The tragedy of 2 Chainz

Tauheed Epps is an intelligent individual. Epps was an honor roll student in high school and received an athletic scholarship to play basketball at Alabama State University in 1996. In interviews, he seems proud of finishing high school, an accomplishment that many others in his career field cannot claim. His answers to interview questions are thoughtful and measured. In short, he seems to know what he’s talking about, which is more than can be said for many other public celebrities.

But Epps, otherwise known as the rapper 2 Chainz, consistently produces some of the most idiotic verses the mainstream music industry has ever seen. The very first line of one of his most recent hits, “Birthday Song”,” may well go on to live in infamy, since 2 Chainz uses it to explain, “She got a big booty, so I call her big booty.”

When I first heard the song, I rewound the track in order to ensure that I heard 2 Chainz correctly. The fact that he keeps his salutations simple and to the point is admirable, but the reality that this lyric made its way into an actual rap song that has been heard by millions of people around the world is not. Although my friends and I got several good laughs out of the song, it made me wonder how and why 2 Chainz elected to rap in a manner more befitting a small child (albeit one with knowledge of buttock vernacular) than a grown adult.

I don’t mean to pick on Tauheed unnecessarily. In most cases, music that is lacking in lyrical quality, like his music, makes up for it with catchy beats and deep bass lines. These elements do wonders for what might otherwise be lame atmospheres at parties or other social events. The need for distinctive beats is also why songs like “In Da Club” by 50 Cent will never completely fade from the public consciousness (and if you’ve never heard that song, YouTube it and thank me later).

Of course, 2 Chainz is only one in a long string of successful artists who make bad popular music. One only need look up people like Vanilla Ice and Snow to confirm this. (If either or both of those names draw a blank, feel free to head back to YouTube, if only for the cultural experience.)

The real problem with music like “Birthday Song” is that our society today has pushed it to the forefront of the entertainment scene, to the point where it’s even considered to be “good.” It’s gotten to the point where I want to commit acts of violence because of certain songs. Some songs are insanely popular, yet “awful” doesn’t even begin to describe them. Anyone who has listened to “How to Love” by Lil’ Wayne will know what I’m talking about.

Although I’m no music critic, I’ve listened to enough songs over the years to know when I hear a bad one. Good songs across all genres are those that convey real meaning to those who listen. The artists who make good music actually say something—they don’t just fill your head with useless chatter. There are a finite number of ways to describe hooking up with women or making money, and rappers like Tyga and 2 Chainz have explored all of them repeatedly (though “women” and “money” are often replaced by other choice words in their songs, lest they lose credibility among their other hopelessly horrible rap associates). There’s a difference between indulging in artists like 2 Chainz in a setting where music quality is secondary and putting their music on a level that they don’t deserve and almost certainly never will.

The tragedy of 2 Chainz is not really a tragedy at all—at least not in the sense that we’re used to seeing in newspaper headlines or on CNN. Tauheed Epps didn’t die young, he didn’t squander what wealth he had and he didn’t push hard for a goal only to never achieve it. Epps is an intelligent individual who has been putting out decidedly unintelligent music for several years, for which he has been handsomely rewarded and praised. He is one of several so-called artists who produce bad music that dominates the radio waves and iTunes charts, which very often overshadows the efforts of countless others who do their best to make music have meaning by actually saying something. Tauheed is too smart to produce music this bad, but the reality is that bad music sells big and it sells often. “Birthday Song” is an incredibly dumb song written by a man who understands the benefits of producing dumb songs. The tragedy is that our society would rather take the dumb song than look for something better.