People // Matthew Siegel // Blog

Gordon brought these hysterical analytical interpretations of rap lyrics to my attention today...some very, very funny pokes at some of the most famous (and/or funny and cheesy) rap lines* of all time. Evidently you can also buy them on t-shirts too! A few of my favorites are below.

*Because a lot of the songs depicted graphically after the jump include misogynistic and sometimes vulgar lyrics, I feel compelled to mention a wonderful talk that Moby gave at SXSW this year in Austin. Moby is such a wonderful human being and so it was a great interview all around, but I was particularly moved by his thoughtful way of looking at offensive lyrics. Moby is by no means a fan of censorship and said he is indeed a member of the ACLU, but he also said that he takes great personal offense to lyrics that demean women or any other persecuted group. Moby therefore makes a personal choice not to listen to such lyrics. It was a meaningful discussion to me because hip hop and rap songs with offensive lyrics have been ingrained in my memory and childhood...they were a big part of the music I grew up with...and so now I feel bad even writing this post because it indirectly calls the wrong kind of attention to these lyrics. So I wanted to point out that I don't take the lyrics lightly (even if some of these depictions are positively hysterical), and everyone should check out Moby's talk for some good perspective on things.