Well, maybe "genius" is a little strong. But producer Swizz Beatz has definitely racked up an impressive list of hits (from DMX’s "Ruff Ryders Anthem" to Beyoncé’s "Upgrade U"), and certain people just can’t seem to understand his work lately. This week, the police department in Camden, N.J. denounced Swizz’s participation in an upcoming anti-violence rally. Their beef? His recent single "It’s Me Snitches," they say, encourages impressionable kids to refuse to cooperate with crime investigations, leading to a horrific cycle of unpunished urban mayhem. Now, they’re absolutely right about the disturbing consequences of hip-hop’s "stop snitchin’" meme. I cringed in April when the otherwise intelligent Cam’ron insisted on 60 Minutes that he wouldn’t notify the cops if he knew his neighbor was a serial killer; Cam and his cronies (who unfortunately include some of my favorite rappers) deserve to be called out for pushing this dumb, dangerous idea.
There’s just one problem: Swizz’s "It’s Me Snitches" has nothing whatsoever to do with "stop snitchin’." For one thing, the song’s real title is "It’s Me B—-es"; "Snitches" is just a replacement word used on the song’s clean radio edit. It’s actually a courteous bow to the very same anti-rap activists who target foul language on the airwaves. (Go ahead and check the original, obviously NSFW track and lyrics for yourself.)
Even so, doesn’t the radio edit amount to a de facto "stop snitching" reference, simply by using the word "snitches"? Again, not really. Swizz is primarily a producer, not a rapper; his lyrics rarely make any kind of sense. In this song in particular, he’s basically just stringing together nonsensical stock phrases that rhyme (or not) for their sonic value. The Village Voice’s Tom Breihan noted this back in March: The radio edit, he wrote, "adds an even more absurdist bend to an already absurdsong….Why would Swizz be talking to snitches and identifyinghimself? There’s no reason. There’s no reason for any of it." In the end, Breihan concluded that "’It’s Me’ makes the rapping part of rap pretty much irrelevant." So, yes, the song contains a few lyrics that sound scary out of context, and the word "snitches" might conceivably call up some uncomfortable connotations. But the idea that Swizz’s catchy gibberish could actually inspire the youth to intimidate witnesses is laughable.
What do you think? Have repeat listens to the edited and unedited versions of "It’s Me Snitches" melted my reasoning capacity entirely? Should Swizz just start shoobedy-doo-bop-scatting to avoid these awkward situations? You tell me.
Comments (1-18) of 18 Add your comment
It’s unfortunate Swizz is getting all this negative press. He’s slowly becoming more and more prominent without the recognition. Maybe one day this’ll all blow over and everyone will see how overrated Timbaland is.
Simon, I notice you cover alot of pieces pertaining to the hip-hop community. Don’t get me wrong, I love hip-hop, well, more accurately, I used to, when it wasn’t so over-saturated between pop radio and Mtv, etc. I enjoy hip-hop music as much as possible, but I don’t think some of the pieces you’ve been featuring really ring bell with EW readers. How many of them really cared about you spending the night at the new Ja Rule video with both him & Lil’ Wayne a week before they were both arrested in NYC? I’m not talkin’ trash on ya, but I happened to notice you posted the somewhat funny altnerate Kanye West video clip, then this item, which I live in Philadelphia, and hadn’t even heard about this Swizz story across the bridge in Camden, NJ. And then really randomly, you threw in the Joni Mitchell goes to Starbucks blog a few hours later. I can see your love of hip-hop, but I don’t think many EW fans understand it or get it. But then again, what do I Know?
Who the heck is Swizz?
Swizz used to be the in-house producer for the Ruff Ryders clique (DMX, Eve, The Lox, etc.) back in the late 90’s/early 2000’s. He’s worked with everyone from Mariah Carey to Jay-Z (before they were on the same record label.) He’s a bragful super-producer in the same vein as Timbaland, Jermaine Dupri, and Dr. Dre, who then decided yeah i need more money, why not put a solo album out too? originally the concept was that it was goin to be mostly just Swizz Beatz, but since he’s had so many hit singles this year & worked with so many industry heavy weights, he’s now probably going to have more guests on his disc than a V.I.P. guestlist at hot 97’s Summer Jam!
PHIL IS A HATER
Thank you Zach. I never realized being informed translated into HATER from whatever part of the country you hail from. Keep up the good work!
” I cringed in April when the otherwise intelligent Cam’ron…”
Im sorry, this just stopped me in my tracks. Um, WHAT???????
You must be a member of Dip-set on the low, cuz thats the most ignorant group on the planet. NOTHING they say is about anything. They ridicule other rappers who try to grow up. THey want hip-hop to remain stagnant. Thats whats killing (esp. NY) Hip-hop.
As for Swizz, of course you’re right. ITs a party track, no more no less.
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