warm it up
Is it me, or is Nas' appearance in the 'Milkshake' video the coolest thing he's done in ages? No, he doesn't rap on the actual song - which is why the role he plays here is so amusing. See, everyone knows that at this point in their careers, however you feel about Kelis it has to be said that she is doing better than the almost-perpetually underachieving Nasir Jones. And particularly with the audience to whom 'Milkshake' appeals, there can be no doubt: she gives him sex, she gives him class, to twist a famous phrase - more importantly, she gives him credibility. So in the video, he plays a fry cook: on the humble, flipping burgers and looking greasy (or should that be 'greasey' - the new grimey?). Meanwhile Kelis is out front, dancing on tables, flirting with the customers, being the star.
Of course, the obvious point of comparison is another celebrity rap/r&b couple. I think it can be argued that even with his fairly short verse, Jay-Z hijacks 'Crazy In Love' - and in the video, he seems to literally hijack proceedings (whether you object to this or not, with a political reading or otherwise) - that song may be credited as featuring Jigga, but he comes close to making it his own. Of course, the thing about this is that Jay-Z doesn't need any of Beyonce's cred (just a larger slice of the pop fanbase, perhaps?) - if you accept that their relationship exists, then in terms of music and public persona they're pretty equally matched, with Jay-Z maybe having the edge in terms of who wears the trousers of cool, if you will.
So there's lots of interesting ways to read Nas slaving away in the kitchen for Kelis. You could say wow, he's got a better sense of humour than I thought (there's a possible added layer of self-deprecation if you think that Nas is aware of how people perceive his current status relevant to Jay-Z's - he's embracing the position of underdog in more than one sense). You could say heh, that guy knows his place. You could add well, I guess this explains how we reconcile the slightly odd coupling of Nasty Escobar and the right-on critic's darling who made 'Caught Out There': she's totally in charge. You could exclaim but wait up, shit, I gotta go listen to 'Popular Thug' again and see how this reflects on that (because that track presents Nas as the one calling the shots, with Kelis so hooked on him she's willing to overlook his nasty ways at the time as she regrets ever falling for him). You might start to think hmmm, maybe these guys really are the cooler, more believable, more fun couple, willing to tease us more imaginatively about how much of what we see in their work "really" corresponds to their private life.
But best of all, I think, is the pay-off, that final shot of Kelis and Nas just exchanging a look, leaning either side of the partition between kitchen and diner. Because you just know that what he's thinking is "Yes, she's the boss - isn't it great? Cuz at the end of the day, after shaking her milkshake out there for all the boys to drool over, she comes back home to my undeserving, underachieving ass. Kelis is my girl. And damn right, she's better than yours."
(Although not better than mine, obviously.)
Is it me, or is Nas' appearance in the 'Milkshake' video the coolest thing he's done in ages? No, he doesn't rap on the actual song - which is why the role he plays here is so amusing. See, everyone knows that at this point in their careers, however you feel about Kelis it has to be said that she is doing better than the almost-perpetually underachieving Nasir Jones. And particularly with the audience to whom 'Milkshake' appeals, there can be no doubt: she gives him sex, she gives him class, to twist a famous phrase - more importantly, she gives him credibility. So in the video, he plays a fry cook: on the humble, flipping burgers and looking greasy (or should that be 'greasey' - the new grimey?). Meanwhile Kelis is out front, dancing on tables, flirting with the customers, being the star.
Of course, the obvious point of comparison is another celebrity rap/r&b couple. I think it can be argued that even with his fairly short verse, Jay-Z hijacks 'Crazy In Love' - and in the video, he seems to literally hijack proceedings (whether you object to this or not, with a political reading or otherwise) - that song may be credited as featuring Jigga, but he comes close to making it his own. Of course, the thing about this is that Jay-Z doesn't need any of Beyonce's cred (just a larger slice of the pop fanbase, perhaps?) - if you accept that their relationship exists, then in terms of music and public persona they're pretty equally matched, with Jay-Z maybe having the edge in terms of who wears the trousers of cool, if you will.
So there's lots of interesting ways to read Nas slaving away in the kitchen for Kelis. You could say wow, he's got a better sense of humour than I thought (there's a possible added layer of self-deprecation if you think that Nas is aware of how people perceive his current status relevant to Jay-Z's - he's embracing the position of underdog in more than one sense). You could say heh, that guy knows his place. You could add well, I guess this explains how we reconcile the slightly odd coupling of Nasty Escobar and the right-on critic's darling who made 'Caught Out There': she's totally in charge. You could exclaim but wait up, shit, I gotta go listen to 'Popular Thug' again and see how this reflects on that (because that track presents Nas as the one calling the shots, with Kelis so hooked on him she's willing to overlook his nasty ways at the time as she regrets ever falling for him). You might start to think hmmm, maybe these guys really are the cooler, more believable, more fun couple, willing to tease us more imaginatively about how much of what we see in their work "really" corresponds to their private life.
But best of all, I think, is the pay-off, that final shot of Kelis and Nas just exchanging a look, leaning either side of the partition between kitchen and diner. Because you just know that what he's thinking is "Yes, she's the boss - isn't it great? Cuz at the end of the day, after shaking her milkshake out there for all the boys to drool over, she comes back home to my undeserving, underachieving ass. Kelis is my girl. And damn right, she's better than yours."
(Although not better than mine, obviously.)
<< Home