Guilty Pleasures Revisited – The Whisper Song

OK, so I messed up earlier this week.  I wrote my Oscar-themed music post last weekend with the intention of posting it for today’s Guilty Pleasure.  When I went to schedule it on the WordPress dashboard thingy, I put Wednesday’s date.  This led to it being published a full two days early. I toyed with the idea of writing another one, but decided to re-post one of my favorites.  This was quite a while ago, so if you’re fairly new to the blog you may not have seen it.  The Ying Yang Twins themselves saw it and tweeted about it…

Since it’s original publish date, the video I posted got pulled.  The version posted here is audio-only, but I’ve included a link to the official video, which has explicit language removed.  Even though you lose some of the emotional power and urgency of the original lyrics, it’s still a gripping, thought-provoking video to watch.

sweetslyrics.com

I love this song. It’s a bit of a departure for the Ying Yang Twins, who are most known for their hits “Badd” and “Get Low”, the latter being a collaboration with Lil Jon. Like most of their songs, those two give anecdotes of life experiences in gentlemen’s clubs. The “The Whisper Song” forgoes the party atmosphere to concentrate on a direct, intimate, interpersonal relationship. It’s an openhearted letter directed to a potential lover, full of deep emotion and revelation. Because of that vulnerability, it only makes sense to whisper their words of affection, as new lovers often do.

It’s amazing in the history of rap, no one else thought to do a song completely whispered. Because of the low volume on the vocals, it calls for stripped down instrumentation with really nothing beyond 808 beats and fingers snapping. Despite its simplicity, it’s still very catchy and danceable.

It’s truly a modern classic.

So why is it a Guilty Pleasure? Well, apparently with being a highly-educated, early-40s father of three comes expectations. Someone like me is supposed to not swear, must wear red cardigan sweaters, flush the toilet regularly, and listen to jazz – basically, I’m supposed to “act my age”. I don’t understand why this song isn’t something that’s “my age” but, then again, I don’t get why people still go to Red Lobster.

It’s probably best that you decide. The original song has some euphemisms that are usually frowned upon in daily conversation, so the official video was made with a censored version of the song. Some enterprising fan was able to use merge the original song with the official video so you can see the artistry in the images, while getting the audio as Kaine and D-Roc intended you to hear it.

Here’s the official video - http://youtu.be/fYNQzqNqzdc

Which one moved you more?

About thefoodandwinehedonist

I don't know everything about the world of food and wine, but I'm not going to let a small detail like that stop me from blogging about it.

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