The Opposite of Reality Rap

Oct 21, 2005

The Opposite of Reality Rap · by David Donald

Among other supposedly nerdy themes running through hip-hop is a subtle obsession with fairy tales. This taps into an older and European pop culture tradition, often mixed with cartoons. This theme often ironically mimics the traditional Brothers Grimm style method of putting adult themes of violence and sex into a format suitable for children. The hip-hop version of this takes the characters out of the world of fairy tales and places them into the similarly exaggerated (or at least selectively displayed) world of the everyghetto of rap music.

These songs often take the form of stories, but unlike many rap stories that focus on the derring-do and misdeeds of a few protagonists, fairy-tale songs are often disjointed, grandiose bird’s-eye-views of nights of particular mayhem on the wrong side of the tracks in Storyland. This may be an attempt to simply work in as many fairy tale themes as possible in the tradition of theme songs like “Labels.”

Ice Cube’s two part “Gangsta’s Fairytale” presents a relatively believable view of a fictional hood with recurring characters. Ghostface’s “The Forest” is typically absurdist, throwing in such choice conversational details as ”’My, what great big heat you have’/ He replied, ‘Fuck my gun, I’ll eat you fast.’” Kool Keith’s “Cartoon Capers” (see album review) is similarly silly. Da King & I’s “Interlude 2/Amusement Park” is far more cartoonish, including the excellent beat, and the “Children’s Story” style ad-libs. Speaking of “Children’s Story,” all of these songs owe a debt to Slick Rick’s sense of old-style storytelling, except that they often transmute the cautionary aspects of his badly-ending stories into pure glib havoc.

Did I miss any significant examples of these songs?

06 Da King & I - Amusement Park (Interlude 2).mp3

Comments for "The Opposite of Reality Rap"

the Smut Peddlers did a song about the cartoon characters on cereal boxes. Not eactly fairy tales, but close
— Hashim Oct 21, 09:27 AM
dana dane, “cindafella”, cypress hill’s interpolation of the three pigs story on ‘pigs’ (?)
— spirit Oct 21, 05:12 PM
oh yeah, i was going to mention the Cypress Hill one. forgot about that.
— David Oct 21, 06:54 PM
Ghostface’s “The Forest” is pure brilliance to me. I don’t think of it so much as a grandiose attempt to cram in cartoon / fairy tale references so much as a running commentary on rap’s reality obsession – Ghost seems to know that so called “reality” or “gangsta” rap is often perversely fictive, but knows too that actual ghetto reality can be quite surreal. The young audience of rap has never been more confused, and ghost seems to revel in these juxtapositions and multivalent associations. Dope shit.
— R.H.S. Oct 21, 09:35 PM
Also, Gravediggaz “Fairy Talez” seems to incorporate the various approaches you describe all on the same track, with RZA’s verse being hte most convoluted, absurd, and non-linear.
— R.H.S. Oct 22, 12:56 AM
I haven’t heard that second Gravediggaz album, but according to the vaguely reliable ohhla.com RZA did not have a verse on that song(?)
http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/grvdigaz/the_pick/fairy.gdz.txt
— David Oct 22, 08:01 PM
This taps into an older and European pop culture tradition, often mixed with cartoons.
You lost me for a sec Dave. What is the older European pop culture tradition and what do you mean here by “often mixed with cartoons�?.
— Rafi Oct 22, 10:01 PM
Fairy tales are a European pop culture tradition. Maybe it’s playing a little fast and loose to call folk culture “pop culture,” but I think it’s valid.

The “cartoons” part is bad sentence construction. Many of these fairy tale songs also incorporate reference to cartoons, modern children’s pop culture.
— David Oct 22, 10:10 PM
there’s a song on k-rino’s storys from the black book has a song about cartoon characters. i can’t remember the title off hand.
— noz Oct 26, 11:11 PM
Do you even know what reality rap is? From the sounds of your article you have no (#*$in idea. Reality rap isn’t the notion of manipulating mainstream ideas into “ghetto stories”. Reality rap is artists who take things from everyday life or from popular misconceptions and turn them into a message or personal statement. Reality Rap is far from mainstream. Most mainstream artist such as Ghostface may release 2 actual tracks that could possibly be classified as reality rap. Check your shit before you talk shit.

— Andrew Oct 11, 01:25 AM
hoopdreams_01@hotmail.com, did you really need to resurrect my 3 year old post to show off the fact that you just read Chuck D’s autobiography in African-American Studies 101?

— David Oct 11, 01:28 AM