Marxistische hiphop? Jawel! Het uit Seattle afkomstige hip-hop duo Blue Scholars (DJ Sabzi en MC Geologic) laat zien hoe je dat doet. Het werkt omdat het duo niet op een zeepkist gaat staan om de luisteraar belerend toe te spreken, maar refereert aan de eigen ervaringen als onderbetaalde vakkenvuller en telemarketeer: Working to the bone/Livin’ at home/Facing up debt and student loans.
[Intro]
No I didn’t get fired but I almost did ‘cause I wasn’t – I was turned at a 45° angle away from the flag […] at a basketball game […]
Bags of grocery on bass for just tips, no salary. Wouldn’t even make enough to buy a CD. And next thing you know, moms is picking me up from jail for stealing CDs from Blockbuster
[Verse 1: Geo]
Back in the days when I was a teenager
Minimum wage earning, rocking an apron
I was pushing hella carts asking plastic or paper
To bastard ass customers plus most of us had
Relatives working in the same supermarket
When boss wasn’t looking rolled the dice on the carpet
In the lunch room, listening to Biggie and Nas
But not as much as Snoop, Forty Water, and Pac
Me, I rocked the Walkman instead writing rhymes
In my head often bored, I’d recite them out loud
And memorize a song long before I’d write it down
In lunch room freestyles is where I learned to clown
Plantation style, yellow, brown, black majority
Half the young cats either enlisted in the Army
Or the Navy or Marines, but I was having dreams
And I ain’t even halfway there yet
[Chorus]
It seems that we never get paid for what our labor is worth
It’s why we often in a daze on our way to our work
And when we get there, we can’t wait to be out
So let me tell you what it’s about
And now we never get paid for what our labor is worth
It’s why we often in a daze on our way to our work
And when we get there, we can’t wait to be out
So let me tell you what it’s about
[Interlude: Sabzi]
Guys, I used to do telemarketing right, 7 am shift on the west coast […] on 9/11 this fool tries to fire me for refusing to make calls during the […]
[Verse 2: Geo]
The next place of employment’s no better than this
My first day thinking this some fuckin’ “Office Space” shit
But not me boss, these conditions ain’t suitable
Hide the pen and pad, writting rhymes in a cubicle
Automated phone click, dial tone, phone calling
Hoping for some gullible folks to take the offer
A mission for commision, tuition for college
“Please put our number on your do not call list”
Half the whole staff graduated with honors
And you’re trying to tell me telemarketing’s your best job option?
This shit is not poppin’
Working to the bone
Livin’ at home
Facing up debt and student loans
Now the manager’s a tool and a clown
But productivity increases anytime he’s nowhere to be found
And this tight ass environment makes me want to hurl
Like watchin Flava Flav tongue kissin’ old girl
[Chorus]
It seems that we never get paid for what our labor is worth
It’s why we often in a daze on our way to our work
And when we get there, we can’t wait to be out
So let me tell you what it’s about
And now we never get paid for what our labor is worth
It’s why we often in a daze on our way to our work
And when we get there, we can’t wait to be out
So let me tell you what it’s about
[Interlude]
The best job I’ve ever had was always some kind of side hustle whether it’s […]
[Verse 3: Geo]
The dot com phenomenon, fuck the city boss
Stock Market falls down, hundred thousand’s layed off
Got with Amazon.com, it had a lot of cross-dressers, goth cats, ex-cons, and single moms
On the elevator up, my Walkman on, flash a badge for security, the mark of the beast
But with skills to persuade through speech, you’d be amazed to see how many customer service reps are MCs
At each instance, different job descriptions
What kept a brother going was the music that I listened to
Initiate the day with an anthem to work through
Then the supervisor started blastin’ Dave Matthews
Shit is bad news
Working for some assholes in suits, straight singing middle management blues
And so I quit on the last day of training
And when I got home my notebook was waiting
[Chorus]
It seems that we never get paid for what our labor is worth
It’s why we often in a daze on our way to our work
And when we get there, we can’t wait to be out
So let me tell you what it’s about
And now we never get paid for what our labor is worth
It’s why we often in a daze on our way to our work
And when we get there, we can’t wait to be out
I told you what this shit is about
