An angry mom is gaining notoriety because she wants Vince Staples to please think of the children.
The self-proclaimed Christian mother of four went viral after she spent 11 minutes ranting about the lyrical content of Staples’ Summertime ’06 track “Norf Norf” and crying. She says she was inspired to rage to the internet after hearing the song on the radio while taking her children to school.
“This rap song comes on—and, guys I could not believe what I was hearing,” she said. “This is on our local radio station, this crap is being played. I couldn’t even believe the words that I was listening to. As a mom, it infuriated me.”
She takes particular offense at the words “Bitch you thirsty/ Please grab a Sprite/ My crips lurking/ Don’t die tonight”, repeating those lines several times through her tears.
While it might be a bit much to expect a mom who clearly hasn’t kept up with changes in popular music to understand the complexities of Staples’ oeuvre, just how badly she missed the point deserves to be pointed out. Gang activities aren’t celebrated in Staples’ music, they just are. Staples delivers tales of street violence in the hardened deadpan of someone who has spent their entire life surrounded by tragedy and danger. If he can’t rap about his own life, what exactly can he rap about?
Of course, if we mentioned what life is like in Staples’ part of Long Beach, we’re sure this mother would have a lot to say about “bootstraps” and “personal choices”. So maybe it’s better that she remains clueless.
The internet has already made hay out of the video, putting her rant over the “Norf Norf” beat and letting her rage eat its own tail.
