08 PM on May 31, 2011 [31 favorites]

YOU KIDS WITH YOUR RAPPING AND THE PIERCINGS AND THE SWISHY BLUNTS THAT'S NOT EVEN MUSIC

* splutter *

Man those glasses on the one entourage member were fly.
posted by everichon at 12:10 PM on May 31, 2011 [4 favorites]

phunniemee: "I'm sold."

Bounce, girl.
posted by boo_radley at 12:10 PM on May 31, 2011

Maybe I like it because I was also born in 1989?

Nah. I graduated high school in 1989 and I like it too.
posted by Daily Alice at 12:13 PM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]

everichon: "Man those glasses on the one entourage member were fly."

I know, right? Like I wear glasses three months out of the year and now I'm all "Hmm, time to call my ass Helvetica".
posted by boo_radley at 12:14 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

tl;dr old farts version: "Kreayshawn" is somewhat like the annoying Friday song girl

Except annoying Friday song girl's mom payed like $10,000 to one of those strip mall video producers to get the video made and posted to Youtube (and, I'm betting, the first 10,000 hits or so to get it on the Youtube front page, plus maybe some 'viral marketing' to get bloggers talking about it), and Kreayshawn's mom, I'm presuming, didn't.
posted by muddgirl at 12:16 PM on May 31, 2011 [9 favorites]

Born 1989? Fuck me with a rake.

I dunno, a 22-year-old up-and-coming rapper (or, perhaps, future one-virus-wonder) doesn't seem rakeworthy to me. Consider this: the Roxanne Shanté of 2011, if she exists, was born in 1997.
posted by DaDaDaDave at 12:21 PM on May 31, 2011 [3 favorites]

I love Kreayshawn; she seems like one of those people that has fun no matter where she goes. She reminds me of TLC c. 1991. Don't know why.

It's okay to like music just because it's fun to listen to. You can read Dostoyevsky and picture books and appreciate both of them.

I've had my philtrum pierced for 8 years now. I was born in '84. I have a desk job.
posted by giraffe at 12:22 PM on May 31, 2011 [4 favorites]

Born 1989? Fuck me with a rake.

Yeah, there's a surprising amount of talent on my lawn these days.
posted by mhoye at 12:23 PM on May 31, 2011 [38 favorites]

This is nothing like Bob Dylan. Why is this nothing like Bob Dylan? I demand this to be like Bob Dylan.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 12:27 PM on May 31, 2011 [25 favorites]

"Christ, I loathe piercings and tattoos". Is that ugly bullshit ever going to go out of fasion?

Considering that they've been going around the fashion scene since people pierced and tattooed each other with sticks and stones by the campfire of their cave, I'd say it's a trend you're going to have to get used to.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 12:27 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

You can read Dostoyevsky and picture books and appreciate both of them.

I could only do that asynchronously. YMMV.
posted by everichon at 12:27 PM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]

I'm so glad to hear wobbly synth basses coming back into fashion. After Far East Movement followed up their G6 tune with some utterly forgettable hip pop fluff I was worried it might be just a flash in the pan. Please do not return to your seats, the jump-up insurgency will resume shortly.
posted by anigbrowl at 12:27 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Gucci Louie
Ah Fendi
and Prada I go

Yah, yah, yah, yah, yah, yah, yah
posted by mmrtnt at 12:28 PM on May 31, 2011 [3 favorites]

After all the OFWGKTA foofaraw around here lately, I was wondering if Kreayshawn was going to show up. What yeloson said: she actually seems to be organically coming out of the hip-hop scene (internet and Oakland varieties).

And uh it's actually pretty good. It's kind of what Ke$ha should have been like if there were a single ounce of justice in the universe.
posted by penduluum at 12:28 PM on May 31, 2011 [6 favorites]

Every time I see Kreayshawn, I wonder if she and Liz Lee have ever been seen in the same room together.
posted by pinky at 12:29 PM on May 31, 2011

She's great.
posted by cell divide at 12:33 PM on May 31, 2011

I like it (even if I'm oooooold compared to her), but now I have that song stuck in my head.
posted by jessian at 12:35 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Nice!
posted by klangklangston at 12:42 PM on May 31, 2011

I watched nearly 30 seconds of it, so like any music of the last decade I know the whole thing, and possibly her entire career.

Is everyone just ignoring the fact that this is a really crappy Garageband track, and an awful mix of one at that? If you’re going to have a track that has absolutely nothing going for it, and is really only about the lyrics, then you should make sure that you can actually hear the lyrics.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE cheesy novelty songs, just make them halfway listenable.
posted by bongo_x at 12:44 PM on May 31, 2011

Is everyone just ignoring the fact that this is a really crappy Garageband track, and an awful mix of one at that?

Yes we are. As we are on most goofy internet rap sensations.

Still catchy songwriting, and an interesting phenomenon to see a (I think?) gay rapper get widely popular.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:48 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

After all the OFWGKTA foofaraw around here lately, I was wondering if Kreayshawn was going to show up.

Members of OFWGKTA actually show up in that video! Left Brain and Jasper, specifically. [/dorkout]

As for the whole "crappy Garageband track" thing: I really, really want to hate this. Same with Odd Future. I know I don't like rap. And the subject matter is really vapid and uninteresting. But damn if OF's beat's aren't total earworms. And Kreayshawn's voice makes me swoon for some reason, in all its high pitchedness. She's kinda cute, actually. ._.
posted by Askiba at 12:49 PM on May 31, 2011

bitch you ain't no barbie, i see you work at arby's, #2, supersize, hurry up i'm starving, darling, radical, on the block i'm magical, see me at your college campus baggie full of adderall, call me if you need a fix, call me if you need a boost, see them other chickenheads? they don't ever leave the coop. i'm in the coop cruisin, i got the stolen plates, serving all the feeds over there by the golden gate BRIDGE, i'm colder than the fridge and the freezer, i'm snatchin all your bitches at my leisuuuuure
posted by naju at 12:52 PM on May 31, 2011 [11 favorites]

So you don't like hip hop. Fine, grandpa.

I dont think that's fair. I love hip hop and I hate cheesy beats, where's the contradiction? I hate purposefully dumb rapping too, but I can still recognize catchy shit when I hear it. This is better than Souja Boy Tell Em at least.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:53 PM on May 31, 2011

serving all the feeds

it's gotta be 'all them fiends' tho
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:54 PM on May 31, 2011 [4 favorites]

From last interview link:

We didn't even do it for, like, serious, we were just like: Yo that's Yung Berg, let's go get his chain! Fuck it, everyone's robbed Yung Berg. It's gonna be hella easy!

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
posted by penduluum at 12:54 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Christ, I love piercings and tattoos.
posted by box at 12:56 PM on May 31, 2011

This whole white hipster does swag hip hop shit was stale five years ago.

Never underestimate the white hipster appetite for the cheesiest elements of booty hip hop.

Yeah I get that this stuff is winking. That's the obnoxious part. Well, that and every other part.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 12:56 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Also this would be stale if she wasn't white as well.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 12:57 PM on May 31, 2011

and it's not even worth mentioning anymore.

Not worth mentioning vis-a-vis, say, the grand scheme of music consumption? If that's what you meant, then, I agree.

But I do in fact think that some of this is worth mentioning in the FPP.

Chalk me up as one of those people that think that the way to prevent every music* thread from turning into "your favorite band sux amirite" is for the poster to actually share some modicum of commentary about why he or she feels an artist or song is worthy of a post to the front page.

Because otherwise, we're condoning (nay, encouraging) an FPP format of [lyric couplet, link, link, link, twitter, tumblr, wikipedia]. And that format spawns "your favorite band sux amirite" and "is this something I would need a ___________ to ____________" and "lol old people suck inorite".

Which: yawn.

* or television, or film, or photography, or website, or book, ad infinitum.
posted by pineapple at 12:57 PM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]

"I met Andy Warhol at a really chic party"
Blow it out your hair-do, you work at Hardee's!

..was the first thing that sprang to mind, no doubt due to the Arby's reference, but after giving it a listen, it's pretty good, in a flavor-of-the-week kinda way. But what do I know from hip-hop? In fact, so little that the very fact that I like it counts against it.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 12:58 PM on May 31, 2011 [3 favorites]

Yeah I get that this stuff is winking

Yeah you don't get it because it isn't winking. This chick is clearly from the Yay, and I bet she gets real love in the hip hop community. Which of course is news, or at least, news to you.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:00 PM on May 31, 2011

And? That doesn't make her treading incredibly well -worn ground.
Anyone older than 25 and younger than 35 has heard a million tracks just like this at parties in the last decade.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 1:02 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh and btw, not everyone that hates this one track hates hip hop. Not everyone that doesn't like a thing is a "hatarrrr". Not everyone that doesn't jump on board with the tumblrcore flavor-of-the-second is a 40 year old rockist.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 1:05 PM on May 31, 2011

Really? You've heard a million gay women busting light-hearted gangsta rhymes about fashion in a Bay accent in the last decade? I've been going to the wrong parties!
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:05 PM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]

So you don't like hip hop. Fine, grandpa.

I like hip-hop, like these lyrics, and like Kreayshawn's general vibe but I still think this is an absolute shit mix.
posted by Navelgazer at 1:09 PM on May 31, 2011

More of her stuff.

Is it me or is she really really giving off a Missy Elliot vibe (especially in Bumpin Bumpin)?
posted by oddman at 1:10 PM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]

Not everyone that doesn't jump on board with the tumblrcore flavor-of-the-second is a 40 year old rockist.

Just kinda getting out ahead of that, huh?

Look, you can dislike this song and not dislike hip-hop. I don't think anybody's going to argue that. Personally I have no interest in defending this or any other song as being more or less definitive of hip-hop than any other (and by the way, why would that even be any of my business). But when you're specifically making appeals to people's races and ages when you're discussing who you think DOES or SHOULD like this song, you're probably going to get some demographically-inspired pushback that maybe isn't going to help the discussion move in a productive or interesting direction.
posted by penduluum at 1:10 PM on May 31, 2011

Oh wait, she's gay? OK that makes her good then. My bad.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 1:11 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

She's the first ever gay rapper then.
Except she's not.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 1:13 PM on May 31, 2011

Yeah I'm with Potomac, man. This is the real thing, and it's fresh. The idea that it's winking at bootie rap is some kind of projection. You don't get the appeal of this stuff so you think it's some kind of joke I guess? It's been really interesting to see people on metafilter just not get some of the new rap stuff that's coming out.
posted by chrchr at 1:14 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

May 31, 2011

Everichon
Metafilter, The Internet

Kreayshawn
Youtube, The Internet

Dear Ms. Shawn:

I write to inform you that your beats are sub-par, and that the "hipster" attire and piercings you affect are now outmoded.

I can hear you already, wondering who I am to volunteer such an brazen, unvarnished critique. I can assure you that:

* I have been listening to rap music at least since the eighties;
* I am a white man in his late thirties with a desk job;
* I have seen Boyz N The Hood and also Office Space;
* My wife and I found The Wire both illuminating and entertaining.

No need to thank me.

I remain yours,

&c.
posted by everichon at 1:14 PM on May 31, 2011 [22 favorites]

I dropped out of college in 1989 and I like this, too.
posted by smartyboots at 1:15 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Not interested. It is quite unsophisticated when compared with masterworks such as Bach's Étude 7 or Brand Nubian's Concerto in X Minor.
posted by Ad hominem at 1:23 PM on May 31, 2011 [3 favorites]

bongo_x: “I watched nearly 30 seconds of it, so like any music of the last decade I know the whole thing, and possibly her entire career. Is everyone just ignoring the fact that this is a really crappy Garageband track, and an awful mix of one at that? If you’re going to have a track that has absolutely nothing going for it, and is really only about the lyrics, then you should make sure that you can actually hear the lyrics. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE cheesy novelty songs, just make them halfway listenable.”

me: “So you don't like hip hop. Fine, grandpa.”

Potomac Avenue: “I dont think that's fair. I love hip hop and I hate cheesy beats, where's the contradiction? I hate purposefully dumb rapping too, but I can still recognize catchy shit when I hear it. This is better than Souja Boy Tell Em at least.”

The objection bongo_x made wasn't that the beats are cheesy or that the rapping is purposefully dumb. It was that you can't "actually hear the lyrics," which is blatantly untrue unless you think that rapping qua rapping is a form in which you can't "actually hear the lyrics." I mean, seriously, whatever else you say about this girl, you can tell what she's saying.

Senor Cardgage: “Oh and btw, not everyone that hates this one track hates hip hop. Not everyone that doesn't like a thing is a "hatarrrr". Not everyone that doesn't jump on board with the tumblrcore flavor-of-the-second is a 40 year old rockist.”

No. And I didn't even say I liked it. I just said that anybody who listens to this and says "my goodness, I can't even tell what these children are saying! How preposterous!" is rehearsing ancient dismissals that would be annoying if they weren't so played out. Seriously, if people think she can't rap, that's fine, they should say so; but "I can't actually hear the lyrics?" Yeesh.
posted by koeselitz at 1:24 PM on May 31, 2011

MetaFilter: Fucks you with a rake.
posted by Billiken at 1:28 PM on May 31, 2011

I liked this. I thought it was nice.
posted by feckless at 1:28 PM on May 31, 2011 [3 favorites]

Senor Cardgage: “Yeah I get that this stuff is winking. That's the obnoxious part. Well, that and every other part.”

I actually don't think it's winking; but that doesn't mean that this (a freestyle by a friend of hers) wasn't, uh, painful to listen to. Props for trying, and they're clearly into whatever they're doing, but yeah. Not much self-knowledge there, which doesn't bode well for it as hip hop.

Anyway, the linked tune is catchy, anyway, and she does have promise. All she'd have to do is rap about something that's real. It has a feminist edge that's attractive in that it avoids jingoism, and I like that.
posted by koeselitz at 1:32 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Anyway.
posted by koeselitz at 1:36 PM on May 31, 2011

I got the swag and it's pumpin' out my ovaries.

Hmmmm THAT'S why I missed my period this month.

Off to buy some swag.
posted by stormpooper at 1:36 PM on May 31, 2011

ok clicked on the video.
She looks like Amy Whinehouse except if you touch her, your hand won't fall off from some disease. With the sound off though, she is annoying as shit.
posted by stormpooper at 1:38 PM on May 31, 2011

There's an interesting discussion on Kreayshawn and White Girl Mob over on one of the Okayplayer forums (which is helmed by ?uestlove of the Roots)
posted by bayani at 1:39 PM on May 31, 2011

From okayplayer: her mother is gorgeous. She used to be in a punk band.

Guesses anyone? I'm thinking Blatz.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:42 PM on May 31, 2011

or the Muffs. Oh lord let it be the Muffs!
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:42 PM on May 31, 2011

According to her website, her mom is Elka Zolot of The Trashwomen.
posted by smartyboots at 1:45 PM on May 31, 2011

That is actually even better. Maybe Ripoff puts out her first album? Hope they start a band together called the Swags.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:53 PM on May 31, 2011

This is just boring. After the anti-consumerism shock wears off, you realize she just picked some basic lyrical/theme presets. Not since Dancing Queen has a chorus been the entire song.
posted by basicchannel at 1:58 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Not since Dancing Queen has a chorus been the entire song.

Oh, how I wish that were so.
posted by adamdschneider at 2:01 PM on May 31, 2011

That is actually even better. Maybe Ripoff puts out her first album? Hope they start a band together called the Swags

I'd like to think that Darin Raffaelli wrote "Gucci Gucci", because then it would be the best thing ever. (It's already pretty good though.)
posted by mullacc at 2:02 PM on May 31, 2011

Not since Dancing Queen has a chorus been the entire song.

Friday night and the lights are low
Looking out for the place to go
Where they play the right music, getting in the swing
You come in to look for a king
Anybody could be that guy
Night is young and the music’s high
With a bit of rock music, everything is fine
You’re in the mood for a dance
And when you get the chance...

You’re a teaser, you turn ’em on
Leave them burning and then you’re gone
Looking out for another, anyone will do
You’re in the mood for a dance
And when you get the chance...
posted by hippybear at 2:11 PM on May 31, 2011 [3 favorites]

basicchannel: “Not since Dancing Queen has a chorus been the entire song.”

Except maybe, uh, Basic Channel.
posted by koeselitz at 2:16 PM on May 31, 2011

I like how her posse includes awkward homegirl with the big glasses. She was my favorite part of the video.
posted by cazoo at 2:22 PM on May 31, 2011 [3 favorites]

This is pretty good!
posted by BillBishop at 2:26 PM on May 31, 2011

Interior: Alligator Hut/Croco Bell
Time: Day and Night

Characters:
Gucci Gucci Meng Ming
Lil K Run Tell Dat
+ the Gleek Coris

Sex: Hot
Race: No
Tag: #Swag

Act 1/Scene 1, Thee Byrdz
by: The Aristocrates, dig em?

Here we go nobody
is gonna
Stop.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:30 PM on May 31, 2011

Anything that is a counter reaction to the crass materialism in mainstream hip-hop is fine in my book.

By repeating brand names in a catchy hook? Brilliant! Check out this similar hard-core-def-jam takedown of the fast-food industry.
posted by Sparx at 2:40 PM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]

Sparx: that's no combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell.
posted by feckless at 2:49 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

But but they are making fun of the...aiyah.

I can't decide whether that comment is a worse listening-comprehension or reading-comprehension fail... I'm just going to follow the lead of those posters at OKP and SMH.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:49 PM on May 31, 2011

I was surprised that there really weren't comments calling her out on the use of "bitches" to refer to other women.

So On Frequently Calling Women “Bitches” and “Hoes”

Kreayshawn: “It’s just to give it a girls side. Girls can have bitches too. Girls can have hoes too, ask V-Nasty. It’s not just for guys to say. I feel like if a girl says it, it’s less harsh and more funny.

Nope, still a misogynist term either way. She's just reinforcing it in this context. Yes, there is an aspect of reclaiming some people utilize and support, but that's not what this is. Not by far.
posted by cmgonzalez at 2:52 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

cmgonzalez: “Yes, there is an aspect of reclaiming some people utilize and support, but that's not what this is. Not by far.”

It sort of seems like she is. I mean... I dunno. The sample the song is based on is "one big room, fulla bad bitches," a sample from this other song of hers in which it's pretty clear it's positive. (Also, that song is much more annoying.)
posted by koeselitz at 2:57 PM on May 31, 2011

Here's a neato blog talking about whether she is gay or not.

The video features a quick clip of two girls walking and holding hands while wearing beanies. So that’s pretty gay. On the other hand they both have designer purses, and this song is about not being into designers. I’m not sure what to make of this bit.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:06 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Amy? Amy Winehouse? Is that you?
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:09 PM on May 31, 2011

It sort of seems like she is. I mean... I dunno.

What part of "Basic bitches wear that shit so I don't even bother" comes across as reclaiming anything or being less than derogatory toward other women?
posted by cmgonzalez at 3:18 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

OK, well, I don't know if the White Girl Mob is reclaiming the word "bitch", but I still think it's pretty offensive to hear some of the language in this freestyle by V-Nasty.
posted by King Bee at 3:18 PM on May 31, 2011

It is an annoying track, but it would've been a little better without using sexist slurs to put other women down.
posted by cmgonzalez at 3:19 PM on May 31, 2011

What part of "Basic bitches wear that shit so I don't even bother" comes across as reclaiming anything or being less than derogatory toward other women?

Well, if she is using "bitches" to refer to all women, both positively and negatively (the way that black rappers will use the n-word to refer to both their friends and their enemies), then I would say that is an attempt to reclaim the word. The fact that she uses a modifier "basic bitches" and "bad bitches" makes this a likely case.

Now, we can have a dialogue as to whether "reclaiming words" is helpful or harmful (or helpful in some cases and harmful in others, which is my position), but that doesn't really change the fact that it's what she's trying to do
posted by muddgirl at 3:25 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Remember that "bad" is actually good.
posted by muddgirl at 3:25 PM on May 31, 2011

OK, well, I don't know if the White Girl Mob is reclaiming the word "bitch", but I still think it's pretty offensive to hear some of the language in this freestyle by V-Nasty.

"Gucci Gucci" is kind of my summer-transition jam, but this is just some childish, repulsive bullshit.
posted by padraigin at 3:40 PM on May 31, 2011

"Gucci Gucci" is kind of my summer-transition jam, but this is just some childish, repulsive bullshit.

Indeed. I guess my comment should have said "it's pretty offensive to hear all of the language in this freestyle by V-Nasty".
posted by King Bee at 3:52 PM on May 31, 2011

The fact that she uses a modifier "basic bitches" and "bad bitches" makes this a likely case.

You see, in my view, the fact she is using bitches to refer to women and terms like "basic bitches" is just an example of reinforcing the word's use in society and among a lot of performers in her musical genre. Promoting that kind of slur in the way she is doing doesn't come across as reclaiming the word to me. It comes off as internalized misogyny and possibly trying to be in line with what some other hip hop artists say. Using the jargon of the club you're in, so to speak.

She could've easily chosen a different term. The fact that she's using "basic bitches" (which is a term I do see flung around on some music boards so it isn't something unique to this performer) as her chosen derogatory term says a lot.
posted by cmgonzalez at 4:03 PM on May 31, 2011

I thought it was "basic bitches" as in they down with the GOTO statement. Huh!
posted by everichon at 4:15 PM on May 31, 2011 [6 favorites]

@koeselitz
I was going to apologize for insulting someone I don’t know (Ms. Kreayshawn), but I went back and listened to fully half the track this time and, no, it’s just not very good.

First, I did say the beats were unimaginative. And the mix could be better. The rapping is fine.
I don’t like a lot of Hip Hop these days (the last Hip Hop artist I got excited about was El-P), for this reason; They don’t try. I don’t even mean that as my opinion of the result, I’m saying they literally don’t try very hard. If you ever get a chance to talk with anyone who works with mainstream Hip Hop artists one of the first things they will tell you is how little many of them actually work on making a good track, and how little they care. At first it was a perverse pride thing; "I’m so hot I don’t need to try", "I’m a businessman, not a musician" etc. Now I think younger people are just getting used to hearing crap tracks.

The Rap is not everything, people wouldn’t still be listening to "It Takes Two", "99 Problems", "Get Ur Freak On" or the entire Beastie Boys catalog (since you brought it up) if they didn’t have great tracks behind them. Just throwing up some random Garageband loops because you think you’ve got a clever lyric and calling it a day isn’t enough to make me pay much attention.
posted by bongo_x at 5:51 PM on May 31, 2011

El-P? I heard he was putting out an instrumental album of sitars, pots and pans.
posted by box at 6:13 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Bongo, by saying "the last hip hop artist I got excited about was El-P" you're more or less saying "I don't like contemporary hip hop" and therefore it's totally unsurprising that you don't like this.
posted by chrchr at 6:18 PM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]

Also, I'm pretty sure you just said, "my kid could paint that."
posted by chrchr at 6:41 PM on May 31, 2011

This amuses me, what more could you ask for?
posted by captaincrouton at 6:48 PM on May 31, 2011

I think a key point is that she's involved in the scene and not doing the hipster thing- which is to co-opt it and build a parallel scene and not engage with the original folks doing it.

Did you even watch the video? How is she NOT a hipster?

Yeah...its stuff like this that gives female rappers a bad name.

Bring me some of that lady sovereign, or bring it back with some souljah. Keep the hollywood douches on the other side of 5, please.
posted by hal_c_on at 6:51 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

What does hipster even mean???? Seriously. Kreayshawn>Odd Future. I understand what she is talking about -- I mean she has a thesis: brands and the ability to buy them don't make you cool.
posted by Silo004 at 6:55 PM on May 31, 2011

Well, if she is using "bitches" to refer to all women, both positively and negatively (the way that black rappers will use the n-word to refer to both their friends and their enemies), then I would say that is an attempt to reclaim the word. The fact that she uses a modifier "basic bitches" and "bad bitches" makes this a likely case.

By that logic, TuPac was trying to reclaim the term when he was talking about "fake ass bitches".

But I think you're wrong here.
posted by hal_c_on at 7:11 PM on May 31, 2011

So what about that n-word, then? If you decide this is an exploitative use of the word "bitch," I'm pretty sure you've got to say the same about the rest of hip hop.
posted by koeselitz at 7:15 PM on May 31, 2011

Koes,

If you're talking to me...I didn't say it was exploitative. I'm just saying lets not gussy this shit up by saying its some sort of "reclaiming".

I don't really think that using a word is either exploitative or reclaiming. There is a huge middle ground.
posted by hal_c_on at 7:24 PM on May 31, 2011

If any of you are wondering what some of the words mean, I think you will find what you are looking for here.
posted by King Bee at 7:30 PM on May 31, 2011

Anyone older than 25 and younger than 35 has heard a million tracks just like this at parties in the last decade.

I've obviously been going to different parties than you.
posted by wildcrdj at 7:31 PM on May 31, 2011

It's not misogynist to call women bitches?
posted by Brocktoon at 7:31 PM on May 31, 2011

I honestly don't think she's trying to make any kind of statement with the use of the word "bitch". She's just of her time. This is exactly the way I hear girls and young women talk on the train. It's become a colloquial synonym for "girl". Sorry everyone. :(
posted by chrchr at 7:33 PM on May 31, 2011

I would like to point out for the record that at one time (the early 90s) I was part of the "take-back-the-word-bitch" movement, nor was that the only traditionally anti-woman word we painted on our bellies and arms before trotting off to the rock show.

I've ended up on a different corner of the argument now, but it's not hard for me to sympathize with young women trying to make sense of the way word-power works, at least to an extent. I don't think this does negates what I said about the V-Nasty clip posted above.
posted by padraigin at 7:42 PM on May 31, 2011

By that logic, TuPac was trying to reclaim the term when he was talking about "fake ass bitches".

Tupac was a woman? Did not know that.
posted by muddgirl at 7:49 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

bongo_x: "Just throwing up some random Garageband loops because you think you’ve got a clever lyric and calling it a day isn’t enough to make me pay much attention."

well you see this is bad because because of the tools used to make it (unless you got $50000 worth of rack mounted synths i aint even caring)
posted by boo_radley at 8:20 PM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]

Haha I don't even want to know what mefi old coot squad thinks of soula boy. Casio presets?! How dare he!!

I actually like the beat, dubsteppy bassline & tinny giddiness of it. Gauging by her other songs aping lil b (hos suck my dick etc) I think she is going a bit meta. What's fascinating about the early 20's crop of postLyrical rappers is their mastery of self promotion / image GMT. They play youtube like a fiddle

Have to admit even though I liked this one the first n times I don't think it will hold up. Got some clever lines but like 'real gs move in silence like lasagna' the punchlines feel unmoored from the track & eventually will start to grate

She's fascinating just not as a rapper. but I'm all for the next wave of absurdity role fluidity that rick Ross lil b das racist are all part of. It's about time the kids made music I didn't understand. (The auto tune thing falls into this category as well)
posted by jcruelty at 11:33 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

It's about time the kids made music I didn't understand.

As someone who grew up listening to all 90's hard rock and hip-hop I could get my hands on I am absolutely terrified as to what my kids are going to be listening to. They'll probably just go full circle all the way to Classical again...
posted by PenDevil at 1:11 AM on June 1, 2011

Did you even watch the video? How is she NOT a hipster?

Come down to Oakland and look at what the kids wear and how they talk.

People seem to get this idea that hipster wear is "invading" black fashion, but really, it's always been the other way around. When the whole kangols & vests + bright ass sneakers started for hipsters, that was long since stuff being worn in hiphop circles (see: Common, Raphael Saadiq, fuck, Slick Rick), when the superbright patterns, faux-80's gear, and huge ass shades came back, again, this is old news for hiphop.

Here's the difference though - the hipsters aren't going to perform at the hood-ass shows. They're not going to get interviews with local hiphop circles, they're going to go form their own thing, because the hipster thing is always about replacing what's there, not working with what's there.
posted by yeloson at 7:41 AM on June 1, 2011 [2 favorites]

I'm surprised to see so many people taking this as some sort of anti-materialism song. I've been seeing and hearing Kreayshawn for a while now, and I never once got the impression that there was any anti-consumer social critique going on there. My take on it was--and remains--that she is essentially saying that the brands she names are basic, and that she and her swagger have moved past them, likely in favor of lesser-known, more hip couture. Don't put so much thought into this, people...I'm sure she didn't.

For the record, I'm not a fan. She's an okay writer, but her voice is grating to me, and I only have so much time to listen to pure swagger, and she's the least entertaining person doing that right now.
posted by broadway bill at 10:50 AM on June 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

* I have been listening to rap music at least since the eighties;

'70s!

You've heard a million gay women busting light-hearted gangsta rhymes...

Angel Haze

What's a "Bay accent"?

Also, Da Brat
is back.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:59 AM on June 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

What's a "Bay accent"?

"San Francisco Bay Area" accent.

Yes, people from California have an accent. It surprised me too, the first time I visited Boston and they teased me for the funny way I talk.
posted by muddgirl at 11:33 AM on June 1, 2011

You're all taking this way too seriously.
posted by howfar at 11:33 AM on June 1, 2011

You're all taking this way too seriously.

Guilty. It’s no Die Antwoord, that’s for sure.

I thought the comment earlier said "eBay accent". I didn’t even bother trying to figure out what that could mean.
posted by bongo_x at 3:46 PM on June 1, 2011

Keep the hollywood douches on the other side of 5, please.

Classy. Or is it classist ...?
posted by mrgrimm at 7:51 AM on June 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

broadway bill: “I'm surprised to see so many people taking this as some sort of anti-materialism song. I've been seeing and hearing Kreayshawn for a while now, and I never once got the impression that there was any anti-consumer social critique going on there. My take on it was--and remains--that she is essentially saying that the brands she names are basic, and that she and her swagger have moved past them, likely in favor of lesser-known, more hip couture. Don't put so much thought into this, people...I'm sure she didn't.”

Well, the stuff about "they don't need Gucci, they don't need Louis" at the end would seem to belie this. But the fact that it's hard to tell suggests that it doesn't matter much.

“For the record, I'm not a fan. She's an okay writer, but her voice is grating to me, and I only have so much time to listen to pure swagger, and she's the least entertaining person doing that right now.”

Yeah, honestly, having looked around, there are much better women doing this.

For example, how is it I haven't heard of Snow Tha Product until I saw her mentioned in the comments to "Gucci Gucci"? There are single verses in this that have more swagger than the whole of Kreayshawn's output. Yeah, the beats suck, but damn she's good. And people like Kreayshawn are getting the millions of views? Crazy.
posted by koeselitz at 8:13 AM on June 2, 2011 [2 favorites]

Yeah, honestly, having looked around, there are much better women doing this.

For example, how is it I haven't heard of Snow Tha Product until I saw her mentioned in the comments to "Gucci Gucci"? There are single verses in this that have more swagger than the whole of Kreayshawn's output. Yeah, the beats suck, but damn she's good. And people like Kreayshawn are getting the millions of views? Crazy.

It shouldn't be a zero-sum game.
posted by muddgirl at 8:16 AM on June 2, 2011

Well, swagger is sort of a zero-sum game in its essence. But musically it's true – there's room for a whole world of rappers. So it should be.
posted by koeselitz at 8:20 AM on June 2, 2011

the fact that it's hard to tell suggests that it doesn't matter much

I disagree. That fact that it's "hard to tell" is the only really interesting thing here. I prefer the ambiguity.

Half of why she is HOT right now is b/c she is "adorable" and "furry hatted." The other half is b/c of her skills.

It shouldn't be a zero-sum game.

And yet it is. Even the universal YouTube attention span has its limits.
posted by mrgrimm at 8:40 AM on June 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

And yet it is.

Well, it certainly seems to be for female artists. There Can Be Only One lady rapper. There Can Be Only One charming lady nerd singer. And so on. It clearly doesn't have to be that way, because it doesn't seem to be that way for guys.
posted by muddgirl at 8:53 AM on June 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

It kind of is — not only is their the ongoing King of Hip Hop/GOAT fight, which is endemic to hip hop, when you start getting into the subdivisions of rap, it's a lot easier to succeed if you claim a niche. For a long time, Eminem was The White Rapper, and folks like El-P were shut out (except that El-P was The White Backpack Rapper, a position now held by Action Jackson, I think).

So while Nicki Minaj is The Female Rapper right now, that doesn't mean that there's not a The Female Nerd Rapper or The Female Oakland Rapper or The Female Dirty South Rapper (Queen of the South is currently an open question), or any number of other variations.

That "female" counts against them generally in terms of how much money they can command is more of a problem than the promulgation of niche identity in hip hop.
posted by klangklangston at 9:38 AM on June 2, 2011

muddgirl: “Well, it certainly seems to be for female artists. There Can Be Only One lady rapper. There Can Be Only One charming lady nerd singer. And so on. It clearly doesn't have to be that way, because it doesn't seem to be that way for guys.”

Yeah, that's a very good point, and one I really should have thought about.
posted by koeselitz at 10:44 AM on June 2, 2011

I guess my point in my "people like Kreayshawn are getting millions of views?" comment was this: it's only just this one lady rapper who gets views. And that's kind of annoying. There are hundreds of great ones out there. But that really shouldn't be couched in terms of "why X and not Y?" – the point is more "why not X and Y and Z?"
posted by koeselitz at 10:48 AM on June 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

Just to let you guys know:

Kreayshawn does not write most of her own stuff. A dude named Speak from, I think, the South Bay wrote Gucci Gucci. He is the floppy haired brown fellow shaking his head around in the Gucci Gucci video, and can be seen in various shots in the live performance videos.

Not that this should change any opinions on her, really, but I found it interesting in light of all of the attention she has gotten.
posted by broadway bill at 1:15 PM on June 6, 2011

Kreayshawn does not write most of her own stuff. A dude named Speak from, I think, the South Bay wrote Gucci Gucci.

Source, please.
posted by rokabiri at 3:46 PM on June 6, 2011

I don't know who writes Kreayshawn's rhymes.

But is it just me, or is that soandso-doesn't-write-their-own-rhymes thing something that people talk about more when it's a female rapper?

MC Lyte and Big Daddy Kane, Salt-n-Pepa and Hurby Luv Bug, Yo-Yo and Cube, Da Brat and Jermaine Dupri, Kim and Big, Fox and Jay/Nas, Eve and Jada, yada and yada yada (I'm old-school, so even those late-90s cats are a reach for me).
posted by box at 3:59 PM on June 6, 2011

Yeah, though parsing out how much it's fair to rag their ghost-bitin' is tough. Like, for Yo-Yo, Cube definitely wrote her rhymes (or at least some of them). He also wrote all of Dre's lines, most of E's lines, all the way down. Lil' Kim was always a weird Svengali sort of thing with Big, and likewise Kane wrote some of Lyte's stuff. At least with Lyte, I've also heard that she wrote lines for him.

It's hard too, because the baseline context of rap is hard to establish — Dre's the biggest example (dude writes next to none of what he spits, from what I've heard) to Kanye writing for Jay-Z and having shit written for him.

There's always a rumor swirling about any name MC, but yeah, it does seem like something women get hit with a lot.

I tend not to judge a song based on whether the MC writes their own rhymes or not, so it doesn't bother me much. But I know it's a cut on rappers, and that some people do care, so I can see how outsized focus on women could be troubling.
posted by klangklangston at 4:45 PM on June 6, 2011

rokabiri: No internet source or anything, just a friend who is pals with Kreayshawn and dude who wrote Gucci Gucci. I trust him, though, and have no reason at all to doubt it, especially as it was not said with any malice or in any attempt to detract from what she's done.

I'm not surprised to hear that she has writers, but that has nothing to do with her being a woman. Nowadays, lots and lots of rappers have a huge amount of people contributing to songs behind-the-scenes, whether it's ghostwriters, ghostproducers, or whatever else. I think, FWIW, that the reason female rappers get so much heat for using ghostwriters is because it was so common in the 80s and 90s for male rappers and producers to have a female "protege" that they marketed. A lot of those artists did not write their own stuff, and so people began to assume that a bigger group of females don't write. Now, though, it seems to be much more acceptable to use writers. Which is fine by me. If you do write, cool, I'll add that to the list of your abilities as a musician. If you don't, it's really of little concern to me.
posted by broadway bill at 1:48 PM on June 7, 2011 [2 favorites]

ummm... no. not a fan. here's why: http://clutchmagonline.com/2011/06/kreayshawn-another-case-of-appropriating-black-culture/
posted by lunachic at 4:42 PM on June 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

ummm... no. not a fan. here's why: http://clutchmagonline.com/2011/06/kreayshawn-another-case-of-appropriating-black-culture/

"Beside her lack of creativity, the fact that she’s garbage on the mic, the inauthenticity of her persona is unnerving."

I can almost see the chip on the shoulder from here.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:41 PM on June 9, 2011

i would ask you what does that even mean, but frankly i don't really care. i joined in the conversation to provide another view and perspective not yet mentioned. a valid perspective that many people in my community do actually have of this new rap sensation named "kreayshawn" but responses like yours reaffirms the fact that views like mine, aren't welcome here. oh the irony.
posted by lunachic at 9:37 PM on June 9, 2011

Hey, frankly I kinda agree with the "authenticity" argument, lunachic. I mean, I don't think it's a black/white thing even – at least not in a simple way. As a white person whose emotional and spiritual core is pretty much dedicated to jazz, I've always felt as though what this article calls "black culture" is not so simply "stuff that only black people can do" but rather a real culture rooted in the African-American experience that people of all colors can share and take part in. That's its power.

But it takes respect for an outsider to take part in that culture. It takes an acceptance that we are not initially members of it. And while some people might not know how to make sense of this in terms of hip hop, I think it applies – it requires some reverence and dedication to dive into this culture. And Kreayshawn... does not have that. There have been white people who did hip hop well before, but all of them, every single one, threw time and dedication and heart into it. That's what it takes. Kreayshawn sort of wears hip hop like it's a brand of jeans or something; and it's clear from her clubbish other music that rapping is not a life pursuit in any sense to her, nor is the legacy of it, nor is the culture of it. That's sort of what bugs me about her in the end.

I have some problems with a simplistic view of "authenticity." Racist culture has always driven us to flatten authenticity, to dumb it down. In the end, though, having heart and being real are direct and visceral things. And, yeah, it's hard to see those things in Kreayshawn. Particularly when she's only got one song with much of a hook to it.

But it is interesting that the rhymes were written by a black man for a white woman to sing popularly, isn't it? That's the sort of thing that was happening a hundred years ago. There is some irony for you.
posted by koeselitz at 10:07 PM on June 9, 2011

responses like yours reaffirms the fact that views like mine, aren't welcome here

They are certainly welcome. They might be welcomed with (admittedly snarky) criticism, however.

Please don't conflate my snarkiness with my appreciation for your contribution. I am glad you added the opinion, and I responded with my opinion. That's how it goes.

See, koeselitz agrees with you. :)

I can't fathom how you two can see inside Kreayshawn's mind and know whether or not she "respects" (the all-monolithic) black culture.

it's clear from her clubbish other music that rapping is not a life pursuit in any sense to her, nor is the legacy of it, nor is the culture of it.

Just can't fathom it. I don't really like her either, but I just can't understand where the "disrespect" is coming from. (I suppose I also don't care two whits for "authenticity," whatever it means.)

it's clear from her clubbish other music that rapping is not a life pursuit in any sense to her, nor is the legacy of it, nor is the culture of it.

Also, why does it have to be a life pursuit? She's obviously into video direction as well. Why can't a woman be a renaissance man?

Particularly when she's only got one song with much of a hook to it.

What? Oh, I suppose you claim she only has one song that has a decent hook. (Do rap songs really need "hooks"? What then of freestyle? That seems more along her style (IANAE) ...)

I just found "Kittys x Choppas" on Mediafire. I'll let you know if I find any good hooks. ;)

In the words of YouTube commenter MushyApplesInMyPants: "Who the fuck are you to say what a race is supposed to act like?"
posted by mrgrimm at 10:37 AM on June 10, 2011

Gotta love when MeFi does rap music. I <3 Kreayshawn. If you don't get it, it's probably not for you.
posted by dead_ at 12:28 PM on June 29, 2011

Probably?
posted by adamdschneider at 1:55 PM on June 29, 2011

fwiw, i finally gave Kittys x Choppas a fair few listens, and no, it's not for me. no good hooks. :\
posted by mrgrimm at 3:34 PM on June 29, 2011

« Older In a shift from its earlier position, the World He... | Medicine in the Americas is a ... Newer »

This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments

Kreayshawn May 31, 2011 11:44 AM Subscribe

Kreayshawn
May 31, 2011 11:44 AM Subscribe