Robin Thicke – Give It 2 U

by Matt Hacke

Prior to this weekend, I hadn’t listened to much Robin Thicke. However after my brief and harrowing acquaintance with his single Give It 2 U, it seems my search for the most moronic piece of songwriting since El Chombo’s Chaccarron is over. In a way, I guess I should be grateful.

The entire track exists on an emphatically lofty level of obnoxiousness, defined by the buzzing synth irritant and Thicke’s excruciating lyrics. Poetic turns such as “I got a hit for yah / Big Dick for yah” give the single a grotesque comedic value. I can’t fathom the thoughts going through Thicke’s mind when he sanctioned such banal words to pour out of his head. Indeed Give It 2 U, when reduced to its powder form, is inherently misguided, the most blatant example being the spoken “Angel” in each chorus that will surely provide a downer on dance floors all over the world for the foreseeable future. Kendrick Lamar’s rap is equally explicable, and one wonders why the Compton-born artist would shy away from his immense talent to plumb the nadir of sleaze-pop with Mr. Thicke.

Let me reiterate, I have not been a Thicke connoisseur or an active player in the all-encompassing debate over his other major work. However in all this furor, I urge you not to lose sight of a point of utmost importance: his music is dreadful.