More like… Rear End Theory!
It’s official. Low end-theory jumped the shark.
For the last year I’d been wanting to check-out Low End Theory at the Airliner but every time I tried, some obstacle got in the way. The usual stuff- the line was too long or I was too tired after work or nobody else wanted to go out on a Wednesday.
This week I got to see what the noise was about. On Wednesday I went to the event hoping to get down to some good music and take my mind off my daily trials. The poet/rapper 2Mex brought it hard, as usual. And the furious bobbing head of Gaslamp Killer made me feel like we were always in agreement.
But then they brought on riffraff.
He’s a white rapper from Houston texas. I read that he lives in an apartment adorned like a nightclub with a banner of himself hanging on the wall. He has a tattoo of the MTV logo tattooed on his neck. He was eliminated from the show “From G’s to Gents” on the first espisode, season 2.
I’m not sure if his act is supposed to be a big joke or if it just comes off that way accidentally, but either way I don’t believe it’s funny enough to warrant riffraff’s existence as a rapper.
For those of you who don’t know what jumping the shark means, it’s a phrase coined in the nineties which refers to the episode of Happy Days where Fonzie has to jump a shark tank with his motorcycle. It’s meant to benchmark the beginning of a show’s decline, a moment where a show tries too hard to be new and different, and instead misses the mark and loses its credibility.
That’s not to say that Low-end Theory will never be good again, but on Wednesday night, Low-end Theory gave up it’s legitimacy as a cool event.
Riffraff spews stink nuggets such as “the bitch is tight” and “suck my mother fuckin cock with a condom” and “I’m not a rapper, I’m a musician/ I stay high like college tuition”.
These lyrics are so foul they hurt my feelings. Yeah, tight refers to being cool and having a tight pussy…but such an obvious wordplay should remain unwritten. What did black people do to deserve such a disgraceful appropriation of their art form?
But I wasn’t upset that low-end theory had to jump the shark my first time there by putting on this buffoon. I wouldn’t have given him another thought had he not gone out of his way to call out all the haters in the room.
At the show, a number of what I assume were actual music fans were standing still with folded arms and buzz-killed faces. He tells his crowd, a group of inexplicably loyal fans, to brush off the haters and give them the shoulder, or something.
Seriously riff raff? Are you blaming me for hating your shit ass rap? I’m not hating on you for being a white rapper, I hate you because you’re terrible at rapping. I don’t even know you and I feel embarrassed for you.
I totally get the potential that Riff Raff has for being a fresh and funny perspective. But it’s not fresh enough or funny enough to warrant anyone watching it, especially not at the Airliner. All Riff Raff served to accomplish on Wednesday was to signal the transition of low end theory from cool, fresh, and fun to trying way too hard. Let’s hope it’s a slow decline.
I recommend the Airliner’s other event, Heart On. Go there on the first Sunday of the month and you’ll find a down to earth party that even after three years, has managed to stay fun and inviting. The crowds, though smaller, make up for their size with enthusiasm and friendliness. The music from the resident DJ’s and frequent live acts always manage to entertain, and the live artists and gallery and vendors provide countless conversation starters on the patio. Heart On takes place on the first Sundays of every month, and it’s a great place to hang if you’re an art/music fan. If you hate music and art you should stick with Riff Raff.
