Tynan's Anger

SONGS OF THE DECADE #17

[For more info, read the Ground Rules of The Song of The Decade List]

Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz feat. Ying Yang Twins - "Get Low" (2003)


Crunk rap was a parody of itself on arrival into the mainstream, which is perhaps why Chris Rock said it best: we're all going to hate ourselves for liking this fucking song. Turns out this song was less stupid and disgusting than a public service: any music aficionado who enjoyed this song pretty much had to remove the word "guilty pleasure" from their lexicon, and any causal music fan who enjoyed this song had to do the same with "anything but hip-hop or country."

More importantly, Lil John found a way to make stupid, disgusting hip-hop work like no other mainstream rapper past or present: if you're already a joke as a musician, and there are no obstacles to your obscenity, the only way to push boundaries is to make the joke as blue as possible while still getting played on the radio.

Depending on whom you ask, Lil John is either underappreciated musically or overrated because of his preposterousness. I'll take the middle ground: "Get Low" is an essential recording of early 21st century populist filth, one that manages to win over music snobs while still appeasing those who see pissing off parents and squares as the primary point of pop music. There were lots of copycats in Lil Jon's wake, none of whom will sniff a best of the decade list outside the hip-hop press. The joke gets old rather quickly.

Labels: 2000s, get low, Lil Jon, lists, pop music, songs of the decade