Mercyhurst University is a Catholic institution. T-Pain is a rapper who sings about getting drunk and partying. Those two things do not go together very well.
I do not have a problem with rappers; it is odd that a Catholic school would get a rapper who sings about taking girls home after getting them drunk.
It’s cool that Mercyhurst has an on-campus event like Spring Fest where students can cool off from the studying and drama of daily life to just relax and have some fun.
However, having an event where students get drunk (we need to admit that it happens here), while listening to songs about getting drunk (as well as other unmentionable activities) does not reflect well on the school’s Catholic reputation. If students who are of age wish to get a little tipsy at this event, then all power to them, but having an artist who practically promotes getting drunk on a college campus is not a good decision.
T-Pain’s lyrics don’t go with the values Mercyhurst claims to have.
T-Pain has the ability to rap, and in listening to his music in preparation for this article, he has a good voice. His lyrics are what get me.
However, he has a song called “Bartender” that is a four-minute declaration of love for a bartender that is surprisingly sweet.
It is not necessarily a bad song; in fact, I would almost call it romantic.
That romantic side is totally absent in his song “Take Your Shirt Off,” about him trying to get a girl to do what the title implies and let nature take its course.
While it’s meant to be a party song, this is a Catholic campus, and it is a questionable decision to let him play at Springfest.
T-Pain is probably a nice person in real life, and I respect his accomplishments in the music industry, but he should not play at Spring Fest.
I do not want to sound like I’m on a soapbox, but I would like to know how and why the school decided to ask T-Pain to play this year.
My best guess would be because he’s popular with my generation, he can sing well, and his songs have a good, fun beat. I bear the unfortunate trait of listening more to the lyrics of a song than the beat itself, to see what the song is about instead of just saying “it sounds good.”
Like dialogue in a screenplay, lyrics in a song are what determine its longevity. Many of the Beatles’ greatest songs are remembered for their catchy lyrics along with their beats, something that should come naturally to a singer or artist.
Because of that, the lyrics of T-Pain’s songs are just not something I want to hear on a Catholic campus. I am not overly religious, but it is an odd choice.