Hip Hop Royalty. There are days when De La are my favourite band and it’s songs like this that earn them that title. A message delivered with a funky flow, great one-liners and classic hip hop sound. This song is off the album First Serve, a concept album by the two MC’s, Posdnuos and Dave, working with two DJ’s (no Maseo!). It follows the story of two kids who want to be rappers. I’m sure it’s partly biographical but they make up characters etc and this song is the first song after the Intro (great song too!). They are just kids with a dream:
How am I get to be the King of New York
When the queen in the crib be killing my nights
And the horse I rode in on
He is aiming high with his dream. He wants to be a King, not just a rapper. Aiming high is a key to success, it gives extra motivation to keep working at your goal, especially when things aren’t going as planned. The queen is his Mum and crib means house. It would feel extra hard to go after a dream if your Mum wasn’t supporting you. The nights are when you have the opportunity to do your own thing after school and his “horse”, his vehicle to success, is to be a rapper.
She swear the Fresh Prince gonna fail
Parents just don’t understand
I’m just trying to get my kid on
A Fresh Prince is a new person on the scene who has ambition to become the king, or the best, one day. It is while you are still young that it is easiest to accept that it will take time, that others who have been doing whatever it is your passion is are better than you right now.
Posing in the mirror
Design a stone chiselling the DMC, a pedigree M
A better me than them
Visualisation! He is looking into the mirror and imagining himself as a successful rapper. DMC could be reference to another rapper called DMC, a record label or the acronym Devastating Mic Control. Pedigree means pure bred, and therefore the best, and the M is either Man or Me! Some of the most famous sculptures are ancient ones chiselled from stone like Michael Angelo’s David or the Discus Thrower. The version of himself he sees is better than he is now and also better than other rappers.
Shit, I’m chasing this bus
Once we get on peak (Yeah) it’s all about us
They talk about going “from the back of the bus to owning a house on a hill” in another song. If you don’t own a car you have to take the bus. Here he isn’t on the bus yet, he’s still chasing after it. But once he reaches his goal, climbs to the peak of his personal mountain, things will be different.
(Yeah, but you can be a lawyer) Put them down by law!
(Or a doctor, baby) Sorry ma’, I’m a microphone fiend
Addicted of the concept of rolling with a team
He wants to be a rapper but his Mum is trying to tell him to get a good job like a lawyer or a doctor. It may be that you never have a passion or a dream outside of the paths laid out by society. In this case, go to school, choose subjects and courses you like and follow the paths laid out. All this can lead to a fulfilling life. But if there is something you are passionate about, be ready for this kind of advice to come from lots of people.
And rolling up sleeves in some boss’ office
That orbits in the mind of another man
This is essentially what working for someone else is. Getting stuff done that helps someone else achieve their dreams. But, again, this doesn’t mean it’s a negative thing. Working for someone else can be challenging and satisfying. But this isn’t what “Pop” wants!
Switch that undergrad over to this other plan
When you’re at Uni it’s possible to change courses after you start. So instead of being a lawyer or doctor he has decided to put all that time and effort into being a rapper.
But she snap back at me like a rubber band
More concern, ‘cause she swim in the gutter (come on Ma!)
Nice metaphor! He thinks that his Mum doesn’t support his plans because of where she is at in her own life.
I just wanna cop her a crib and pops (Dad), well I don’t know him
His position on the bill is a veto
“Pop” is dreaming about buying his Mum a house. His Dad (pop) isn’t a part of the story because he isn’t in his life.
All I ask is, I’ll be treated as an equal
Man, this lack of support seems illegal
Come on Mum…
I think he’s right. It can be hard as a parent to know when to support and encourage and when to step in with advice! We all want to be treated as equals but sometimes we have to accept that we need to earn that right!
Through the doubt and the stress
My eyes are glued to it
If it all goes wrong,
I won’t push it aside, I’ll push it along
Going after any big goal takes time and during that time there will be moments of doubt and moments of stress. They accept this and decide to push the doubt and stress aside and keep pushing their dreams forward. Success also takes a level of focus on what needs doing to achieve your goal.
And through stress and the doubt
My eyes are so glued to it
Like the words in the song
We just push it aside, push it along
I tried finding another song with lyrics similar to “push it aside, push it along” but only came up with this one!
Yep. Attention from the parent
They just want the best (They want your ass up in a nest) without falling
We all want attention from our parents and all parents want the best for their kids. But trying to keep your kids at home and protect them from any falls that life gives your kids is not good parenting. It is the falls, falling short of your own expectations, that teach you where you are and what needs to change or improve to get to where you want to be.
Explainin’ to them it’s my calling
It’s like wearing a pack that has the parachute that might not open
To his parents the idea of putting in all that time into something so unlikely to succeed is like jumping out of a plane with a parachute on that you know won’t open: it won’t end well! But he refers to his dream as his calling. A calling is something you feel is beyond just a simple wish but something that comes from beyond yourself. People often talk about being called by God to join the church or take certain actions.
And anyway, this shouldn’t even be [descended]
In their mind, upward, with your wings extended
Flight time is the best way,
But I’m listening to what my heart in my chest say
A calling is beyond just reason, it comes from your heart more than your brain! He’s about to take flight under his own power, to launch himself into this calling.
I want the rap game, my mama wanna pray on it
Mum isn’t offering support but is praying. Maybe she’s praying that her son’s dreams come true or maybe that her son comes to his senses!
Pop’s like, “Don’t even spend another day on it.”
He keeps putting me down
Say I’m riding with my hobby in the front seat
Responsibilities in the trunk and
I really need to just switch it around
What a great metaphor! People can get their priorities wrong, but when we are chasing a dream it can be necessary to put effort into going down unpaved roads. Jesus said the road to hell is wide highway and the road to heaven is difficult to travel on. I believe that a lot of his teachings apply to “heaven on earth”, or a good life. The choices we make to live/follow dreams and goals can take us away from the every day road map of an easy and uninteresting life.
Unplug the dream, push it along
With talent in these streets as a pusher of song
Put smiles on the pretty girls’ face
And strength in a dudes embrace, when he’s giving me doubt
A “pusher” is slang for a drug dealer but he knows that good music with a positive message can make people feel better. But still, his Dad is only putting doubt in his mind.
You can see it in their eyes that this nigga can rap
But my father said, I need a real blue collar
Can’t support a family with a few dollars
He can tell from other people’s reactions that his raps are good but his Dad is only looking at the money. He sees the time and effort Jay is putting into rapping and but not getting paid and that this time and effort would be better used in a normal job.
But the damage is done, your son’s a fiend
For microphone and break beats and drum machines
With a large crowd yelling out, “Pop and Dean.”
It’s the swerve from the First Serve making them lean (You know it!)
It was the beginning of scratching, looping, and drum machines. Computers hadn’t taken over yet and De La was at the start of using these new technologies to make a new sound! They called the album First Serve and use a few tennis metaphors through it. I like this one, the image of a crowd moving to the sounds from the stage and of a tennis player leaning to one side to receive a serve. Nice!
Through the stress and all the doubt
My eyes stayed glued to it
Like the words in the song
Just push it aside, push it along
Through the doubt and stress
My eyes are glued
And if it all goes wrong
We just push it aside, push it along
They’re like, mo’ pain, problems, mo’ stress
I’m like, mo’ lanes, albums, mo’ bless
They’re like, not cheering it, not even hearing it
What I’m talk about, I’m trying to be a pioneer in it
Sometimes we can get caught up in all the negatives. There is a difficult balance between being optimistic and realistic. In fact, it is possible, even necessary, to be both. It is when we forget the good stuff that we get stuck on the hard stuff. Everything has good and bad in it. We have to decide whether the necessary bad stuff is worth it to achieve the good thing we are aiming for. Oh, and great rhymes!
They’re like, this not the real job to fall on
I’m like, it’s what my soul seems to call on
I wanna hear them say, “Jay we support you.”
But still in all I gotta do what I gotta do
In this story, one of the hardships that “Jay” has to overcome is the lack of support from his family. He still decides to “do what he has to do” in response to the calling from his soul.
Yeah, and I’ma ride with him, good and bad times
Let this doggy-doggy step right out and play the chef
See this thing is like good hot love
Acquainted to the concept of pushing, no shove
At the beginning of his journey he knows there will be good and bad times and he accepts this. The phrase “doggy-doggy” reflects being a small player in the game but he is willing to step out. All acts of courage begin with stepping out into an uncomfortable place.
Debated in the halls, I used to slam doors shut
Miss parental advisory was keeping her eyes on me
But this little piggy’s trying to tour the world
With the blessings of his number one girl, I can do this Mom!
He still wants the support of Mum, even after arguments and feeling watched with criticism.
Through the doubt and the stress
My eyes stay glued
And if it all goes wrong,
I’m pushin’ aside, pushin’ along
And through the stress and all the doubt
And Yo, my eyes are so glued to it
And like the words in the song
We just push it aside, and push it along
(Ok, Ok. You sound focussed babe – I am Ma – Ima let you find your way. You gonna be a big rap star. Make Mamma proud.)
