More often than not, we as men don’t give the strong and positive women in our lives enough credit for the love and compassion they provide us. Whether it’s our mothers, sisters, girlfriends, wives, lovers, aunts, or grandmothers, for some reason we seem to focus more on the negative women and gloomy experiences in our life, rather than appreciate the positive ones that make it possible for us to stroll through the city with a smile on our face.Throughout the years, hip hop/ rap music has been criticized for portraying women in a negative light, although there are a few cases such as Common’s “The Light,” Nas’ “Getting Married,” and Ghostface Killah’s “All I Got Is You,” where nothing but appreciation and glorification is shown for the women in each respected artist’s life.
I had the pleasure of growing up with my mom and sister when I was younger, so needless to say, I’ve always had the utmost respect for strong willed women. Both of them are amazingly tough women who have conquered some incredibly difficult obstacles throughout their lives and have made various personal sacrifices, in order to take care of their family and children.
A track that I’m truly infatuated with right now is TI’s dedication to his fiancée Tameka“Tiny” Cottle, “Got Your Back” ft. Keri Hilson. Honestly, I have to commend TI for taking on a song like this, especially considering his “thug” image, in a genre where the word “bitch” is used nonchalantly all the time, TI has gone another route, much like Tupac did with his famous dedication to poverty stricken women “Keep Ya Head Up.” He boasts about his relationship and the fact that he’s in love with one woman and is no longer interested in “playing the field” as some say.
In the last verse TI raps in his southern accent:
“The pieces to the puzzle in my life/ With all of my good days and all of my bad/ You stood by your man and you know you got my back/ Worth every car, every bag, with me they wanna be that/ I know what I got at home/ I ain’t gon’ ever leave that.”
Throughout the song’s lyrics, TI does nothing but compliment his future wife and takes the time to thank her for everything she’s done for him while he’s been going through life changing trials and tribulations.
Tiny took care of their children when TI was incarcerated and was there for him everyday, continuously showing emotional support for the troubled rapper, who’s been given a second chance to try to make things right in his life.
Recently released from prison after serving nearly 10 months for federal weapons charges, ATL’s suave emcee seems hungrier than ever to prove to the world that the “bad guy” he used to be known as (and to some extent is still viewed as by many) has in fact come full circle and is working nonstop to become a positive role model for today’s society.
After his turbulent upbringing and previous run ins with the law, TI is now on a mission to give back to the underprivileged and provide positive insight to youngsters who look up to him and think that being “gangster” is the hip thing to do.
Last year’s hit show “TI: Road to Redemption” was the first of what is hopefully many positive steps for the incredibly talented young artist. Songs like “Got Your Back” represent the matured TI, who now finally seems to realize what really is important in life.
Not the guns, drugs, or money, but rather the loved ones, experiences, and what we as individuals can give back to our society and community, in a time when we all seem to be out solely for ourselves.
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