Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Young Urban Redneck Karaoke Rappers (YURKeRs)
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
I witnessed something a few weeks ago that made me curious. Very curious. There I was, sipping on a cold beer at Cafe Posada, and enjoying the show. Karaoke Chris was in his usual great form - meeting, greeting, shaking hands, and putting the squeeze on reluctant songbirds to get out of their shells and take the mike. It's a little bit of that melting pot existence that is hard to contemplate down there. You never know who or what you might see, you just know it's going to be fun. This night, one table was occupied by some guys I took to be local country boys. They were belting out the occasional Hank Williams, Jr. tunes and knocking back some serious mind-altering beverages, while arrayed in boots, big belt buckles, cowboy hats, and camo ball caps advertising farm equipment. Good guys. Bad singers for the most part, but good guys. Hell, bad singing is half the fun.
Then, it happened. They gave themselves away. It was right after Jeff the cosmetic executive finished Led Zeppelin's "Going To California." Some youngster - which could be anyone younger than me - cranked up "Ice Ice Baby" and started rapping away. I looked over at my cowboy friends' table, expecting to see some disgusted looks exchanged as they headed off on a bathroom break to escape that irritating song. But instead, what I saw was three alleged country boys all singing along to Vanilla Ice. And not, I repeat, not looking up at the monitor. They knew the words.
Ol' Merle is rolling over in his grave about now. The Urban Cowboys have returned. No, that's no even right. What we have here are Young Urban Redneck Karaoke Rappers. YURKeRs. Which is also the sound you make when you see a cowboy singing and dancing along with MC Hammer.
I added a link today to "The Boat Drunks." Now, these guys can really play and sing, and you won't be hearing rap from them any time soon. Visit their site, try on some of their music, and look for them at Phins To The West in April.
