Schema Magazine

No One Wants Your Fish Fillet, Kanye | Mos Def's Parody of \"N**gas in Paris\"

Disclaimer: This article is not addressing the \"N\" word.\n\nJay-Z and Kanye West partnered up for their latest album \"Watch the Throne\" which features the ever so popular \"N**gas in Paris\". Jay-Z and Kanye are essentially rapping about their fame and fortune and the b**ches that come with it. Yes, Jay-Z refers to Beyonce as his \"hot bitch back home\". The song also features \"Gucci\", \"bathroom stalls\" and Kanye \"owning b**ches\".\n\nThe song was featured on many top lists and was, I'm sure, the jam in night clubs.\n\nMos Def is known for his expressive songs that highlight his political and social justice views. He took this as the perfect opportunity to respond to J&K with a song entitled \"N**gas in Poorest\", where he spits rhymes about the disenfranchised black communities and the hardships they face as they predominantly live in the \"hood\" and are subjected to discrimination and unpromising futures. He references gang and thug life where most of the youth are attracted to them as a light of hope and a sense of protection and belonging because of the systemic racism and socio-political structures that are manifested within these communities. Mos Def describes this sense of hopelessness with:\n\n\"There's birds of prey, no escape, open-air prison, no pursuit\nBall so hard, who getting faded? Little Maurice in the sixth grade\nNo mama, no father, role model the dope game...\"\n\nKanye raps about fish fillet.\n\n\n\nI get the whole idea of \"let's just chill. I just want to listen to a song and be able to bust a move\". But, I can't help but feel disappointed that Jay and Kanye have such a large fan base, and that they could take that opportunity to write meaningful songs—music that speaks to real life issues and struggles where many can relate to. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that every song should be a tear-jerker. They most definitely could rap about how fortunate they are, but there's a difference between Jay rapping:\n\n\"I'm so grateful that I made all this money\nB, I can only give thanks, honey\"—(copyright: Shima)\n\nAnd\n\n\"What's 50 grand to a muthaf**ka like me.\"\n\nThe only \"sh*t\" around here are those lyrics and it's \"cray\" it still qualifies as music.\n\nWith lyrics aside, if I attended their most recent concert in December 2011, I would not have been impressed with their stunt of singing the same song 10 times. I didn't pay that much money to hear a song on replay. Or maybe Jay-Z and Kanye misunderstood the concept of \"encore\"? \n\nI can't end it better than Mos Def, so to use his words, \"don't get caught up in no throne\".