I was watching Trina’s new video “I got a thang for you” featuring Keisha Cole and I couldn’t help but see the irony in her attempt to now be seen as softer and more mainstream than before. We all know how dirty this girl is, and back when hip-hop was hot she didn’t hide the fact that she was ghetto and ho, she actually seemed quite proud of it.
But we insiders know the truth to Hip-Hop’s about face attitude towards pop that we are seeing more and more of everyday. Hip-Hop is slowly becoming more pop more than ever before. The nasty, jail bragging, female bashing , ignorance that has become standard in most hip-hop music is slowly fading out, and replaced by a new glitzy, popish, mainstream sound that appeals to the masses and fits in somewhere between Miley Cyrus and Justin Timberlake. Everyone and there grandmamma has to collaborate now more than ever just to sell records. No one is benefiting from this more than Justin since he seems to be on everyone’s album and video. I see major JT overkill happening very soon.
With former real rappers like Flavor Flav , Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepper, Yo- Yo and a plethora of former rap heavyweights selling their souls to MTV and VHI reality shows for a quick buck, the line between hip-hop and pop is getting closer each year. I think I began to figure this out when I saw Ice Cube go from N.W.A, to official Disney bottom when he started starring in the “Are we there yet?” franchise.
The new way to make money is especially for pop and hip-hop to get a movie role (that should actually go to an actor who needs the work) or , sellout completely and go pop. Like 50 cent, I knew he had zero credibility when I saw him and Paris Hilton partying together all the time. He is so Hollywood now it’s embarrassing. Now he wants to compete with MySpace and start a new social booking website, that’s actually just smart business so at least he has that for him.
Now we’ve got Trina trying to be a crossover “artist” since the nasty club freak routine is no longer selling. I see nothing wrong with a zebra who’s eager to change her stripes, anything that’s positive is a good thing. I give her props for giving it a try but I am not convinced. I do like the song, it’s simple, and easy to listen to but nothing worth making me spend any money. In the video she’s wearing her signature street walking wig and tons of tacky accessories. She’s trying to appear docile and soft and is even wearing a dress that isn’t skin tight or too small to cover her booty like usual. Everything from the tacky cheap looking wig, to her ill chosen red lipstick ,and that dress that’s needs more “filling” in the chest area , makes Keisha Cole look like Lady Diana standing next to her. Keisha on the other hand looks sexy, well dressed, and much more feminine that Trina. I’m sure the song is gonna be a hit and I would love to see if the public buys Trina’s new attitude.
Enjoy the video and leave comments
