It's Hard Out There For A Pimp (Oscar Results)

[tomandshell]

Anybody else have a hard time understanding the lyrics to this song when it was performed last night at the Oscars? This one won the Academy Award for Best Original Song of the year.

(Logically, isn't it harder out there for the prostitutes than the pimps? At least the pimps are higher up the corporate ladder and have access to the executive washroom. I remember an old SNL joke about how the #2 worst possible job was working as a "Crack Whore." The number one worst possible job was "Assistant Crack Whore.")



It's Hard Out There For A Pimp

You know it's hard out here for a pimp (you ain't knowin)
When he tryin to get this money for the rent (you ain't knowin)
For the Cadillacs and gas money spent (you ain't knowin)
Because a whole lot of b****es talkin s**t (you ain't knowin)
Will have a whole lot of b****es talkin s**t (you ain't knowin)

[Djay]
In my eyes I done seen some crazy thangs in the streets
Gotta couple hoes workin on the changes for me
But I gotta keep my game tight like Kobe on game night
Like takin from a ho don't know no better, I know that ain't right
Done seen people killed, done seen people deal
Done seen people live in poverty with no meals
It's f****d up where I live, but that's just how it is
It might be new to you, but it's been like this for years
It's blood sweat and tears when it come down to this s**t
I'm tryin to get rich 'fore I leave up out this b***h
I'm tryin to have thangs but it's hard fo' a pimp
But I'm prayin and I'm hopin to God I don't slip, yeah

[Chorus]

[Djay]
Man it seems like I'm duckin dodgin bullets everyday
****** hatin on me cause I got, hoes on the tray
But I gotta stay paid, gotta stay above water
Couldn't keep up with my hoes, that's when s**t got harder
North Memphis where I'm from, I'm 7th Street bound
Where ****** all the time end up lost and never found
Man these girls think we prove thangs, leave a big head
They come hopin every night, they don't end up bein dead
Wait I got a snow bunny, and a black girl too
You pay the right price and they'll both do you
That's the way the game goes, gotta keep it strictly pimpin
Gotta have my hustle tight, makin change off these women, yeah

[Chorus]



I was surprised to see Reese Witherspoon win, and to see Brokeback lose to Crash. Anybody happy/upset with the Oscar results?

 

[Mithrandier]

What happened to the good old days of rap..............you know Vanilla Ice and the Kriss Kross................

 

[The Josh]

I was pretty suprised this song one. Kind of sums up this years awards IMO which is to say they kind of sucked.

 

[Wetanut]

At my Oscar party, I turned to a black friend and asked....can you understand that? He nodded yes. When they won and gave the unintelligible acceptance "speech", I turned to him again and asked the same question and asked also if they were speaking English. Not an aspersion, just confused. Another nod yes...with a glare added. Oops! I'm just going to have to work on being more attuned to the patois I guess.

 

[King Darkness]

I was happy to see Crash win best picture.I have heard many people say it the weakest movie nominated, but I think that couldn't further from the truth,IMO.......I would like to have seen Phoenix win beat actor .....other than that I think all was well......Jessica Alba

 

[Rugby1970]

The oscars were lame all around this year. I thought John Stewart was really boring and for a guy who prides himself on being topical the writing was sooo old. Jokes about Bjork's dress, colorizing movies, and beta cam. He seemed to feel like he was hilarious.

I like George Clooney a lot but he wasn't the best choice for supporting actor.

Bummed about Crash winning best picture...

Crash was a good movie but Brokeback is a new classic. It was so well done and had such an impact on popular culture.

I love Robert Altman's but the speech was so dull and long.

Ugh. This is the Oscar telecast Tivo was made for.

The women looked amazing though, from Jessica, to Michelle Williams, to Hilarie Swank.

I'm a bit depressed about the whole thing but at least Kong got some recognition... btw, I'm sure it's been discussed but how does Revenge of the Sith not get nominated for ANYTHING except make-up?

 

[Viking28]

Oscar night hmmmmm what was I doing? Was that last night? Well to make a long story short I didn't watch it, actually it didn't even cross my mind.

 

[The Josh]

Crash was a good movie but Brokeback is a new classic. It was so well done and had such an impact on popular culture.

A new classic? Impact on Pop Culture? I think you might be stretching it just a tad there.

 

[tomandshell]

Oscar night hmmmmm what was I doing? Was that last night? Well to make a long story short I didn't watch it, actually it didn't even cross my mind.

It barely crossed my mind, and I was sitting there watching the whole thing.

 

[Blake]

You know it's hard out here for a pimp (you ain't knowin)
When he tryin to get this money for the rent (you ain't knowin)
For the Cadillacs and gas money spent (you ain't knowin)
Because a whole lot of b****es talkin s**t (you ain't knowin)
Will have a whole lot of b****es talkin s**t (you ain't knowin)

I think the lyric is actually "B!tches jumpin' ship", not "B!tches talkin' Sh!t".

 

[Rugby1970]

A new classic? Impact on Pop Culture? I think you might be stretching it just a tad there.

One could argue the merits of the film, but I don't think you can deny the impact it has had on popular culture. Sure, it's not "Star Wars" or "Gone With The Wind" in magnitude, but everyone (even people who have no desire to see it) knows what the film is about and what it means. There are cowboys around the country leaving their hats at home because they don't want to be associated with it.

It made people talk about their feelings and beliefs...

There have been a lot of films dealing with gay themes before Brokeback Mountain, but I think historians will look at American Film in terms of pre- and post Brokeback when it comes to this subject. I'm no scholar and this is just my opinion but I am hard pressed to think of a film that more people have talked about in years.

 

[Andy Bergholtz]

Hmmmm..... I'd personally disagree, I think Brokeback will be all but forgotten about in a couple years. The subject/context is WAY old, even in cinema... I think the first time homosexuality really made a big impact (the kind of impact you're implying Brokeback has made) was with Philadelphia. The only 'talk' I've really witnessed (on any subtantial level) regarding Brokeback has been tongue-in-cheek humor, etc, rather than actual controversy, but of course that's just my personal experience.

Homosexuality is more present (and celebrated) in the media today than ever before in history, I'm a little surprised so many people regard Lee as being so "brave" or "ground breaking", etc, for making this film. As far as films go, there have certainly been a few others that make Brokeback look like Sesame Street in terms of controversy over the past few years (Passion of the Christ comes to mind).

 

[The Josh]

I totally agree Andy. This film made little if any impact on anything at all. It didn't make me think about my feelings on the subject because I already know what I think and that's not gonna change.

I can think of three films just off the top of my head that had more people talking than BBM. They all dealt with a hobbit and a ring.

 

[tomandshell]

One thing I am noticing in some of the media response to Brokeback's loss is that everybody assumes that it didn't win just because it was about homosexuality, and that it should have won because it was about homosexuality. Lots of movies have been made dealing with this subject matter, but it takes more than subject matter to win the Oscar.

I don't like the assumption that just because some Academy members were more attracted to the filmmaking in Crash that they are homophobic. They simply don't feel obligated to give the Oscar to Brokeback just because it is a "gay" film. Morgan Freeman didn't win last year because he was black--he earned it with the performance of the highest quality. I know several people who feel that Crash was superior to Brokeback in terms of filmmaking style and overall quality.

 

[Rugby1970]

Your points are all well taken. I guess only time will tell as far as long lasting impact among the award nominees.

I suppose my feelings about Brokeback have more to do with how it didn't feel like an 'issue' movie to me. I don't think Ang Lee or anyone involved were 'brave' per se. They just had a story they felt passionate about telling, politics be damned. I think culturally it has balloned beyond beyond that. The fact that so much humor has been derived from it is not to be over looked. Humor seems like a good indicator of what we are thinking about as a country.

It's interesting, too, because the film is more about regret and the choices we make as opposed to being about sexuality. I thought it did an incredible job of making the problems of these characters understandable to a huge number of people. I can't sympathize directly with their problems but I know what it is like to feel like you've let something you love get away from you.

This is an interesting discussion. We've all come together on this forum from our love of genre films like Star Wars, LOTR, and the like but I'd be curious what film outside Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror we all like.

Overall, I don't think it was a "great" year for but there were a lot of very good ones. Made the awards this year seem like an anti-climax.

 

[elwood49]

I'm surprised that people hated the Oscars so much this year. I tend to shy away from award shows, because they tend to pick the best picture based on things other than the quality of the film. It is more important to ahem... "pimp" your film than to let the voters watch and judge for themselves. Watching Bob and Harvey Weinstein's media assault is sickening, but it works. Why else do you think Miramax has taken home so many Oscars in recent years?

Anyway, I watched a bit of it last night and thought that Jon Stewart KILLED! I can think of 5 lines off of the top of my head that had me laughing out loud.

I was also excited to see Robert Altman honored. Nashville is one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time. McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Short Cuts, and The Player are also on my list of all time greats. I have a relative that works on all of Altman's films, and he said that Bob is just as down to earth as he seems. Fantastic guy.

All in all, definitely one of the best Oscar shows that I've ever seen. I really hope that Stewart hosts again. After last night, I'll watch any Oscar telecast he's involved with. It was also good to see independent films honored instead of the usual Hollywood garbage.

 

[Darklord Dave]

Almost all the films this year were "socially conscious" but the 2 best (IMO) Syriana and Good Night, Good Luck were almost shut out. I'd agree that Brokeback isn't groundbreaking - Philadelphia, the Birdcage and other films were more significant in bringing gay-awareness to the mainstream.

As for "hard out here..." winning best song - it does something very few Oscar nominated songs have done in the past few years - actually contributed to the narrative. However I don't think the Academy voters voted for it for that reason. They probably just thought it would be funny for a rap song to win.

 

[pordey2]

I'm glad that Reese Witherspoon won, I think her acting in Walk the Line was wonderful... Don't care much about the rest though.

Kinda neat that Narnia won one too...

 

[gdb]

Hmmmm..... I'd personally disagree, I think Brokeback will be all but forgotten about in a couple years.

The impact that Brokeback leaves won't be in the minds of the audience but of the backers -- finacial backers that is. Brokeback is a huge success story as it cost only $14 mil to make and has brought in $78.8 mil and counting. In Hollywood terms, this is a green light for more people to make more gay themed entertainment that is even more gay in nature than Brokeback or Will & Grace. By way of example, the Happy Days pilot was a pass until the low budget American Grafetti came out and did what it did.

So if Brokeback is forgotten by civillians it will be remembered in Hollywood.

 

[gdb]

I think the lyric is actually "B!tches jumpin' ship"...

That explains why it wasn't bleeped. And I thought CBS was standing up to the FCC.