The BOOMBOX, a music sharing and blogging website recently posted their April Math Awareness Month participation through the reviewing of several hip hop songs that talk about math in unique ways. With albums like ABC by the Jackson Five becoming so popular it isn’t too much of a surprise that numerical lyrics would be the next big thing These tracks however have much more significant and influential lyrics then that of little Michael Jackson’s “You went to school to learn, girl Things you never, never knew before I before E except after C And why two plus two makes four Now, now, now I'm gonna teach you Teach you, teach you All about love, dear, all about love Sit yourself down, take a seat All you gotta do is repeat after me A B C, easy as one, two, three. Are simple as do re mi A B C, one, two, three, baby, you and me girl.” These lyrics however take math to a whole other level, relating numbers and mathematical equations with drugs, society, biology, relationships and of course the ever-present in the hip hop/rap game, a bit of beef.
The list of ten artists most appealing to me included Beyonce’s Countdown, Jay-Z’s Takeover, and the classic tracks Mathematics by Mos Def, The Magic Number by De la Soul, and 1,2, Here’ What we Gon’ do with KRS One, RZA and True Master ripping up the rhyme. Of course I have to show some love for The Firm’s Affirmative Action and Talib Kweli and Dilated People’s Live on Stage due to their continually great lyricism and fast paced beats that blend beautifully. In the words of BOOMBOX site, “A clever play on words and the right flow can make any equation sound like a hip-hop quotable.”
“The Magic Number” by De la Soul is just like any other lighthearted, fun and eclectic track only the focus is on the power of the three. The fact is, it is hard to defeat the group of the three De la Soul members, Maseo (Vincent Mason), Posdnous (Kelvin Mercer), and Dave (David Jude Jolicoeur). "Three forms the soul to a positive sum/ Dance to this fix and flex every muscle/ Space can be filled if you rise like my lumber/ Advance to the tune but don't do the hustle/ Shake, rattle, roll to my magic number/ Now you may try to subtract it/ But it just won't go away/ Three times one? What is it? One, two, three/ And that's the magic number.” The lyrics though simple and easily flowing aren’t like most recent songs that over focus on the rhyme and forget that true lyricism isn’t all about the words rhyming with each other every other verse.
The list of ten artists most appealing to me included Beyonce’s Countdown, Jay-Z’s Takeover, and the classic tracks Mathematics by Mos Def, The Magic Number by De la Soul, and 1,2, Here’ What we Gon’ do with KRS One, RZA and True Master ripping up the rhyme. Of course I have to show some love for The Firm’s Affirmative Action and Talib Kweli and Dilated People’s Live on Stage due to their continually great lyricism and fast paced beats that blend beautifully. In the words of BOOMBOX site, “A clever play on words and the right flow can make any equation sound like a hip-hop quotable.”
“The Magic Number” by De la Soul is just like any other lighthearted, fun and eclectic track only the focus is on the power of the three. The fact is, it is hard to defeat the group of the three De la Soul members, Maseo (Vincent Mason), Posdnous (Kelvin Mercer), and Dave (David Jude Jolicoeur). "Three forms the soul to a positive sum/ Dance to this fix and flex every muscle/ Space can be filled if you rise like my lumber/ Advance to the tune but don't do the hustle/ Shake, rattle, roll to my magic number/ Now you may try to subtract it/ But it just won't go away/ Three times one? What is it? One, two, three/ And that's the magic number.” The lyrics though simple and easily flowing aren’t like most recent songs that over focus on the rhyme and forget that true lyricism isn’t all about the words rhyming with each other every other verse.
“Countdown” by Beyonce although is a recently released song is very sweet and less provocative than many other lyrics. She not only discusses her love for her husband Jay-Z but displays her feelings of happiness and gratefulness for having a new family of three. “My baby is a 10/ We dressing to the nine/ He pick me up, we eight/ Make me feel so lucky seven/ He kiss me in his six/ We be making love in five/ Still the one I do this four/ I'm trying to make us three/ From that two/ He still the one. ” The fun beat and old school type video along with her display of affection make this a great use of math and numbers to sum it all up.
The last song I feel deserves mentioning is definitely not in the negative sum of the total respect deserved for this mathematical list. “Mathematics”, by Mos Def displays his talent for being able to talk about and reflect on things that many are a part of but do not know how to communicate. Def effortlessly talks about social ills while keeping with the theme of the track. “Yo, it's one universal law but two sides to every story/ Three strikes and you be in for life, mandatory/ Four MC's murdered in the last four years/ I ain't tryin' to be the fifth one, the millennium is here/ Yo, it's 6 million ways to die, from the seven deadly thrills/ Eight-year-olds gettin' found with 9 mills/ It's 10PM, where your seeds at? What's the deal.”This line from the extremely well written and performed track isn’t as much of an equation or reference to geometry as it is a simple countdown in which he describes the negatives of ghetto life and his avoidance of being consumed by the fame he has received over the years through his rap career.
All in all the use of equations, geometric note and just plain numbers to discuss things far more complex than one plus one equals two makes these artists that much further from today’s artists that can only repeat what has already been said and continue to make it even more cliché.
The last song I feel deserves mentioning is definitely not in the negative sum of the total respect deserved for this mathematical list. “Mathematics”, by Mos Def displays his talent for being able to talk about and reflect on things that many are a part of but do not know how to communicate. Def effortlessly talks about social ills while keeping with the theme of the track. “Yo, it's one universal law but two sides to every story/ Three strikes and you be in for life, mandatory/ Four MC's murdered in the last four years/ I ain't tryin' to be the fifth one, the millennium is here/ Yo, it's 6 million ways to die, from the seven deadly thrills/ Eight-year-olds gettin' found with 9 mills/ It's 10PM, where your seeds at? What's the deal.”This line from the extremely well written and performed track isn’t as much of an equation or reference to geometry as it is a simple countdown in which he describes the negatives of ghetto life and his avoidance of being consumed by the fame he has received over the years through his rap career.
All in all the use of equations, geometric note and just plain numbers to discuss things far more complex than one plus one equals two makes these artists that much further from today’s artists that can only repeat what has already been said and continue to make it even more cliché.
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