| Positive, if Naive |
17 March 2003
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"I Can" by Nas, Raps Negative Image
Hip Hop has a bad name in the media, and not a small amount of it justly acquired. The worries about violence and misogyny get an airing, while the crass egoism and vulgar belief in wealth seem not to bother reporters working for news bureaux that are owned by megaconglomerates. Yet, Nas has put a piece called "I can" on his new album "God's Son" that may make everyone stop and applaud.
The riff is pulled from Beethoven (yes, the same one), and the chorus is "I know I can/be what I wanna be/ if I work hard at it/I'll be where I wanna be." And the rapper is backed up by the voices of kids. Nas derides those who put materialism over literacy, asks young girls to avoid growing up too fast, and offers his younger brothers his help. The African romantic view of history in one verse is excusable and harmless.
Admittedly, the message is a naive one. Hard work without luck and without resources won't get a person very far. It is a necessary, yet insufficient, condition for success. Yet, the rhyme rejects the dross in which most rap wallows and puts Nas out on a limb. Having found the shallowness of the pool in which he swims, he risks alienating his following and irritating his competitors -- after all, he has just dissed them. One wonders how they will respond.