Is not Baby Dollz' "My Cookie (Boys in the Skinny Jeans)" the finest song of 2009?

I guess probably the answer is "it's not", nonetheless this is good for approximately oh seven thousand more replays by me before I go to bed tonight. Automatically jerk is a billion times better than hyphy for having been responsible for this and "Superjerkin" by Keke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4j7ogJsij0&feature=channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_blNZLoe1k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkFW2ZJoIx4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB1PystzJ30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_PNS_p2xrk

<3 jerkin girls

the babydollz one is amazing but i don't like boys in skinny jeans which makes it lose a tiny bit of its appeal for me

Boys in skinny jean seems pretty inescapable in jerk though lex (and um the world in general at the moment, I used to feel your pain but I'm numb to it now).

skinny jeans i mean.

These all sound great lex.

boys with tattoos >>> boys in skinny jeans

(not into tattoos particularly but they're not a turn-off)

ha ha lex how do you even survive as a gay man in 2009.

indeed :(

Lex what do you think of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTvWSL1VdSM&feature=player_embedded#t=20

brokencyde tshirt featured prominently in the cookie video

i don't mind skinny jeans but i hope this trend of people mentioning them in fun hip hop songs ends right now.

great great track, would LOVE to get hold of an acapella of this

Automatically jerk is a billion times better than hyphy for having been responsible for this and "Superjerkin" by Keke.

Sorry, but Keak's "Superhyphy" >>>>>>>>>>>>> Keke's "Superjerkin'"

rev speaks the truth. There's like at least 5 hyphy songs that are like best rap tracks hit single slappers. Although I don't mind the songs posted on here, Jerk's had nothing to compare. I can't fucking stand you're a jerk.

I love "you're a jerk"

re jerk vs hyphy I was being a bit glib obv but seriously I think I like "My Cookie" more than any hyphoy track I know. Even with a more typical beat the song and the performance and the video clip are all really fun but I reckon that beat is just insane - also I really love the fixation with skinny jeans even though I don't truck with them much myself (though jerk at least stops short of the kind of skinwrapped jeans + ridiculous shiny pointy black shoes thing combo that remains unfathomably popular in Melbourne).

A lot of jerk seems very half-hearted though (which was true of hyphy too but it's even more pronounced now). I guess that's part of the appeal for some but I'm typically only gonna like the more um "accomplished" jerk.

can you really draw a neat line between jerk and hyphy? jerk sounds like a direct descendent of "vans" to me, which was a hyphy anthem.

also let's not forget BROKENCYDE ft E-40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNXb5roCBUY

sorry for despoiling your thread with the worst song of the century, tim, but i needed to post it somewhere

"can you really draw a neat line between jerk and hyphy? jerk sounds like a direct descendent of "vans" to me, which was a hyphy anthem."

I don't think you can draw any line really - which is one of the reasons why the more basic jerk sounds particularly half-hearted.

Of course I don't have sufficiently nuanced ears to understand the difference between this stuff and "A Milli" or "This Is Why I'm Hot" either, so maybe don't listen to me.

I've got a bunch of this shit to catch up on, but I love it.

Tim, you're a knowledgable dude and all, but for once I think you are reaching a bit beyond your current grasp.

Musically, as Vahid implies, jerk isn't much different from hyphy at all. I don't hear any production tricks in "My Cookie (Boys in the Skinny Jeans)" that I haven't heard in some hyphy track or other, though not necessarily in those combinations. There are snap influences in jerk, but those have been absorbed into post-snap hyphy, too, and jerk doesn't retain snap's most distinctive feature, which is its severe minimalism. I think there's slightly a less of a tendency toward finding the most novel sounds possible in jerk, but that urge is obviously still there. The use of hyphy as a sonic foundation ties jerk to a solidly West Coast tradition. Although hyphy may have seemed to be a clean break from past West Coast rap practices when it had its national moment in the spotlight c. 2006, reaching back toward the early 2000s, it's definitely possible to trace its slow evolution out of the Bay Area's previous mob music scene. (For a track that really make's jerk's mob music lineage clear, check out Cold Flamez' sludgy "Miss me, Kiss Me, Lick Me".) The differences between hyphy and jerk, then, are primarily cultural, which does count for quite a bit.

Besides the apparent differences in geography, fashion, and dance, there is a conscious rejection of gangsta rap tropes (of course these kids hate gangsta rap, it's their parent's music!) that isn't present in hyphy, which is too tied to its origins in mob music for that to happen. While I do find less tendency toward non-sexual machismo in younger hyphy rappers, the older guard had already set the subgenre's harder tone before the Pack, the A'z, et al arrived. Even the sexual machismo in jerk is of a very different stripe. I think there's a link to pimp culture (once again, mob music looms), that informs the thoroughly non-progressive sexual ethos of hyphy. I think the sexual politics of the jerk kids are on a more equitable foot, where the boys talk nasty, but not in an abusive or dismissive way, and in fact more likely to do so in service of the girls, while the girls take some liberty with the available room for shit-talk.

This gender equality sets the stage for what I think is the most notable difference between jerk and any other hiphop scene I've encountered, which is that there are as many active female rappers as male. Not only are they numerically equal, but the girls are almost universally better than the boys, who are all very uninspiring. While clearly more talented than their male counterparts, the female jerks are still for the most part indistinct. I put this down to one simple factor, they haven't been rapping that long. In some cases only for months. On the other hand, the best rappers in hyphy, men all, have had years to hone and master distinctive styles. E-40 and Keak da Sneak and (RIP) Mac Dre and (to a lesser extent) Mistah F.A.B. have all rapped for a damn long time and developed into some of the most talented and unique rappers out there. I think this is an important aspect about hyphy that you are missing.

The point about jerk itself that I feel you are missing in your call for "more 'accomplished' jerk" is that, even moreso than hyphy before it, it thrives on a DIY ethos and aesthetic. It is very much a kind of 21st-century basement laptop pop, teenagers making music for themselves and each other without the intervention of labels and gatekeepers. As the scene is inevitably absorbed into the music industry, the rough edges that are a major part of the music's charm for me will be replaced by the professionalism which you seem to crave. And that fucking sucks.

Re: "A Milli" and "This Is Why I'm Hot". "A Milli" comes out of a very Southern lineage (never mind it's A Tribe Called Quest sample) with its TR-808 purism and syncopated snare fills. Both of those have infected every corner or the (US) rap landscape to some extent, via the popular dominance of Southern rap this decade, but Jerk and Hyphy have both been resistent to the former, prefering rounder, more full-bodied drum sounds than the tinny snare and flat boom of the 808.

"This Is Why I'm Hot" is the work of a New York rapper self-consciously glomming onto the national trends of that moment. This is most apparent during the first verse where he details his success in various locales across the country (note the Big Hyphy Drums under the appropriate line!), but the drumbeat aligns itself with those same Southern traditions by way of its 808 kit and snare breaks. It isn't without it's own innovation, having managed to start a production meme with it's square wave beeps as later heard in "Low", "Lollipop", "Just Dance", etc.

Yeah Rev my point was that I doubt my capacity to speak knowledgably about jerk/hyphy etc. for precisely these reasons!

But to be clear my idea of "accomplished" jerk (and tongue very much in cheek with that word) is "My Cookie" - i.e. productions with more than one idea. There's obv no contradiction between that and a "DIY ethos and aesthetic".

Yeah I agree that the content of jerk raps seems distinct from hyphy by and large, if anything a tune like "Kiss Me, Miss Me, Lick Me" underscores the shift as much as the connection, it definitely remains very juvenile in the sense of being anti-gangsta as much as puerile. It makes sense to me that this is a big part of why girl groups seem so much more prominent in jerk.

Now you're talkin' otm

I will say, however, that I haven't noticed jerk being any more prone to one-idea productions than any other subgenre of rap, and most of the better jerk tracks run through quite a few of them.

It's also juvenile because of the lyrics. From Clothesz Off Movement's "Better Than You": “Hey, daddy, the pussy’s magic/Have you tongue-tied like Roger Rabbit.” From Kream Kidz' "I'm Nasty": "My head getting dumb cause I never went to class." (The latter, btw, is an answer to Pink Dollaz. Answer songs galore--always a good sign a genre is happening.)

Well yeah it's the lyrics and voices (and the faces in the video!) that are juvenile. Put a different rapper on those beats and they wouldn't sound juvenile at all necessarily ("You're A Jerk" maybe...).

"I will say, however, that I haven't noticed jerk being any more prone to one-idea productions than any other subgenre of rap, and most of the better jerk tracks run through quite a few of them."

Yeah, if anything my caveats were kinda unnecessarily pre-empting people coming on to the thread and saying "lol herb, why should I be excited about these reheated hyphy beats?"

"Superjerkin" similarly great in that it builds from such a simple beginning to near-cacophony, which is an odd outcome given I generally expect these kinds of beats just to hang there indefinitely without much in the way of development.

"My Cookie" feels structured similarly to a superior funk carioca track, though maybe i'm leaping to that conclusion because the pleasures of the two genres can be so reminiscent of one another.

the bangz/pink dollaz collab is probably the most insane jerk beat i've heard thus far.

It is very much a kind of 21st-century basement laptop pop, teenagers making music for themselves and each other without the intervention of labels and gatekeepers

^^seems key: there's something rudimentary about jerk's brand of minimalism, kids using what they have at their disposal to have a good time, saying the first things that come to mind, not necessarily constructing pop tracks. it's very functional.

and yeah the female dominance is interesting! new era is probably the best not mentioned here so far, but in the past week i've discovered some awesome tracks by fe raw, mz e baby, asia lynn and a few others. who are the jerk boys who've stood out, apart from new boyz?

"superjerkin" is a particularly curious case b/c, contra to all the above, keke palmer is a disney teenpopper glomming (very well) on to a bandwagon which doesn't exist yet! then again she did have a juke track on her first album and this is probably the sort of stuff she pays attention to anyway.

"Superjerkin" similarly great in that it builds from such a simple beginning to near-cacophony, which is an odd outcome given I generally expect these kinds of beats just to hang there indefinitely without much in the way of development.

But why should you?

"My Cookie" feels structured similarly to a superior funk carioca track, though maybe i'm leaping to that conclusion because the pleasures of the two genres can be so reminiscent of one another.

This is where you deserve to be called an herb. ¯\(°_o)/¯

^^seems key: there's something rudimentary about jerk's brand of minimalism, kids using what they have at their disposal to have a good time, saying the first things that come to mind, not necessarily constructing pop tracks. it's very functional.

Yeah, maybe "dance music," rather than "pop" would have been more appropriate.

sorry for being a herb, but structurally "my cookie" reminds me alot of old 8-bar stuff like musical mob and jon e cash and whoever. yes i know they probably haven't ever even heard of grime let alone "pulse x"

Ha I think that structure is the same thing I'm herbishly comparing to brazilian funk. The other jerk I've heard doesn't really sound like that but if people want to push me towards stuff by all means...

"But why should you?"

I think just that the sound of the beats is usually so minimal and spare that I get used to travelling at that gear, so that when the beat switches up or gets layered (especially to the extent that it does on "Superjerkin", though that track doesn't even start off minimal really) it's a lot more exciting than it would be otherwise. There's obv nothing wrong with beats remaining spartan, but a lot of the release on the jerk I've heard seems to come out of the temporary lurches away from that template.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeEqtcYCeMo

pink dollaz are my favourite band

has ilx talked about "found my swag" yet? i couldn't find anything anywhere so sorry if this is late. so do people like this song? is its chorus the greatest jerk has seen thus far? are the raps too shitty or just the right amount of shitty? they're too long at least, right? beat switchups are ok, kind of interesting i think. female fronted jerk songs have always had a tenuous connection to rn'b, is this its most overt crossover? is it a good look?

anyways i heard this song two days ago, after matos wk posted it on his list in the 2010 singles thread and it is one of my favourite songs of the year so far, admittedly riding almost entirely on the strength of the hook but god what a hook! bangz are by far my favourite jerk entity going, 'get it girl' was my favourite jerk thing until this. very thrilled to see what they do next.

youtube for the uninitiated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln6YpIb00LE

ok i'm exaggerating the rn'b aspect, but afaict melodic hooks with pop-rn'b inflections are rare in jerk, where most chorus consist of syncopated repetition of one phrase (do the reject do do the reject) and i really think this is a good direction.

that kind of development just seems like "getting rid of the interesting parts of jerk" to me but ymmv

chorus kinda reminds me of that natasha song that failed to blow up

oh god that really was the worst song in the history of ever

ok i'm exaggerating the rn'b aspect, but afaict melodic hooks with pop-rn'b inflections are rare in jerk, where most chorus consist of syncopated repetition of one phrase (do the reject do do the reject) and i really think this is a good direction.

― samosa gibreel, Tuesday, May 11, 2010 8:22 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

agree with rev re: this, I far prefer the repetition of a phrase. this song is okay, but not really my style.

btw to answer the original thread question: yes

yes ok but do you guys realize there are a billion jerk songs with such choruses and only one with such a good melodic chorus! like ok if you think that's the main thing that's interesting abt jerk--imo it's one of many, and enough of its other unique charms are present here--but to me the contrast between verse/chorus makes it so huge.

i don't want to make it seem like i'm on the opposite end of the agument made in rev's megapost upthread, i wholeheartedly agree with like, this for example

As the scene is inevitably absorbed into the music industry, the rough edges that are a major part of the music's charm for me will be replaced by the professionalism which you seem to crave. And that fucking sucks.

but i think that jerk template is really limiting, as defined by your guys' reason for not liking this song. it's not that this song has bigger production and transcends bedroom teenager pop, more that it's exciting to hear singing for once, and the success of the song (in being so catchy and pleasurable to me) suggests it can benefit by going to such places.

ftr, I don't dislike the song, I just don't think it's amazing either. also, I never said the hooks were the only interesting thing about jerl

jerk* obv

it's a lot better than the zzzzzzz song this thread was started about at any rate

"Boys With Tattoos" is a better Bangz single tho

i like "boys with tattoos" obv, but not playing to their strengths imo. i think bangz dominate hooks and general fun vibes, but pink dollaz are pretty clearly the best actual rappers of the lot, totally outshine them on get it girl

pink dollaaaaaaaz-we got it
money fallin out of that gucci wallet
she bout it
can they beat us no i doubt it
money pourin out like a custom faucet

new era >>>>>>>>>> all other jerk chicks imo

yeah i love new era. have you heard bella donz? not the best but v good, also i think they're the youngest of all jerk girls i've heard so far.

naw, I haven't. thx for the headzup

i like "found my swag" but not as much as i love "get it girl" - i don't think pink dollaz outshine the bangz that much, it's always the bangz' verse that gets stuck in my head!

pullin' up smooth lookin' somethin' like a car show
chrome pipes roarin' from the murcielago
hustlin' in them heels, yeah i'm a walking barcode
cuz my money sittin' pretty well like fargo
got your boyfriend chippin' in, cartiers different tint
baby i'm a showboat, you can be my skipper then
haters - call 'em gilligan, fuckin' up my ship again
still they follow ella ann - look, got 'em twitterin'...

i never really dug "found my swag" tbh -- pretty much agree with rev re that

otoh, pink dollaz >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

love how 'look got em twiterriiiiiiiiiiin' coincides with all the dudes falling over and that girl doing that crazy dance in the video.

AND THEN HE HIT ME ON MY AIM SCREEN NAME

OUT

WITH

THE

BANGZ

and

i'm a breadwinner like the horses
look @ my chanel pen signin off endorsements