They said I Should Write More

IS BUST IT BABY A LOVE SONG ?
So a friend contacted me the other day while parlaying with her people at the beach and posed the question to me; do you think Bust it Baby is a love song. This question immediately struck me. By now I'm sure everybody has had their introduction as well as clarification on the ramifications of what constitutes a bust it baby. Bust it Baby is a movement according to Plies, a term of endearment, synonymous with Shawty. For some females like myself I prefer not to be ever refereed to as a Bust it Baby, I'm from Chicago and that's to damn close to Bussa Baby for me. But for the sake of answering this question let us attempt to dissect Plies song.

When one thinks of the traditional notion of a love song, they think of an artist professing their admiration for another individual and equating the others existence to that of the air they breathe. Whimsical metaphors and equivocal attempts to describe feelings in a lucid fashion are most commonplace. So I guess by traditional standards Bust it Baby fails to make the bar. However like the times, traditional notions also change as they begin to mirror the society in which they represent. Let’s face it standards are low in society today and in some cases nonexistent. The challenges of dating and screening to court that our mothers and grandparents generation faced are long gone, replaced by the convenience brought fort by technology. It is this technology that enables minimal personalization and limits the true revealing of self. Cools are rarely taken off as being a player and pulling the most females, or money over bitches is the mentality that permeates society. Let’s face it, the media who depicts sex and money as the obtainable good, has brainwashed society into a frenzy to the point where nothing else matters but getting laid and getting paid. No wonder the notion of love has faded and is often time criticized when exposed. Upon writing this I observed as in many circle of friends, upon one mentioning that they think they are falling in love or in love, the very possibility is ripped to shreds and the ideology of “ your just going get hurt in the end; they’re probably dogging you anyway” becomes the mantra. It’s safe to conclude that the youth in our society are either afraid to love or don’t know how to love. This of course is a topic for another writing though. Getting back on track what does this have to do with Plies and Bust it Baby. The entertainer Plies presents himself as a goon, as a man engulfed in street life, where the m.o.b mentality reins supreme and sexual prowless is the expectant norm of any male. However even the most brain washed and scorned male is still human. Love is that in which no mortal being possesses the ability to control. So if a male spends enough time around a female who appeals to them physically, mentally, and elevates them spiritually, love is bound to become a factor, even for the toughest of gents. Females are more emotional then males this is true. I know I personally thrive off of emotions and feelings, choosing to go hard when I love. However, being soft for men is seen as a weakness. As rapper Common states “ As men we were taught to hold it in, that’s why we don’t know how to we older men.” Thus men who were emotionally crippled, like the entertainer Plies, and taught that they’re never suppose to show emotions in the Betty Crocker sense are faced with the challenge of wanting to show this particular female that they want to keep them around and actually care on a deeper level, with having to maintain this machismo image that has almost become encrypted in there DNA because it’s all that they know. When one views it from this perspective, Plies brought the phrase Bust it Baby to the mainstream as a way for emotionally crippled males like himself to show admiration for a female but still keep his manly image. Lets play devils advocate and agree that by societal standards today Bust It Baby is a love song, well the remix with Neyo at least is. Here's the evidence I found to support this sad notion.
Exhibit A
Initially with it being Plies and all I would say that he is not talking about love but rather a lustful infatuation. However as we dig into the lyrics, him saying things “ like your sex but more I love what you do” kind of rules out the pure lustful intent and prescribes it to be much more.
Exhibit B.
“While she sleep I sneak and put hickies on her neck”. Hickies are hater marks. Now if a female is allowing a guy to put hater marks on her neck, while she’s sleep she’s clearly in love with him. Don’t believe me fellas test this theory out, you’ll see exactly where you stand emotionally with your female when she wakes up and sees you’ve marked her neck up. Any respectable female isn’t going to want a hicky. However a respectable female in love and in the moment will definitely let it fly and use make up to cover that shit up for the next couple of days. If she allows you to land a hicky it means that you are highly favored. Now there are some females who want hickies to sport or show off, but this article is intended and aimed towards the more mature crowd who doesn’t do wack stuff like that.. Now any male who chooses to put a hicky on a female’s neck is marking his territory. Territory is only marked when it is held in high favor. Of course it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s love if you have a hicky, but what makes the Bust it Baby type hicky interesting is the fact that it’s done while the female is sleep. This to me says that Plies, the guy, is admiring his female while she sleeps and chooses to be affectionate by kissing her neck. That’s some I care deeply about this female so Imma display it in a strange fashion type shit.
Exhibit C
What wraps the deal for me though is the Ne-yo verse
Yea Yea... (so now),This heres an entertainer, (slow down)Your just one more, (he don't respect you)He just gon hurt you and neglect youWell let em say what they wanna(yeaa)I made a promise(yeaa),To do you right and I'm gonna(heyy)Girl id do everthing I can,To prove I'm a betta man,Than ya friends think I amm...

The guy is trying to prove he can be a better man, love, case closed.
Closing Thoughts
Now don’t get it twisted the fact that Bust it Baby can be painted as a love song by today’s standards does not make this a good thing. In fact it’s sad. I for one do not view Bust it Baby as a love song. I however fall in the minority, but this could be due to my age and the fact that I have been exposed to the true essence of a love song. However, for the highschoolers who haven't Bust it Baby may sadly enough be all they have. Shaking my damn head. I’m glad Al Green dropped his new album to bring the true notion of love songs back to the spectrum. The fact of the matter is that Bust it Baby like almost every other song that doesn’t fit into the Neo soul genre has to present love hand in hand with sex. This is what skews the lines of love for our youth today. Rarely do songs that express love without the sexual connotation reach the radio and the ears of the masses. Sex and love do go hand and hand but where society today falters is that sex is placed before love, instead of love existing and sex being a manifestation of that love. Lastly fellas get off that Plies, don’t make up terms that only you view as a term of endearment and try to make everybody else believe it is one because you don’t want to be viewed as soft. If you really dig a chick you better tell her just like that and keep it one hundred, man up and stop thinking it’ll make you less of a man.