Wednesday, June 17, 2009

A Rapper's Father's Day Sentiment

On the CD "Asleep in the Bread Aisle", rap artist Asher Roth sends forth a heartfelt father's day message on his song "His Dream". You can hear the song on MySpace. Some of the lyrics from the song:

So he's well aware how vital a father figure is
How big of a responsibility it is
To be a good husband and care for your kids
...
Papa isn't dumb, he understands what this means
His dream is my dream, my dream is his dream

I was quite struck by the words. Among the tracks about college drinking, marijuana, and bad travel days was this lovely poem to his dad. The chorus:

I close my eyes and I can see (His dream)
The sacrifices he made for me (His dream)
Put it aside for his family (His dream)
Yeah, so I'ma keep it alive, Yeah

The sentiment is clear: a father, a good father, necessarily suspends some or all of his dreams to take on the dreams of his children. It's a striking and unexpected insight on an album featuring a song titled "Blunt Cruisin'". That said, if I'm to believe the song, I would think that Asher Roth's own father is quite proud. I know I would be. His son is living his dream. For father's everywhere, when your children live their dreams, you're living the best dream possible.