Swag, brand consciousness, hustle, commercial success and reach are all things that are important in being a well-rounded hip hop artist. And though we respect the social and commercial crevices hip hop has been able to infiltrate in the past 10 years, locally and internationally, when it comes down to it, rap is an art of words.
With that said, we got tired being forced to endure #MCM (Man Crush Monday) posts, which is a weekly routine where woman and girls across the world post a picture (mainly on Instagram tumblr or Twitter) of their male crush on a Monday. So we came back in the way only a hip hop head could counter all this soppiness: #Emcee_M (Emcee Mondays) – a weekly routine that celebrates special lyricists with dope quotables and creative delivery.
Our #Emcee_M this week goes to: REASON
Song: 2 Cups Shakur
Quotable: “Five shots in one night – 2 cups shakur… I guess it’s all eyes on me.”
Why? : The genius in this song in general lies in its dual meaning. On the one hand, it can be interpreted as a song about drinking and getting wasted on a wild night out. Reez repeats “5 shots in one night” in the chorus, referring to shots on liquor (Jeigermeister, taquilla, vodka, etc. whatever your point might be) and adds ‘2 cups [shakur]’ referring to the drinking fashion of ‘double-cupping’ (also referenced in Drake’s ‘I’m On One’ hook and a couple of other popular songs), which involves drinking out of one cup cupped over over another.
On the other hand, Reason is also channeling the spirit of his rap hero 2 Pac on the song, which he achieves with with some very slick word play. Note that “2 cups” sounds like “Tupac” when you say it fast enough. Shakur was Tupac’s surname. Also, Tupac was shot 5 fives on the same night in the infamous Quad Recording Studios shooting of 1994 which he accused Biggie and company of orchestrating. The purpose of repeating “all eyes on me” after the hook is that ‘Pac’s final album while he was alive and one of the biggest rap albums of the 90s (went 9 x platinum). Similarly, Reason is saying everyone is watching him because of his new found fame and success.
Now do you get it?