For assignment 1 the song I chose was the “I Been On (Remix)”. This song was originally a Beyoncé song, but the remix made years later added flair from fellow Houston rappers Bun-B, Z-Ro, Scarface, Willie D, Slim Thug, and Lil Keke. All of these rappers are African American and grew up on Houston’s southside. Houston’s southside is the southern part of Houston which is made up of a huge majority of the Black community in the city. This remix was released in 2014 and is in the genre of rap. The original by Beyoncé was released in 2013 on her SoundCloud, the song was later reworked and released in 2019.
This song is a homage to Beyonce’s hometown of Houston. It’s very parallel to her husband’s “Empire State of Mind”. The remix features only rappers from Houston and really makes the song a hometown anthem. All the artists on this song show their massive pride in being from Texas, and mainly Houston throughout each verse. The rappers on this song show their immense pride in Houston and talk about many of the things that make Houston a unique city to be from. At the start of Lil Keke’s verse he starts with “713 homie I’ve been on” which is the area code for Houston. In the next verse by Slim Thug he says “Ridin candy and chrome , this Texas” in reference to the style of cars that are popular in the Houston area. These cars and called “Slabs” and are known to have bright candy paint, elbow wheels, and massive sound systems. Throughout the song many slang terms that are from the Houston area. One example is when Willie D says “You’re plexing with the bey, you’re plexing with me”. Plexing means “messing” or “annoying” someone, but in the Houston area that slang term is used instead. Another massive reference in this song is the lines where “drank” is referenced. “Drank” is slang for lean. Lean is a mix of soda and codeine cough syrup that get you high, but also is very detrimental to the body. This lean famously killed popular and pioneering Houston producer DJ Screw.
I enjoyed this song, but it doesn’t dive into the past history of Houston and the rest of Texas, but it does a good job at showing pride in the city they live in now. Overall this song is a great Anthem for the city of Houston and really paints the city in a positive and prideful light. It says great things about the city and does it in a way that also represents the core of rap in Houston. With members of the classic rap groups Geto Boys and UGK on the song, the influence that this song can have on the city is huge. What I do wish about this song is that it had some more meat on the bones. When it comes to the scale of rap songs, there isn’t much lyrical storytelling and experience in the verses. Each of the verses were pretty generic for the rap at the time with some Houston references mixed in. I didn’t really get a feeling of why they’re proud or they’re history in the city. This song was more of an empty anthem in ways which could work in a setting of a sports event or something, but the song feels surface level and doesn’t tell the full story behind the pride in the city.
Lyrics:
Yeah, H-Town all stars in the building, that’s right
Lil Keke the don, yes
Check it out
Seven-thirteen homey, I been on
Yeah we been here and y’all sho been gone
Screwed up captain, still repping the south
And can’t none of y’all cut me off, I’m alive
Make ’em southside, cause that’s Texas pride
Pimp C got me swangin’ it wide, so be quiet
Bey still repping it right for H-Town
Don Keke’s draped up, chopped and screwed down
I’ve been on, I’ve been on
Since back when I had braids on my dome
Underground king, sitting on my throne
Me and Bey done did number one songs
Riding candy and chrome, this Texas
Could buy a Bentley cash with this necklace
This H-Town, we drive reckless
We make ’em bow down, they’re gon’ respect us
I been on, I been on, I been on
Tell me who gon’ take me off
Take me off, take me off, take me off
I been on, I been on, I been on
Tell me who gon’ take me off
Take me off, take me off, take me off
I am Houston, rep it hard
Cup with R, candy cars
Geto Boys, Willie D
You’re plexing with Bey, you’re plexing with me
These dudes in the streets, be acting mob
But go to the pen, and be playing with them boys
They are not me, they’re carbon copies
If God got me, who gon’ stop me
I been on, now who you goons gon’ get to knock me off?
I’ve been boss, been on slabs, been on paint
Been on fours homey, I’ve been on drank, I’ve been had bank
Twenty-five years and ain’t fell off yet, cause my flow that wet
You don’t want no plex, they talk that sh-
The Queen Bey said you better bow down, bow down
I been on, I been on, I been on
Tell me who gon’ take me off
Take me off, take me off, take me off
I been on, I been on, I been on
Tell me who gon’ take me off
Take me off, take me off, take me off
On, I could never be off
Hit the boulevard so hard, it’d never be soft
Elbows so long, looking like they reach out
Set of diamonds and gold in damn near each mouth
They call it Styrofoam City; Houston, Texas to be exact
Swangas on anything, it ain’t gotta be a Lac
If I say I got sixteen, it ain’t gotta be a rap
All them d-boys in them traps, they gotta feel that
We the big ballers and big bodies in fresh foreigners
Fresh up off the road from hustling and rap touring
While you sleeping and snoring, we creeping and pouring
BaddieBey and the Bun, baby, you can’t ignore ’em
Represent for Port Arthur, get it right off the water
How you want it hard or soft, put in your order
Never the hesitators, shaking off all the haters
Ridin’ for Pimp, Screw and all the Lone Star Staters, hold up
I been on, I been on, I been on
Tell me who gon’ take me off
Take me off, take me off, take me off
I been on, I been on, I been on
Tell me who gon’ take me off
Take me off, take me off, take me off
I remember my baby hair with my dookie braids
Frenchy’s, Boudin in the parking lot
Shout out to Willie D
I was in that Willie D video when I was about fourteen, looking crazy
Shout out Pimp C
You know we used to sneak and listen to that UGK
Didn’t do your girl but your sister was alright, damn
In ya homeboy’s Caddy last night man, haha
Hold up, Texas trill
H-Town going down, man
Sources
- “Beyoncé (Ft. Bun B, Lil Keke, Scarface, Slim Thug, Willie D & Z-Ro) – I Been On (Remix).” Genius, genius.com/Beyonce-i-been-on-remix-lyrics.
- PaperChaserDotCom. “Beyonce Ft. SCARFACE, Bun B, Z-Ro, Lil KEKE, Slim Thug – I Been On (Remix) 2013 New Cdq Dirty.” YouTube, YouTube, 29 Mar. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBZQZkSy7Eg.
- Ramirez, Erika. “Bun B Debuts Beyonce’s ‘I Been on’ Remix: Listen.” Billboard, 29 Mar. 2013, www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/1554973/bun-b-debuts-beyonce-i-been-on-remix-listen/.
