Verse of the Day: Trey Songz - "I Don't Really Care"

For a long time disregarded as just another R&B-ish-but-mostly-pop singer by moi, Trey Songz, it turns out, is actually dope.



What convinced me? Anticipation II, an awesome R&B tape that proved Songz wasn't Chris Brown-lite, as I'd imagined. That tape was almost exclusively rap-less, and like any knuckle-headed rap fan I'm adverse to sangerz turnt rappers. But of course, Trey proved me wrong. Again.

Gotta stop, hold up 

too much money to fold up

Keep some green to roll up, 

I run it like a motor

You see the way I pull up, 

attention like a soldier

What you expect to happen now I'm swaggin on the sofa

I be so reckless, 

spend 100, 000 on my necklace

That mean my shit is colder, 

my neck froze polar

Bear nigga yeah, baller of the year

And we can take it there nigga I ain't never scared

(starts at 1:38)

Trey's guest spot on Waka's second single is a high-profile outing, with him providing a catchy hook (as expected) and also a verse, that blurs the line between rapping and singing. For all the qualms one might have with R&B cats on the mic, flow is typically not the problem. Success with singing correlates directly to success with cadence, meaning Trey's flow here is nice. It's a braggadocios performance, with Trey stunting recklessly, a la Waka.

It's interesting to note the business implications of the sangerz turnt rappers phenomenon. I mean, I'm sure if asked, any of these artists would claim they were simply chasing a passion of theirs, and maybe that's true. But, picking up rapping is supremely beneficial to their career. Touring as a rapper is undeniably easier than touring as a singer, because the industry standard is to go out and yell over dubbed up tracks. By tapping into this easier side of touring, Trey can increase profits while exerting less effort. Sad, but true. Also, by rapping features on various tapes, he can follow the current trend of the higher your visibility, the better. The retread of familiar topics is highly acceptable in rapping, so I think it isn't too much of a stretch to say that writing raps is easier than writing lyrics that must be sung. Rapping pays.

Versatility, as always, reigns king.

Previous: Verse of the Day: Sean Price - "Figure Four"