Belated Tag Poppin'

I'm about eight weeks behind writing about this! Pardon my tardiness and read on:

Frank was actually the first person to tell me about the song, "Thrift Shop" (better known as "I'm gonna pop some tags...") by Macklemore. When I said I hadn't heard it he came back with something about living under a rock to which I complained about being forced to listen to Miss Gail and the Jumping Jam Band while in the car.

But I eventually heard it and was disgusted. Here was another rap song about violence and what not. I changed the station. I had to change it a lot because it seemed like it was always on. "Ugh, there's that 'Pop Some Tags' song again," I'd think.

I'm gonna pop some tags
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket 
I-I-I'm hunting, looking for a come-up
This is...awesome (in the real version they say "f@c#ing awesome.") 

So he's poppin' tags, hunting, looking for a "come-up?" Clearly they're talking about guns, right?

But then Frank told me what it was about. I'm way not up to speed on my gun slang! It was about going to thrift stores. They pop the tags off when they get home! Oh, and "come-up" is having an advantage over someone else. In this case, Macklemore has the advantage because he has better clothes at bargain prices.

So I started to not change the station every time I heard it. And then I started to kinda like it. I especially liked this part:

They be like oh! That Gucci, that’s hella tight.
I’m like Yo! That’s 50 dollars for a t-shirt.
Limited edition, let’s do some simple addition, 
50 dollars for a t-shirt, that’s just some ignorant bitch.
I call that getting swindled and pimped
I call that getting tricked by a business.
That shirt’s hella dough
And having the same one as six other people in this club is a hella don't
Peep game, come take a look through my telescope
Trying to get girls from a brand? Man, you hella won’t.
Man, you hella won’t.

I mean, besides the minor explicit lyrics in that section, there's a really good message there. It's good for the kids! They SHOULD think it's uncool to pay $50 for a t-shirt. They SHOULD think they're getting tricked by a business. Maybe some of them will actually start shopping at thrift shops. They'll start dressing like someone's grandpa, my second favorite part: 

I'm a take your grandpa's style, I'm a take your grandpa's style

No for real, ask your grandpa, can I have his hand-me-downs? Thank you  

And besides the almost-clean, healthy message lyrics, it's grown on me to the point where I think it's catchy. The kids and I have traded in Miss Gail for Macklemore. Leo likes the chorus best ("only got twenty dollars in my pocket") because he says the rest sounds like another language. 

Oh, but he also likes the very end, where the little girl says, "Is that your grandma's coat?" 

We might even be inspired to go pop some tags and get our own come-up at preschool and the playground and soccer practice.