Monday, June 9, 2008

Why You Comin Home at Five in the Morn?



The great thinkers of history achieved their notoriety through their willingness to question everything that surrounded them, causing them to place forward questions that, while controversial at the time, forever changed human perception. Some examples of this would be the Copernican formulation of heliocentric cosmology and Isaac Newton's laws of motion. These were questions that turned the world on its ear, forcing us to question the very nature of life and existence.

But great minds are not consigned to history alone, and even today some iconoclasts seek to nurture a reinterpretation of human value and natural law. One such modern intellectualist is the divine songwriter and lyricist "Riskay" who has asked of the world, "Can I smell your dick?".

Much like Shakespeare before her, Riskay centers her pieces on affairs of the heart, showing an innate understanding and appreciation of the human condition. Her ability to break down our fears resonates with her audience, allowing us to appreciate the depth of concern she has about the possibility of her betrothed having lusty interludes with another female.

Not content to accept the false statements of a partner trapped in a lie, she demands arbitration of a different type, inviting her lover to present his genitals for olfactory inspection, allowing her to determine conclusively if malfeasance is afoot.

"Why you comin home 5 in the mornnn
Somethins goin on, can I smell yo dick
Don't play me like a fool, cause that ain't cool
So wat u need to do is lemme smell yo dick"

Whereas Shakespeare favored iambic pentameter when penning his creations, Riskay does not concern herself with standard convention, ascribing to neither a set rhythmic device or rhyming scheme. Her comprehension of the fears that drive us, coupled with her mastery of the spoken word allow for a song that's meaning transcends the boundaries of language, her words connecting with her audience at an almost primal level. To paraphrase Antonio Salieri, after viewing her lyrics, "I was staring through those meticulous keystrokes at an absolute beauty".

But even though she persists with her osmatic demands, she is still willing to hear out the pleadings of her mate, showing a willingness to assimilate all aspects of a situation before determining her final stance on the matter.

"I might break bread, with one or two strippaz
But that don't mean u gotta pull ma zippa
Thinking I be down the whole town
Even though I got enough dick to go around"

And though her mate may make a good case against Riskay's directions, ultimately she persists in her request, demanding that she be allowed to smell his nether regions.

Mere words cannot put into perspective the meticulous attention to detail that Riskay has imparted into her lyrics, nor can they ever express the depth and breadth of feeling that she conveys. If you haven't had the opportunity to discover Riskay's body of work, I implore you to seek her out.

Today we speak of Homer, Plato, and Shakespeare. There is no doubt that in days to come we will look back at Riskay as one of the preimminent thinkers of the 21st century.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The song is fairly new but the dilemma is most certainly not. Clearly, the victim, presumably Riskay, is in a great deal of pain. That she will find the evidence she is seeking via what you eloquently refer to as “olfactory inspection” is a foregone conclusion. That she is able to express her anger artistically is noble. She is fully aware of the goings-on during her lover’s nocturnal dalliances.

Though you may be tempted to analyze “Let Me Smell Yo Dick” by way of semiotics or even from a Marxist perspective, the song can undoubtedly be most effectively deconstructed by employing comparative literature.

Consider, for example, Oscar Wilde’s poem ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol'.

"Yet each man kills the thing he loves . . ."

And this line from LMSYD:

‘I’m dead sleep and you trickin’
In the club wit dirty foot bitches’

The language is different, but the message is the same.

The comparisons don’t end there. Consider the American folk song “Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” initially popularized by blues musician Lead Belly.

‘My girl, my girl, don’t lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don’t ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through’

And its LMSYD mirror:

‘Dat`s alright dat`s okay gon head believe what yo homegurl say a nigga like me drink a lot of liquor meet a lot of bitchs take a lot of pictures’

Riskay’s heartache is palpable.


Some other olfactory themed compositions or works of note:

Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
Smell the Glove – (LP) Spinal Tap
Smell My Beard – Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention

E said...

That is +10 internets to you. It's not even worth my time to try and come up with a reply to that, as I'm half tempted to make a post on Bonez of your response. It is THAT good. Thank you for the tear-filled belly laugh.