Shrink Rap: where psychotherapy and hip hop meet: Jadakiss
This is the first in a new series of posts where I will attempt to combine two things I am passionate about by gently psychoanalyzing (I’m using “psychoanalyze” liberally here) rappers through their lyrics. I’ll also make observations on the culture through a psychological lens.
Some background… There was a show produced by VICE, titled of all things “The Therapist” in which Dr. Siri Sat Nam Singh sat down to speak with musicians of varying genres to shed further light beyond their musical personas. When I saw that this show was coming to be, just as I had become a therapist myself, I thought, “wow, that’s amazing! I would love that job”.
And while I enjoyed aspects of the series (shout out to Dr. SSNS, fellow Pacifica alum), there’s something about the gaze of the camera I sense that alters the specialness of what happens in an actual therapy session – when it’s just the therapist and patient(s) in the temenos, (ancient Greek sanctuary). Artists, especially rappers, I find to be most expressive and nuanced in their music. I hope not to strip away what makes the work special, but instead shine a light on the artists, their personas, and perhaps a bit on them as people. (Can we separate the artist from the person completely?)
For the record, this is some rap nerd shit. If Rap Genius, the website that breaks down individual lyrics was a big profane in its attempt to decode every line ever rapped, this series is meant to be more thought provoking and open questions up, not necessarily answer them.
Now, straight out the f’in dungouns of rap…
Chapter 1: Jadakiss
As arguably the strongest lyricist of the rap trio, The Lox, Jada is also arguably one the of “top 5” maybe not “dead or alive” but certainly top 5 MCs living. If this is the case, it must beg the question, why is an upcoming show of his (and The Lox) not sold out in Los Angeles.
Before diving into a particular few lines of lyrics, let’s ponder this seemingly confounding question. As one of the greatest rappers on this planet, why not the high demand for his live performance in a huge hip hop city? Some hypothesis: The Lox are hardcore Eastcoasters and their fan base has withered with age over time in the West. It’s Friday night, and other jewish rap nerds have shabbat plans with their families, or perhaps his radio friendly pop hits or fewer and a show of his just doesn’t inspire people to see him live?
Whatever the unknown combination of factors may be, what is clear is that it has always seemed Jada has felt a need to prove his place in the pantheon in rap.
The Lox were first signed by Diddy on the Bad Boy label and were thereby co-signed by Biggie Smalls, the arguable King of New York/Rap at the time. Let’s look at “Last Day” The Notorious B.I.G. feat The Lox (1997). Each of the Lox have their verse before tee’ing Biggie up to come in as the Big Papa.
Jada raps:
“You already know what it's about when I run up in your house
Put the gun up in your mouth and get the money out the couch
Hearin' you out is senseless, perhaps for instance
I give this f****** a french kiss”
It’s important that I take this moment to explicitly express that the use of such derogatory language with the homophobic implications is something I personally not only do not condone, but expressly stand against. With that said, I do believe it important to acknowledge the shadow side of such attitudes within the hip hop community. Thankfully times have evolved (I will write later about how Nas for example at a recent show acknowledged his prior use of hurtful language in the past).
Firstly what’s this business about the “gun up in your mouth.” On the surface, sure, placing a gun in a victim, who is being robbed, is a legimitately scary tactic, however, the phallic nature of the gun and image of it being shoved inside another man’s (presumably) mouth, without consent, is a violation on multiple fronts.
And now, the reference to the french kiss.
Jada raps “perhaps, for instance, I give this f***** a french kiss”.
Rap Genius cites a podcast interview that Jada intended the use of “french kiss” and a homophobic slur as being the “the kiss of death” or murdering. However, it’s quite a peculiar choice of symbolism. Am I suggesting that Jada is attracted to men? I am not. However, it is he who conjures the image of an embrace. It is simultaneously a potent and poetic line.
The Kiss of Death is a sculpture located in Barcelona Spain's Poblenou Cemetery. This macabre, yet tender image, depicts a skeletal 'Angel of Death' as he places a kiss on the face of a young man who is slipping from this world to the next. In the background it appears as if another angel stands as a sentinel, guarding the grounds as death gently puts this man to rest.
Imagine a rapper so ferocious that he can breathe death into another through his tongue. It’s almost as if the french kiss is also a metaphor for the use of a venomous tongue, lyrically speaking. His use of the derogatory slur aimed at gay men is one that perhaps belies an unconscious thought or fantasy about ending another person’s life with the power of a kiss.
It’s impossible here to not also think about the realities of the AIDS epidemic at the time and how it was impacting the black community in urban centers in particular. “According to the CDC, [in 1993] HIV becomes the leading cause of death for African American men between ages 25-44” (Source PBS Frontline “Timeline: 30 Years of AIDS in Black America).
We can think of the level of misinformation that had proliferated prior, how perhaps one could transmit HIV to another through simply a touch or kiss and the paranoia that would surround that, and consequently the stigma and homophobia associated with the disease.
Meanwhile, when asked in a podcast about the use of this imagery, Jada responded that “french kiss” rhymes with “senseless”... However, this seems a bit too simple given the artist’s ability for complex word play and symbolism.
Again, is Jadakiss gay? Well, hopefully by now, we can all agree sexuality is not a binary function. Perhaps we chalk this one upto Jada playing out an unconscious fantasy and we can leave it at that. In any case, it’s a powerful few bars, and if Jada is dropping us hints about a fantasy, more power to the God MC.
Now what do we make of the Lox being the young pups emerging from under the looming shadow of Biggie? Well this is most likely an enactment of an Oedipal complex. And by this, I mean, the Lox are the young children, the sons of the all powerful (at that moment), father figure Biggie (is Diddy aspiring to be the Mother? This perhaps is a far stretch, but certainly his attempt to control artists beneath him and to feed from his teat demonstrates a need to be a nurturer, if not a severely flawed one).