Here is a guest post written by our good friend Conor of Chop Music about tricking. It is not strictly about Bay Area rap, but fuck it let's take a break and discuss something different. You should all go follow him on Twitter and follow his Tumblr. He is a chill bro.
-Thomas
I’m a big fan of rap music about pimping and not being a simp. That being said, I am an even bigger fan of music about tricking and totally being a simp. I am pretty sure that if I was a rich young rapper, buying beautiful women expensive shit would be near the top of my daily to-do list. It’s not that I don’t think pimping is cool, I just think being a sucker is also cool and probably more realistic for me. Tricking is frequently demonized in Bay Music, but every now and then I find a great song which takes the opposite perspective. Given that the Wikipedia article for tricking doesn’t even mention Gucci handbags, I think it’s time for us to discuss this important topic. Let’s start off with my top 5 favorite tricking anthems.
5) Chris Cash ft. Ver5e - Spend It All
Why I Picked It:
The rapping/singing on this is pretty good, but the beat kind of sounds like one of those commercials for low-fat ice cream where skinny women love that they are eating ice cream and not eating calories. Actually come to think of it, this video would make a great TV commercial for tricking. It’s just so positive! Chris Cash’s rationale is essentially “Life is shitty, I’m gonna spend money anyway, why not trick on a beautiful girl?”. This is an idea I definitely can get behind. I also like how Cash repeatedly states that he is actually not rich. Cash reminds us that even the common man can spend way too much on his girl. Considering that Cash is from Las Vegas, he probably knows what he's talking about. Extra points for giving his girl her own blunt.Favorite Line:
“Baby what you tripping for / Why you got an attitude / I’ll spend this cash with you”4) Alias Donmillion - It Ain’t Trickin
Why I Picked It:
Turns out searching for the phrase "it ain't tricking" is great way to find songs about tricking! This song is from 2006, and it has all the things that made 2006 a great year for rap (notice the sweatershirt/beat). It also features another one of my favorite things, which is a girl moaning something a girl would never say. The moaning makes up one half of a great chorus, which gives us a clear description of the financial exchange occuring during tricking. Toronto rapper Alias Donmillion's take on the subject is a bit different than Chris Cash’s. Alias clearly prefers keeping it “M.O.B.”, but sadly a beautiful girl has him slipping. Yet tricking is a role he eventually embraces, as the second verse begins with a diss to those who don’t even buy women McDonald’s. To top this fantastic video off, we get a few seconds of some tough song which references 52 card pickup.It was really hard to pick a favorite line in this one.
Favorite Line:
“I ain“t trying to purchase you, just trying show that you worth it boo”3) Diamond - Buy It All
Why I Picked It:
In order to fully understand tricking it’s important to also get the female perspective. It seems that while men idealize tricking by emphasizing sex, women idealize tricking by emphasizing the relationship. Although I always thought tricking is a win-win for both parties, it’s hard to deny that it works out really well for the woman. The first verse starts when someone who Diamond has never met starts touching her (on the fingertips??) and then whispers in her ear “Can I be your man?”. That seems like a recipe for a restraining order, but apparently it works! This song also mentions the man buying her cars, which is pretty much the bossiest way to trick on your girl. Good for Diamond! It's great that she found a mechanic who drives a Panamera and likes watching her music videos in bed on his iPad. All deep analysis aside, this song is pretty close to perfect. Great singing, great beat, and great verses.Favorite Line:
“Should I just let this be? / Or go on with the plan? / He talking marriage - I ain’t ready for no wedding band”2) Cornbread - I Got Ha
Why I Picked It:
This is not idealized at all and lightweight depressing. That being said, it’s a great song which reps tricking incredibly hard. Contrary to Mr. Donmillion, Cornbread seems like he is trying to purchase his girl. This is probably closest to what tricking is actually like. I love how he has a good-looking girl who hugs him awkwardly, but he trades her for a girl who is dressed like a racecar driver from the future. If your a fan of goofy Youtube comments, you will definitely want to check out the fascinating debate on Cornbread’s appearance.Favorite Line:
“Couple stacks on her stylist, blew a band on her mama”1) Mullage - Trickin
Why I Picked It:
This is the gold standard of tricking songs. If you added up all the times I’ve heard New York rap (which is a lot), it would still probably be slightly less than the times I’ve played this song. This song came on the radio once after I hadn’t heard it in two years and I played it so loud I permanently damaged my car speakers. While your enthusiasm for the song will likely be less than mine, this song still deserves the #1 spot. This song makes tricking sound wonderful—a point underscored when the singer passionately sings that he’s “been waiting for this all [his] life”. Extra points for sampling T-Pain during T-Pain’s prime. I apologize for including the clean version, but I couldn't find an unedited video and I kinda think the joyful dancing of the video is important in understanding the message. Happy people outside and dancing together used to be really common in rap videos, but has sadly fallen by the wayside in favor of terrible green screens. If you hate dancing and love swearing, here is the uncensored song with just a still image of woman wearing basically nothing.Favorite line:
“I’m scoping out your body why you bending over popping like damn, let me go back into my wallet”Final Thoughts
I know what you’re thinking at this point: “Conor, all those songs you posted are so awesome! Is it even possible to make a bad song about tricking?”. I hate to let you down, but it is =/. The worst kind of tricking anthems are the ones by men created when aiming for a solely female audience. Ever since T.I. made a billion dollars with such as song, every wack rapper has tried to out-terrible each other with their own version. If you are truly a masochist, you can click on these examples: Exhibit A and Exhibit B. Of course these two piles of shit have 10 million views, so what do I know.Finally, it's worth noting that all these rappers would likely say what they are doing is not tricking (given that they got it). But “spending lots of money on beautiful women in a way that isn’t tricking because the man is wealthy” doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as easily. If you are interested in a further discussion of “is it tricking if you got it” question, I encourage you to refer to:
This sideways video on the subject by this great rap group from Oakland:
Also this opinion by Cassidy, another great rapper.
Great article Conor!