Cliché Central

Three months ago, on August 4, 2009, Dorwin Demarcus Dorrough, a fresh, bright young rapper released his debut album Dorrough Music, on the E1 Music label. Unbeknownst to the average listener, Dorrough’s songs are frequently laced with symbolic principles that show his musical prowess. While Dorrough devotes a lot of time on every track of his album to decreeing societal evils and offering suggestions as to how to remedy them, the track A Whole Lotta particularly shines.

Most listeners will pass over this seemingly lackluster slow jam for the wildly popular Ice Cream Paint Job, but upon my first listen to A Whole Lotta, I was transfixed. I could really hear Dorrough speaking to me, telling me how it really was, despite the rap industry’s heavy attempts to censor the dark, secret meaning of this song. Why, even the title of this song is a personal thesis condemning the evils of greed, corruption and excess.

The lyrics are as follows (an MP3 of this song can be found immediately after this post, on Friday’s post):

Whoa-oh-oh

Whoa-oh-oh

You are now rocking with the best, Dorrough Music

I got money by the dozen

I get money by the dozen

I got ho’s by the dozen

I gotta whole lotta G’s, a whole lotta ho’s

A whole lotta cheese, a whole lotta those

A whole lotta these and a whole lotta those

It don’t matter what they think, just as long as they kno-o-ow

We get our money (Whoa-oh-oh)

We get our money (Whoa-oh-oh)

We get our money

We get our money (Whoa-oh-oh)

I bet ya’ll already knew that I would come on this song like I always do

Imma wreck this track, bless this track

(I’m a worldwide store, better check my stacks)

I’m official, official, strapped with a pistol

So certified I should sign my initials on the dotted line

Gotta grind, gotta shine, never outta line

Haters hate me cuz they know

I gotta whole lotta G’s, a whole lotta ho’s

A whole lotta cheese, a whole lotta those

A whole lotta these and a whole lotta those

It don’t matter what they think, just as long as they kno-o-ow

We get our money (Whoa-oh-oh)

We get our money (Whoa-oh-oh)

We get our money

We get our money (Whoa-oh-oh)

I say my Cadillac drip drop, paint job flip flop

Can’t stand haters so we hang ‘em by slip knots

Looking for me? Soon you can find me at the tip-top

Don’t hate me, I’m new school hip-hop!

Yeah boy I’m as hungry as a hippo

F***ing with my boo, get you stretched like a limo

I won game on these ho’s like Nintendo

But short like a demo, cuz I know that dey know

I get a lot of whatever I want a lotta of

I’m getting bottles, lil mama, that’s what you’ve gotta love

And when you see me I’m flossin’ and when I’m shinin’ I’m glossin’

I ain’t got time for one hater; [I’ll] just laugh at ‘em later

Ain’t got time for a Bible, I can hear from ‘em later

Curb that gluestick around, long as I’m getting this paper

M-O-N-E-Y, stay on my mind, that must be why-y-y

I gotta G’s, a whole lotta ho’s

A whole lotta cheese, a whole lotta those

A whole lotta these and a whole lotta those

It don’t matter what they think, just as long as they kno-o-ow

We get our money (Whoa-oh-oh)

We get our money (Whoa-oh-oh)

We get our money

We get our money (Whoa-oh-oh)

I gotta whole lotta G’s, a whole lotta ho’s

A whole lotta cheese, a whole lotta those

A whole lotta these and a whole lotta those

It don’t matter what they think, just as long as they kno-o-ow

We get our money (Whoa-oh-oh)

We get our money (Whoa-oh-oh)

We get our money

We get our money (Whoa-oh-oh)

Ha, Yeah! Mr. D-O-double r (primetime click)

This has been an A1, a first class, a top notch, a five star, you feel me?

I told ya’ll you was getting your money’s worth! (Yeah buddy!)

Dollar section stand up!

D-O-dub stand up

Ay, ay, ay

When he croons “we get our money,” he teaches a valuable lesson both about life and entrepreneurship. These lyrics speak about him achieving a goal he had previously set for himself (apparently that was to get his money). This shows and demonstrates for many the power of willpower. Dorrough really means to tell us that if we work hard enough, anything is possible.

He is also speaking to the entrepreneurs among us. The goal of all entrepreneurs is to make money, and Dorrough is apparently quite skilled at it.

When he raps “haters hate me cuz they know I gotta whole lotta…” he is speaking sensitively about the peer pressures of the modern social climate. Growing up in such a climate is tough, and it can incline one to “be hatin’” on one another, but Dorrough throws all that out the window and advocates “bearing the olive branch,” so to speak, to our enemies.

By saying he’s “official,” he is calling for all his peers to recognize his authority, a powerful leadership initiative on his part. He will NOT take no for an answer. He is, after all, “official,” and will not accept any complaints unless properly voiced in the form of a signed petition.

For all we know, Dorrough might be aspiring to become a scientist with all his G’s (gravitational constants) and all his Ho’s (element 67, Holmium). He is sending a deep message to kids that science and a good education are the keys to success in later life. This is exemplified by the children’s choir singing the “whoa-oh-oh”s. He shows those children that they have a chance to be famous and possibly grow up to become influential leaders.

When he raps, “I’m as hungry as a hippo,” (my personal favorite line in the song) he is making a tongue-in-cheek reference to the millions of starving children around the world. He is trying to pressure national agencies to donate to the cause of starvation around the world, an ardous task that he has thrust onto his shoulders.

Finally, when he sings the hook “I’ve got a whole lotta these, a whole lotta those,” he is deep in philisophical thought about the ambiguity of the material world. He is never quite sure just what exactly he’s got, but he’s definitely got something. Such is manner of mankind. We never truly know what we’ve got until we lose it. We may think we know what we’ve got, but sadly we do not.

The marks of Dorwin’s masked symbolism are characteristics of his true genius. Now, I do realize that most of these undertones will not be recognized by the average listener, but they are definitely there and can be found by close interpreters of the bass-heavy song.

My hat is off to you, Mr. Dorrough, for crafting the first purely symbolic rap, ranking right up there with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.