�I looooooooooooooooove Fisher Price!� � �LOL :),� Trey Songz
What do R.Kelly, Fisher Price, and Trey Songz have in common? I�ll wait.
I don�t have a problem with Songz or Kelly. I do, however, have a distaste for many of Trey Songz�s tracks. At the top of my list? The smash hit �LOL :).� While Songz and his collaborators Gucci Mane and Souljah Boy Tellem are legally grown men, this song screams Kiddie Corner. The introduction of the song, �I looooooooooooove Fisher Price� is voiced by Mr. Hubert, the fictional self-professed pedophile on the comedy Family Guy. The track itself sounds like the remix of the Reading Rainbow theme song or the song of the day on Sesame Street. While the line and song (assumingly) do not intentionally support the sexual exploitation of children, the correlation between the track (both lyrically and instrumentally) and childlike behavior are disturbing. These associations point to the categorization of Songz as a manchild, and, like I said in my previous post, he ain�t in the promised land.
Songz conceptualizes his masculinity through pubescent gestures and expectations. While it is his prerogative to express himself in whatever way he pleases, I can�t help but think about how he impacts our understanding of black masculinity in America. He perpetuates and enables the wayward assumptions of black men as sex-crazed, one dimensional boys. Think Big John from The Green Mile on the hunt for booty. Songz professes adult desires through a minimalized, abbreviated discourse. In other words, the sexual trysts and imagery presented here are childlike � short words, repetitive lyrics, and imagery. And this is not restricted to �LOL :).� �Say Ahh� fits the bill, minus the Sesame Street instrumentals. To add another layer to this portrayal of boy-like fantasies, the gestures Songz presents are considered non-threatening. For real, how gangsta is a smiley face? Does ":)" put fear into your heart? Ed Wuncler was onto something.
Of course, one has to consider audience. This song is huge with the tween to young adult demographic. We use Twitter, crackberries, and other technology repeatedly referenced in the song. AND, one has to consider how lyrical content in a song directed towards this market sets the mark for acceptable behavior by both girls and boys alike. Boys, profess your manhood through sex and a smiley face. Girls, sex and smiley faces mix. I�m exaggerating here, but where does the responsibility land?
Can it be called exploitation if a specific performance of black manhood is intentional? It wasn�t by mistake that �LOL :)� made it to the airwaves and was performed by Songz and company. It is not a mistake that Songz reinvented his look and, to an extent, his sound in order to present himself as a grown man with grown dreams and the desire for grown, ahem, things. Where he misses the mark is crooning adult lyrics over child-esque beats. There is no balance in the presentation of his physical body or the body of music he creates. Songz falls victim to the painful realization that one must live in one extremity or another in order to remain visible. There�s nothing to LOL about there.
What do R.Kelly, Fisher Price, and Trey Songz have in common? I�ll wait.
I don�t have a problem with Songz or Kelly. I do, however, have a distaste for many of Trey Songz�s tracks. At the top of my list? The smash hit �LOL :).� While Songz and his collaborators Gucci Mane and Souljah Boy Tellem are legally grown men, this song screams Kiddie Corner. The introduction of the song, �I looooooooooooove Fisher Price� is voiced by Mr. Hubert, the fictional self-professed pedophile on the comedy Family Guy. The track itself sounds like the remix of the Reading Rainbow theme song or the song of the day on Sesame Street. While the line and song (assumingly) do not intentionally support the sexual exploitation of children, the correlation between the track (both lyrically and instrumentally) and childlike behavior are disturbing. These associations point to the categorization of Songz as a manchild, and, like I said in my previous post, he ain�t in the promised land.
Songz conceptualizes his masculinity through pubescent gestures and expectations. While it is his prerogative to express himself in whatever way he pleases, I can�t help but think about how he impacts our understanding of black masculinity in America. He perpetuates and enables the wayward assumptions of black men as sex-crazed, one dimensional boys. Think Big John from The Green Mile on the hunt for booty. Songz professes adult desires through a minimalized, abbreviated discourse. In other words, the sexual trysts and imagery presented here are childlike � short words, repetitive lyrics, and imagery. And this is not restricted to �LOL :).� �Say Ahh� fits the bill, minus the Sesame Street instrumentals. To add another layer to this portrayal of boy-like fantasies, the gestures Songz presents are considered non-threatening. For real, how gangsta is a smiley face? Does ":)" put fear into your heart? Ed Wuncler was onto something.
Of course, one has to consider audience. This song is huge with the tween to young adult demographic. We use Twitter, crackberries, and other technology repeatedly referenced in the song. AND, one has to consider how lyrical content in a song directed towards this market sets the mark for acceptable behavior by both girls and boys alike. Boys, profess your manhood through sex and a smiley face. Girls, sex and smiley faces mix. I�m exaggerating here, but where does the responsibility land?
Can it be called exploitation if a specific performance of black manhood is intentional? It wasn�t by mistake that �LOL :)� made it to the airwaves and was performed by Songz and company. It is not a mistake that Songz reinvented his look and, to an extent, his sound in order to present himself as a grown man with grown dreams and the desire for grown, ahem, things. Where he misses the mark is crooning adult lyrics over child-esque beats. There is no balance in the presentation of his physical body or the body of music he creates. Songz falls victim to the painful realization that one must live in one extremity or another in order to remain visible. There�s nothing to LOL about there.
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