Recession Finds Place in Rap's Latest Hits

The ugly economy is making more than a cameo in today’s hottest rap music, with Young Jeezy taking the cake by naming his latest album The Recession. Rap’s often been a barometer of such huge swings, Sara Libby writes, noting the impact last year of Barack Obama’s rise. Now, Jeezy, Jay-Z and others have their mind on their money, and their money on their mind.

“I know we facing a recession,” Jay-Z tells his fellow performers on his latest chart-topper, The Blueprint 3. “But the music ya makin’ gonna make it the Great Depression.” Lil Wayne uses the financial crisis as pickup line in Jay Sean’s Down, telling his female quarry, “I’m down like the economy.” And given the genre’s tendency toward boasting, Libby notes for True/Slant, being “recession-proof” has found its way into plenty of tunes.
(More Jay-Z stories.)