One song that comes straight to mind for myself when I think of a guilty pleasure song is Fork by 2 Chainz. I actually love this song and will always get down and sing along when it gets thrown on. One of my roommates two years ago played this song just about everyday and at first I just didn’t get it at all. It wasn’t until I was able to find the humor in his lines that I could appreciate his music. The reason this is such a guilty pleasure for me is that I usually cannot stand any sort of trap rap. In most cases there is not much creativity in the music. Rappers reproduce the same songs over and over again constantly talking about their trap game being so hard and booming. Most popular rap today follows this trend to “bring the hood” to the music because to most kids today that buy or download their music, it is the only way for them to experience that lifestyle and environment. People are attracted to the violence and destruction caused by the ganster life just as they attracted to the news showing death and chaos across the globe. These are the rules that are broken in this song.
What really gets me is 2 Chainz’s wordplay. One of the most obvious lines is when he gives thanks to his wrist and stove for helping him make the money. “My wrist deserves a shout out, I’m like what up wrist! My stove deserve a shout out, I’m like what up stove!” 2 Chainz is a very clever guy despite what image he may put out in his music. His lyrics are so ridiculous they become a commentary on the situation he is portraying. The beat drops and 2 Chainz hits the verse with a flow like a river running through the hood with every line holding a punch. He has truly learned how to milk the game for all it’s worth and exploits this trend of trap rap into funny yet danceable music.
Writing on Music, Fall 2015 