The Empire State of Houstatlantavegas: An Analysis of the City's Effect on Young Women

After analyzing the text of Jay-Z and Alicia Key’s “Empire State of Mind,” I got to thinking that there are similar songs that address the dark issues that big cities and bright lights pose to young women. The messages in Drake’s “Houstatlantavegas” also touch on these issues, but instead of a singular verse the entire song is referencing young women who have been reduced to “exotic dancing” or prostitution as a means of survival.

Drake’s song, “Houstatlantavegas” first offers insight to the listener through the title. One should understand that the title is a combination of Houston, Atlanta, and Las Vegas. These three cities have very provocative, fast-paced lifestyles associated with them and a high abundance of gentlemen’s clubs and prostitution similarly to New York.

The lyrics from verse three of “Empire State of Mind” and those throughout “Houstatlantavegas” touch on identical points.

Drake’s Lyrics Read: 

                                                      

“HEY THERE...PRETTY GIRL. YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU GOT AND I DONT... 

BLAME YOU AT ALL,YOU CANT RESIST IT. ESPECIALLY WHEN THE LIGHTS SO 

BRIGHT, AND THE MONEY SO RIGHT, AND ITS COMING IN EVERY SINGLE NIGHT...”

Jay-Z's Lyrics Read:    

"Lights is blinding,

girls need blinders…

don’t bite the apple Eve”

In both lyrics, there are mentions of light. In Drake’s mention his representation of light is one of captivation. When people are lost, we are encouraged to follow the light but bright light can blind people—from their goals and better judgment—as interpreted in Jay-Z’s lyric. He mentions the blinding effect of light and how the need to no longer be lost makes this light attractive to women who have come looking for themselves in a city like New York. Drake’s mention of “resist” also brings up the idea of temptation. He is saying that women are unable to resist the temptation because of the bright light (which also represents attention) and the extensive amounts of money. Jay-Z’s line about temptation takes us back to biblical times of the first women and her encounter with temptation and how well that did not turn out for her.

Another line of Drake’s that speaks to the problem of young women in the big cities reads: “… she’s scared of ending up alone…” This line is significant because it connects to Maggie of Stephen Crane’s Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, who feared being alone and resorted to prostitution. Maggie, who also feared being alone ended up meeting her demise and that is the conclusion we are too draw from connecting these two texts.

The looming issue of young women is the city is obviously one that demands national attention as it appears not only in late 19thcentury literature, but two 21^st century rap songs by different artists about different cities. In class discussions, we have seen discussed the importance nature versus nurture and how environmental determinism plays a role in society but with these findings I think it is safe to say that surroundings can affect the outcome of one’s life. Even places like Austin, although not as big as most metro cities, prostitution poses some major community issues.

The New The Roots Album Will Make Your Day

Screenshot of the protagonist in The Roots' "undun"

A new album from The Roots will drop December 6th that is relevant to our course. It's called "undun" and tells the story of a young inner city youth who makes a decision that "undoes" his entire life. There is a single released for the album and a few videos online. Here is how the album is described on the rap band's website:

"undun is an existential re-telling of the short life of one Redford Stephens (1974-1999). Through the use of emotives and Redford's internal dialogues the album seeks to illustrate the intersection of free will and prescribed destiny as it plays out 'on the corner'. Utilizing a reverse narrative arc, the album begins as the listener finds Redford disoriented--postmortem--and attempting to make sense of his former life. As he moves through its pivotal moments he begins to deconstruct all that has led to his (and our own) coming undun."

The idea of "the intersection of free will and prescribed destiny as it plays out 'on the corner'" clearly relates to our own discussion of environmental determinism beginning with Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives, but strikes an interesting balance between individual responsibility and social failure. Here's how the band further describes the story of Redford:

"undun is the story of this kid who becomes criminal, but he wasn't born criminal… he's actually thoughtful and is neither victim nor hero. Just some kid who begins to order his world in a way that makes the most sense to him at a given moment... At the end of the day... isn't that what we all do?"

"undun" album cover

Since the album is not out yet, there's not much to go on. But I love the cover. It reminds me of our discussions of Riis and Vergara, and how despite the lack of basic services provided to inner-city communities by municipal governments, the urban poor nonetheless often transform their own neighborhoods, like the boys here making a playground out of these abandoned mattresses.

One of the songs that has been released with an accompanying video is called "Make My." The title clearly references the famous line from Dirty Harry spoken by Clint Eastwood's vigilante protagonist to a partially wounded black bank robber who is contemplating reaching for his gun. The song though clearly recontextualizes this classic showdown.

"Making my day" has a different meaning for the protagonist of "undun." He is clearly struggling to survive below the poverty line and wondering how he will be able to survive:

"They told me that the ends would justify the means
they told me at the end, it would justify the dreams
That I’ve had since a child, maybe I’ll throw in the towel
And make my, make my, make my, make my
Departure from the world"

I'm not posting the "Make My" video teaser one line, though you can find it here. (It does interestingly revise the classic showdown scene as an instance of a young black man killing another young black man.) Instead, I'll close by sharing the video for the track "tip the scale," which references the scales of justice that seem tipped against inner city minority youth: