"Shutterbugg" by Big Boi ft. Cutty
Seth
So the big debate in my corner of the world this year was this: Big Boi or Kanye? I'll save my thoughts on Mr. West and his magnum opus for a bit later but let me say this: in terms of a hip-hop record, I preferred Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Kanye is an Artiste capable of grand statements but he remains merely a serviceable and workmanlike rapper whose vision makes up for his skill. If he and Big Boi were to go head-to-head in a rap battle, the Outkast MC would wipe the floor with Kanye and ask for seconds before West could even Tweet that he'd just been smoked. "Shutterbugg," the most dexterous exhibition of Big Boi's prowess from his 2010 LP, makes just about everything on the Kanye album look belabored and overcooked by comparison.
While I ultimately prefer the dark coke-rap themes of the Wu-Tang Clan (and its assorted personages) and Clipse, I appreciate the classiness of Big Boi's approach. Like a futurist Sam Cooke, Big Boi lays down a slick rap about the joys of partying and hooking up with women over a gigantic beat. Anyone still on the "Andre 3000 is the brains of Outkast" train at this point is insane as Big Boi gives as lively and nimble a vocal performance as anything released last year. I want this song to accompany a slow-motion highlight reel of all my trips to the bar.
I think this song is an excellent example of the importance of the performer as I don't think anyone could have made this song sizzle quite like Big Boi. The lyrics don't tell the listener much about life but good God are they fun. "Shutterbugg" earned a spot on my list through the sheer energy evident in the performances here and while I'll (SPOILER ALERT) have a Kanye song later on the list, I think Big Boi takes the rap crown for 2010.
Andrew
This is a damn fine song. I have to say, I was certainly on the "Andre 3000 is the brains of Outkast" train for a while, but Big Boi has impressed me with pretty much everything he's done since Andre went off to fail at having a film career. Of Big Boi's recent stuff, I slightly prefer "Shine Blockas" but Shutterbugg has its own swagger.
I am not a hip-hop specialist* but as far as I can tell, the balance to strike in rap involves nimbleness** and muscularity. The words have to flow adroitly but they also have to land with force. Kanye falls a little too far on the nimble side, while guys like Rick Ross attain plenty of force with almost no deftness. Big Boi has both, making his rhymes ultimately very satisfying. They're impressive and quick but they feel fulfilled and supported. Pardon me for talking about this like a theater professor but I just spent two years studying Shakespeare. And I'm very, very white.
It's interesting for me to think about why this would never make my top ten, even though I like it very much. I've always had a distant, conflicted relationship with hip-hop***. Even though songs like Shutterbugg are, at the end of the day, uber-catchy party tunes, it doesn't feel like Big Boi is talking about my party. Which is a pretty self-centered way of looking at (listening to) music but it's how I filter it. In 2005, I actively spent part of the year trying to open myself to hip-hop and it didn't really stick. Maybe 2011 will be the year.
*Flowologist
**Nimbility? Nimbliciousness?
***I'll address this further because I (SPOILER ALERT) will have a Kanye song on my top ten list as well!
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