When it comes to rap music fathers usually get the short end of the stick. This is because a lot of famous rappers grew up in underprivileged, single mother homes. Many of their fathers had either left, were dead, in jail or were simply deadbeat. As such it doesn’t come as a surprise that single mothers are usually praised for their strength while fathers are insulted, cussed out, ridiculed, questioned and demeaned for their absence.
Recently I wrote an article which contained songs about mothers so I thought it would be great to also write one about fathers. Here is a list of rap songs about fathers, father figures and the feeling/responsibility of being a father. The content varies and while many of the songs might have a negative connotation there are many which contain positives too.
‘Poppa Was a Player’ by Nas
This is a heartbreaking song by Nas which talks about his relationship between his mother, father and himself. He states in the song that his father, blues musicians Olu Dara, was around for his childhood. However, Nas went through negative experiences such as catching his father in the act of cheating and illicit drug abuse. The chorus says it all “Poppa was a player, player was in poppa, poppa loved the ladies, never got enough of the pretty brown round, running round town ‘shhh don’t tell your mother what’s going down’”
‘Papa Can You Hear Me?’ by N-Dubz
British rap trio N-Dubz released an entire album titled Uncle B dedicated to their late manager who was also the father of Dappy. Papa Can You Hear Me is a sad track which credits Uncle B as being the driving force that helped N-Dubz excel as a crew. He’s described as a motivator and mentor. The saddest thing about the track is that it’s one of remorse; remorse for all the negative words that were exchanged with Uncle B during his life. The group also expresses that they only realized how much they loved Uncle B after he died.
‘Moment of Clarity’ by Jay-Z
This is an unflattering song by one of rap’s biggest icons. The Eminem-produced track appeared on Jay-Z’s Black Album and no words are minced on this song. The first line of the song pretty much describes Jay’s relationship with father, “Paps died didn’t cry didn’t know him that well.”
Retrospect For Life by Common ft. Lauryn Hill
This song takes a very different approach to the other songs mentioned in this article. The story is narrated from the perspective of a man whose girlfriend is pregnant with his child. He contemplates abortion and in the process starts to think about all the experiences he’ll miss as a father. The song covers a considerable amount of questions about morality, the role of financial stability in the upbringing of a child, trust in relationships, etc. It’s an extremely heavy song but at the end of it all our narrator, Common, makes the right decision to keep the child.
‘Just the Two of Us’ by Will Smith
This track samples Grover Washington’s classic song of the same title. It’s a song Will Smith dedicated to his son Trey. It’s sung from the perspective of a father giving life advice to his son. He covers a lot of ground advising his son to pursue the career he wishes to with a passion to advice about women and relationships. The song is especially beautiful because it not only gives advice but also expresses the anxiety and joy that being a father brings.
‘Where Have You Been?’ by Jay-Z & Beanie Sigel
Where Have You Been is a song about men who are angry with their fathers for their absence. Jay and Beans blame their absent fathers for many of the ills of their lives in the song. They talk about the simple things that their fathers were not present for such as teaching them how to ride a bike and fix a flat tire. It also covers the abusive relationships between their respective parents. They also talk about the struggles their mothers went through as single parents. Sigel also states that he faced harsh punishment from his mother because of his similarities with his father. His mother attached negative memories to these similarities, hence creating a strain on their mother-son relationship. The chorus is especially chilling.
‘Daddy’s Little Baby’ by Ja Rule ft. Ron Isley
Ja Rule took some time out to advise his daughter about making it in this life. He expresses his love for her and tells her that she will always be his little baby no matter how old she is, and she can always come to him for anything because he loves her.
‘Daughters’ by Nas
Nas keeps it real on this track. He talks about the difficulties of juggling his career as a prominent rapper and being a father to his daughter. He tells us how his daughter manipulated him with guilt to get her way as well as the discomfort and concern he faced when she posted a picture of condoms on her dresser among other topics.
‘Life’ by Royce Da 5’9” ft. Amerie
Life is one of Royce’s most moving songs ever. Barbra Streisand’s A Woman in Love was sampled on this track and creates an emotional backdrop to a song that is primarily about a father giving life advice to his child. Royce tells his child that he will come across people that will wish misery on him and will try to take good things from him. He advises him to keep a positive attitude and look at every day as a blessing. It’s full of quotable and gems of wisdom.
