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Hypocrite

from Hypocrite by Gepetto

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about

title track for Gepetto's album Hypocrite. the most talked about track on the album, other than perhaps innocence lost. this song makes an impression on people, but i'm not sure that they digest all of what its about.

here are a few paragraphs of innane ramblings that encompass my thoughts on this song, which is very close to my heart.

if you're sharp (and you are) you'll pick up on the irony in the song: the narrative voice switches seamlessly between me-the-emcee-criticizing-hypocritical-white-kids and me-the-hypocritical-white-kid.

obviously this song criticizes the many, many young white people who purport to have awareness of racism and classism and who swear against it, but who actually don't do a fucking thing to change any of what they're so outraged about. (being angry about it to your other young white friends at the coffee shop doesn't change anything, obviously). not only are we not doing anything, we're making a commercially profitable culture out of feeling outraged but not doing anything. people act like they know about racism, classism, etc. in the same way they act like they know about the hot band.

the punchline to the song, of course, is that i'm just as guilty as every other hypocrite. what is relevant about this song to me is that instead of saying "but what makes me different is I KNOW that i'm full of shit," i'm saying "i'm not different at all, and honestly i don't give a shit. i'd like to give a shit, but it's too much effort. does that make me different? no, it just makes me an asshole." instead of the false positive spin that most white emcees like to put on this issue, i'd rather sit in the depressing truth of it. luckily for me, that's more genuine and less corny (in my humble opinion). in fact it would give me great gratification to rub this fact in aforementioned corny white rappers' faces.

what i feel people miss about this song is what's said in the chorus.. "we're desensitized... til we're convinced that it makes no sense." this song is not about how gentrification is wrong. it's obvious that it is. the interesting thing is how we are so willing to be a part of gentrification and many other harmful things, when we would never be a part of them if we were confronted by the consequences our actions have on other people. there's this buffer in place where we don't have to feel so bad about it. i hope this song makes people think about this shit more by uncomfortably talking about the issue of gentrification in a raw, possibly offensive way--by saying what us young white folks are really saying when we participate in occupying homes that poorer folks are being forced to move from.

lyrics

you read about it but it's not your reality/
all those poor folks might as well be in another galaxy/
but from the hills you could almost see the whole
battle scene/
the gun shots, police cars and blood splattering/
but from that spot on the ridge, it don't matter, see/
as long as you're not there it won't affect your family/
fuck if its not fair when your budget increase annually/
teaching kids with actions when you preachin' a fantasy/

but wait, who am i to judge you rasin' your seed/
when i came from the same money, now moved
to northeast/
and you don't have to see these neighborhoods,
but i do/
i'm on the east side like the rest of 20-something white youth/

cause its just a little thing called gentrification
its a brand new trend thats been sweeping the nation
like, each and every day another tenant displaced, and/
another young white rich kid to replace them
but i'ma wait until they're gone to go and see the place
cause i don't want to have to see the look on their face
ii'll take your meal and your shelter, i know it sound crazy/
cause i wouldn't ever take that food directly from your baby/
i wouldn't knock on your door, come and tell you to leave/
but i'd let someone else do it and then sell me the lease/

we wouldn't knock on their doors, come and tell them to leave/
but we'd let someone else do it and then sell us the lease/

cause we're desensitized to the endless lies/
and it intensifies this immense disguise/
theres a mask on the truth thats conventionalized/
til we're convinced that it makes no sense to try/

we're desensitized to the endless lies/
and it intensifies this immense disguise/
theres a mask on the truth thats conventionalized/
til we're convinced that it makes no sense to try/

now, you see your beemer as it sparkles thru your ray bans/
and you don't trust no one that's darker than fake tan/
cause you the type of cat thats more concerned with your fashion/
you don't understand the concept of affirmative action, like/
"it's not fair that they get the advantage,
i'm not the one that fucked em over,
and its not my fault they can't manage"
you really don't understand the income of your parents
gives you a million opportunities your work doesn't merit
you didn't earn that desk job or a chance to go to college,
don't be stupid, people have to feed fam on a couple dollars a day/
shine shoes while we pollish our fate/
i get the chance to like, live learn and fall on my face/
i get the chance to like, give, earn and call it a day, cause/
the difference is opportunity, and education
but i'm just a hypocrite with an anti-corporate slogan
cause people who actually change things are no fun!

we're desensitized to the endless lies/
and it intensifies this immense disguise/
theres a mask on the truth thats conventionalized/
til we're convinced that it makes no sense to try/

we're desensitized to the endless lies/
and it intensifies this immense disguise/
theres a mask on the truth thats conventionalized/
til we're convinced that it makes no sense...

it don't take a genius to decode the secret
we spend our trust funds on weed, clothes and sneakers
go to the coffee shop, or the bar on the weekend
and talk a bunch of shit that we think is real deep,
but what's the real reason, and what's the best solution?
solar panels on your mansion ain't exactly revolution/
but most people just flip the chanel
to find the next amusing thing they land on,
so we don't have a leg to stand on

but look at me talking shit, i'm the one
that hits the drive thru so i can eat my chicken on the run/
and i'm trying not to look at my hands, i know they're filthy
does it make it any better that i feel a little guilty?
not really, fuck it, give me a hot philly steak
drop the ill break to kill the bad taste/
and i'll lip-sync my words like Milli-Vanilli, worse?
commit suicide if my fans don't kill me first/
guess its a blessing and a curse,
to see someone suffer and feel a piece of their hurt
so like in between the moments of my own great life/
i see the crippled baby birds that just won't take flight/

and i think about it, every day and night i think about it
as i poison the water that we've been drinking out of/
the situaiont ain't rosy, i'll run the ring around it/
but i won't do shit, i only read about it

i'm desensitized to the endless lies...

credits

from Hypocrite, track released July 3, 2009

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Gepetto

Gepetto is a Portland, Oregon rapper/producer who brings the spirit of early 2000s indie rap into 2022 and beyond

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