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Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates - Ta-Nehisi Coates is a senior editor for The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues for TheAtlantic.com and the magazine. He is the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle. More

Born in 1975, the product of two beautiful parents. Raised in West Baltimore—not quite The Wire, but sometimes ill all the same. Studied at the Mecca for some years in the mid-’90s. Emerged with a purpose, if not a degree. Slowly migrated up the East Coast with a baby and my beloved, until I reached the shores of Harlem. Wrote some stuff along the way.

What Gangsta Rap Has To Say To The Gentlemen

By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Jan 13 2010, 3:54 PM ET Comment

MOP was basically made for moments like this. The best part of a joint like "Ante-Up" is that normal rappers talk about how their going to shoot you, or some such. MOP takes it a step further--Kidnap that fool. Not buck that fool, kidnap that fool.

After a rough day at work, after getting a ticket you didn't deserve, and yeah, after hearing Pat Robertson slander whole nations, there's really nothing left to do but pour yourself some Henny and play the most violently egregious rap song you can find.

Commenter Cliff Moore got at it while invoking Tupac's infamous anti-Biggie rant in the Pat Robertson thread:

And if you down with Bad Boy nigga, fuck you too!
Maybe had I played "Drop A Gem On Em" I wouldn't have went so hard. Too late. Anyway my personal favorite anthem of exorcism is Biggie's "Long Kiss Goodnight."

Buy my CD twice. They see me in the streets and be like,"Yo he nice."
But that's on the low, though.
Be the cats with no dough, try to play me at my show,
I pull out fo-fos, and go up in they clothes...
Oh man just saying it makes you feel better. All the ignorant things, you know you'd never do, and for a moment you're free to act them out. ("Blood rushing, concussions, ain't nothing\Catch cases come out fronting, smoking something...") Years ago I had the honor of writing for the legendary music critic/editor Bob Christgau. "It's your id," he said of this kind of hip-hop. And that's it. It's your uncontrollable, unvarnished, unleashed id.

With all the Pat Robertsons in the world, gotta leave room for the id....



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