Music Lessons

What’s on my mind? Allow me to give you something. Take it! I insist!

“Hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now …

It’s finger pop poppin’ time

Finger poppin’ poppin’ time

I feel so good

And that's a real good sign

Here comes May and here comes Sue

Here come Johnny and Bobby too

It's finger pop poppin’ time …” 

- Hank Ballard (composer); Hank Ballard (lead vocalist) and the Midnighters, 1960

Why has this 59-year-old song been churning through my brain for the past five days? It’s catchy, but hardly profound.

Here’s a more recent composition. Having said that, I intend no slur against the composer/singer or against any socio-economic or cultural group. Quite the opposite. 

F**k Up Some Commas is a hip-hop/rap composition. I apologize if I’ve misconstrued the composer’s full intent; the apostrophized edits are mine.

Fake ni**a lie to a real ni**a,

That’s just some s**t that you don’t do

I’mma stay riding for my real ni**as

That’s just some s**t that I’m gon’ do

F**k all the commas, let’s f**k up some commas n**ga

Let’s f**k up some commas, let’s do that s**t random

Yeah, Future 
Future Hendrix, it’s some s**t you don’t do

F**k up some commas

Let’s f**k up some commas yeah

Let’s f**k up some commas,

Let’s f**k up some commas yeah

Forty thou to a hunned thou

A hunned thou ’nother hundred thou

Three hunned thou, five hunned thou

A mill y’all let’s have a money shower

F**k up some commas, let’s f**k up some commas yeah ...

- Nayvadius Wilburn (aka Future), Gary Hill, Joshua Luellen (composers), 2014; Future (performer) 

Wikipedia reports that Rolling Stone magazine ranked “F**k Up Some Commas” eighth on its year-end list of the 50 best songs of 2015. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it double platinum for sales of over two million digital copies in the US.

On my initial reading, I didn’t understand what Future was saying (I haven’t reproduced the piece in full). At first, I felt there was no need for its rough, angry tone. But then I considered the past and present experiences of Black Americans. And only then understood what a remarkable composition this is. 

When you lack a voice, you can still “f**k up some commas” as one small, rebellious statement of personal power. People can try to take that away by “correcting you,” but you can deliberately persist. Why does it have to be like that? Why can’t we build bridges instead of walls?

It’s frustrating that my musical tastes are stuck in the past -  but the message of Future’s composition deserves to be remembered.

Whether in the 18th C private audiences in the salons of the very rich, to the 21st C private audiences in the foyers and mezzanines and ballrooms of the very rich, to the CDs and YouTubes and streaming sites and public concert halls of the middle class, to the freely shared music of the streets, music speaks to us all.

Music has always appealed to different cultures and tastes. What’s familiar to native Americans and First Nations tends to be foreign to audiences considered “mainstream.”

Just as music brings us together, it also divides us through our lack of shared experiences and understanding. We live in dangerous times. These are times when - irrespective of race, religion, and economic status - we need to acknowledge and try to understand truths that lie outside our own experience.   We need to respect, empathize with, and support one another more than ever before, even if we f**k up some commas, and f**k ’em up real good.  

PS: Well ... I’ve just learned my high-falutin’ words don’t match the composer’s intent. I’ll keep my interpretation, thanks. And I’ll continue trying to practice tolerance for other viewpoints, even when they’re light years from mine.

PPS: Someone has just asked me what the composer’s intent was. Oh, dear. I’m a dork. I’m going to recommend that you do a little research and read up on this yourself. 

© Nicole Parton, 2019