Murs & 9th Wonder, "Intro"

“Shut your fat mouth, and listen.” Should you decide to deliver this command, in any context, you must subsequently deliver with a preacher’s swift, strategic force. Put your hands on the pulpit, cock back, and unleash. Thankfully, on this brief “Intro,” Murs is preaching in a hurry.

“Anticipation” is of immediate concern. 9th Wonder’s production, its exceeding depths, should never be wasted. There are always “punk fans” who cannot be contented, who always doubt intent or authenticity. Murs ponders whether they could use “Jesus” or “Oprah.” That he equates and immediately jettisons both is commandment enough. Take your pick - or don’t.

He laces truth with ambiguity, wisdom with perversity. Ills, “killing and pimping and these foul ways of living,” are a brief target - “the struggle’s not over,” indeed. Yet he’s hardly our moral beacon; he stumbled into this one, and will likely be “drunk again” afterward. He lacks the clarity of purpose which defines famous revolutionaries. His hands are empty; he’s bearing no standard. He’s simply “come to win” - playing double entendres for the laughs.

3:16 is likely a John allusion, and Murs is content to concoct a personal theology for 1:41 - yet not arrogant enough to believe in his own everlasting transcendence. Still, we shouldn’t ignore that he has begun a sort of “movement.” Of what, exactly? The “‘hood” against “chauffeurs”? Good, against evil? Should this be a George Lucas spinoff, Murs’ lightsaber is pocketed; he’s off purchasing a few death sticks in the cantina corner booth.

The moral whiplash subsides with a proclamation, finally, for “fun” - not sacrificial, not burdensome. Consider that. Your “karma” is yours “to carry.” This “Intro” is a brilliant smirk and nod - not a call or beckoning. It’s a gospel of irreverent wit, and, packaged in such an explosive pamphlet, I imagine Murs’ congregation will show up for next Sunday’s service: the aptly titled “Bad Man!”

Go ahead. Click it. Murs won’t judge you.