Xzibit feat. Eminem - Don't Approach Me (2000)

Today's cut is from Xzibit's 3rd album, Restless, his first release after getting a lot of mainstream exposure due to showstopping guest appearances on Dre's What's The Difference and both versions of Bitch Please. Appearing on Dr. Dre's, Eminem's and Snoop Dogg's latest albums can heap a lot of expectation on a rapper who had previously got most of his attention from West Coast and underground fans.  

Wisely, Xzibit used his new found friends to help him out on Restless and one of the tracks that generated the most buzz when the tracklist was released was the Eminem assisted Don't Approach Me.

Following on from some of the themes that Eminem raised on his smash single The Way I Am, the pair trade verses about the problems that fame has brought them, particularly the way that fans and the media listen to their songs and then assume that they know the artists on a personal level.  Fans might feel like that because the rappers put so much honesty into their lyrics, but they take it to another level sometimes and when they see the artists in public they'll greet them as if they've just seen their best friend, forgetting that this familiarity is a one way street.

The artists don't know who is coming at them in a friendly way or who has something more sinister up their sleeve and the song lets us see that these feelings put them on edge.  It's not that they're being a dick on purpose, but as they say in the intro, they're merely protecting themselves and their families by any means necessary.

Em's closing verse contains some of the most hard hitting lines:

And it's a disgrace Hailey can't play with her toys
in the front yard without you drivin by honkin your horn
screamin some shit, leanin out your windows, beepin n shit
Or pullin up in my drive like I won't leap in your whip
And so these kids tell their friends and relatives where I live
so my address ends up on the internet again
So then, I do an interview with Spin, tellin them
that if someone comes to my crib, I'ma shove a gun in their ribs
And reporters, blow it out of proportion
"Oh, now he's pullin guns on his fans
just for tryin to stand on his porch"

Dead Prez - Propaganda (2000)

When Dead Prez released their debut album Let's Get Free in 2000 they drew a lot of comparisons with Public Enemy for their politically charged lyrics and hard hitting instrumentals.  On the opening track of the album they refer to themselves as "Somewhere in between N.W.A. and P.E." which sums them up pretty well.  Sadly their career path wasn't quite as big of either of those groups, but for a short while at the turn of the millennium they introduced their ideals to a whole new generation of Hip Hop listeners with a string of singles unlike anything else on MTV at the time and in my opinion dropped a certified classic of an album.

One of the strongest cuts on the album is the bonus track Propaganda which was track 44 on the CD, following on from about 30 tracks of silence after the end of the main album.  The instrumental is a lot more peaceful than most on here, but the lyrics are anything but subdued.  The opening lines really set the tone for the rest of the verses:

You can't fool all the people all of the time
But if you fool the right ones then the rest will fall behind

M1 and Sticman ask their listeners to wake up and really think about what information they're being spoon fed by the government and the media rather than just believe everything that they're told as the truth.  They never get too far into weird conspiracy theories but they really do make you think.  It's a song that didn't get much recognition on release but it's well worth revisiting 14 years later as it's still as relevant today.

P.S. Listen to the album if you haven't already!