Friday Jukebox: Thoughts About “Mo Money, Mo Problems”
Here are some thoughts about the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo Money Mo Problems.” It features Ma$e and Puff Daddy. That’s something I’ll be discussing.
1. I am a huge fan of music that puts me in a pleasant state of mind. This song is one of the all-time greats. It reminds me of the summer between my junior and senior year of high school. There’s nothing any of us can really do about the way in which some songs emotionally connect with some memories. There’s a reason I don’t listen to Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt” and there’s a reason why I’ll get a smile on my face whenever I hear this.
2. The song works despite the presence of Puff Daddy, who is now know as Vodka Guy, and Ma$e, guys who consume two of the three verses and inexplicably star throughout the song’s absolutely inane video. It works because of this: the first hook gets me absolutely sucked in, excitedly saying to myself, “YES! ‘Mo Money Mo Problems’! This is gonna be awesome!” and Ma$e’s verse immediately starts and I start thinking to myself, “Yeah, well, okay, that’s weird, I remember Ma$e being huge but I don’t really hear it here and he’s still got that limp though and oh, it’s hook time again!” and then Puff Daddy ominously inserts himself and instead of thinking, “This man is a lyrical nightmare who ought to be tried at the Hague, especially for saying that he ‘rocks all rocks’ and also for rhyming yours with yours as if it was interesting and did he just rhyme stop and stop too and his lyrics are the desperate concoctions of a man who had no idea what he was doing…” I think, “Sweet! Here comes Biggie’s absolutely awesome part!” and then its the hook again and then Biggie’s part begins and despite being the stiffest white guy you’ve ever met, I can get through about ten seconds of Biggie’s verse before badly bungling the lyrics and yes, “…no info for the DEA, federal agents mad because I’m flagrant, tapped a cell and a phone in the basement…” is my favorite part because it just flows and also, he just keeps going and going and going and it is entirely unlike Ma$e’s and Puff Daddy’s verses and then we get a bit more of the hook and its over.
3. That was a bit much maybe? What I’m saying is the song is brilliantly structured. Yes, we have to endure both Ma$e and Puff Daddy, but they’re done before we can get angry about it, and even if we were going to be irritated with the idea that either of them belonged on Biggie tracks, Biggie’s immediately got our attention. Our consideration abandons them. We’re taken with him and his long verse. By the end of the track, it’s almost easy to forget that Ma$e and Puff Daddy were mucking about for its first two minutes. Which means that every time the song is over, the most vibrant thing in our mind is what has just happened, not how we started off. I won’t say many good things about Puff Daddy, but I will credit him for getting both Ma$e and himself onto a track in such a way as our memories remain entirely positive.
4. This is the worst music video in the history of the entire world. Why on Earth would anybody assume we’d want golf highlights during our hip-hop song? Why on Earth would anybody assume we’d want prolonged breaks for golf commentary? Why on Earth would anybody assume that those times when golf wasn’t going to be featured should instead emphasize Ma$e and Puff Daddy in what appear to be garbage bags? Why on Earth would anybody assume that anyone anywhere was interested in that much fish eye lens?
5. But seriously, a fond recollection of a time in childhood? I don’t care if Ma$e and Puff Daddy are forgettable, and I don’t care about the atrocious video. I care about listening to this on a mixed cassette tape in a 1992 Toyota Carolla with the windows down. Here’s the song’s actual history. But it’s my personal history with it that makes it so memorable.
This video, and too much Diddy, is what you get when the talent is dead.
Also, there has never been a better rapper in than Biggie. If I’m not mistaken, the chorus to this song was the most downloaded ringtone for a long time.
Thanks for this.Report
I just now attempted to watch “Come With Me” in an effort to find something funny to add but I just grew more and more confused.Report
Diddy is God’s way of saying, “Biggie is too good for you, so I’m going to fish it up a little bit.” That Diddy outlived Biggie, and became both more famous and much, much wealthier, is clear evidence of this.Report
it’s astounding how much he’s just mumbling on in the background of, like, half of ready to die.Report
youse a true playaReport
I do happen to have my hands in the air, waving.Report
RE: 4.
I think if you are going to inexplicably include golf in your music video, this is the way to go:
http://youtu.be/Osi46o7Wuw8Report
I wish I’d really emphasized exactly how bad this song would have been had Biggie’s verse gone first. It’d be a forgettable nightmare.Report
Probably true. I wonder how much of the final product was produced after Biggie’s death.Report
You’ve got to admit, though, that the first part of the first line of the chorus “I don’t know what / they want from me” is completely incomprehensible. Price salvages it by somehow turning those four words into one long lilting sound, but the dynamics make it impossible to sing along to. With such a repetitive and jangly chorus, it’s really a shame that this part is so cumbersome. Just watch someone drunkenly try to get through it in a karaoke bar and you’ll see what I’m talking about.Report