Messy Marv and The Human Condition

It has been almost a year since Messy Marv made a joke about the frequency with which Mistah FAB's chain gets snatched. Messy Marv, of course, was wrong about that in the first place.

Mistah FAB's chain has made news twice in recent years. First, Mistah FAB's chain broke when he crashed his car after falling asleep at the wheel on the Grapevine, ironically the most stimulating part of that particular leg of I-5. Next (or maybe beforehand, who cares), he staged a pathetic series of self-promotional videos involving fake chain snatchings in Fargo, ND and Melbourne, Australia, culminating in a video where FAB explains that the fake-chain snatchers are liars, and he is still in possession of his chain, and that there is no way he could have been robbed at a Sonic Burger in Fargo, ND (or is is North Carolina? or South Dakota? They can't seem to keep this straight) because he doesn't eat Sonic, though it would appear that he might as well; he is unfortunately, and unnecessarily shirtless in the video. Forever After Bread, indeed.

Owing either to the fact that Mistah FAB is not as funny as he thinks he is, or the baffling lack of internal logic to the whole prank, or that Messy Marv doesn't have an ear for irony, it seems he - the Boy Boy, not FAB - took the videos at face value. On the track "Untitled 2" off of Prices on My Head, Thug Money on Yo Family, Vol. 2, Messy Marv makes fun of Mistah FAB for repeatedly getting his chain snatched.

The Boy Boy Young Mess "Untitled 2"

Perhaps it was because Mess refused to title any of the songs on his last few albums, making it very difficult to recall which track you heard certain lines on, but FAB didn't get around to responding until recently, with the release of The Realest Shit I Never Wrote, Pt. 3. The opening track, "Big Cousin" is a walk down memory lane for FAB, who details his past friendship with Messy Marv, and then says he's going to abstain from dissing back. A few bars later, FAB goes on to diss Mess, accusing him - like everyone else does - of doing too much blow, losing his mind, and turning on his friends.

Mistah FAB "Big Cousin"

It's a compelling narrative because it's familiar, and because it's obvious that Messy Marv has been losing it for some time. Also, it's not like he hid his cocaine use from the public. When FAB says "Then I heard my ni--a start playin' with his nose" on "Big Cousin", it makes one want to ask FAB, "Did you hear about that on Messy Marv's song 'Playin Wit My Nose'? or through the grapevine?" After he gets over the flashbacks to his car accident that you accidentally brought on, he would have to admit that you didn't have to rely on hearsay to find out Messy Marv does a lot of coke.

On "Playin Wit My Nose", Messy Marv lists all the fun things he does while doing coke: watching TV, going to The Source Awards, and sitting in his jail cell, to list a few. It's that last one, jail, that really gets to the heart of Messy Marv slow meltdown over the last few years. It was his time upstate that led to his blood affiliation; it's my understanding that the black Northern California prison gang - 415 - is blood-affiliated, and that's the reason for the switch. And it's not uncommon for people to get hooked on drugs when they're locked up, though cocaine seems a little fancy for jail, even if it was tucked in someone's ass for a few hours at some point. A drug habit combined with a methinks-the-lady-doth-protest-too-much gang affiliation is a fascinating, and self-destructive combination as it is. Add gangsta rap self-aggrandizing, a Twitter account, and a smart phone to the mix, and you have a window into the mind of a truly bizarre man.

According to his Twitter feed, Messy Marv's initial complaint about "Big Cousin" - which I would gladly link to had the tweet not disappeared, which makes sense for legal reasons - is that Mistah FAB implicates Messy Marv in the break-in robbery of a music studio about three and a half minutes into the song. Dry snitching is, after all, the cardinal offense in this era of hyper-authentic gangsta rap, so that wasn't a bad angle. Also, by completely ignoring the emotional aspects of FAB's diss song, Mess makes him look corny; you can't force a nihilistic cokehead to be more introspective.

But if you're guilty of the crime in question, it's best to minimize the attention you draw to issues of snitching. It seems Mess has made this calculation, and his response took a completely different direction:

The Boy Boy Young Mess "What Mess Talkin Bout"

In true dope addict fashion, Messy Marv makes himself out to be the victim. Over a beat that shares a sample with Master P's "The Ghetto's Tryin to Kill Me", and some inexplicable Too Short ad libs, Mess explains that he only ever wanted the best for everyone in the Bay Area, and actually brokered a number of beef-squashings over the years. Also, the only reason FAB is mad at Mess, explains Mess, is because he wouldn't sign to Thizz Ent. A strange thing to say, because I thought he was already signed to Thizz City.

Mess' response is humanizing in the most horrifying way. It reminds us that we are capable of justifying any behavior - no matter how awful - to preserve our sense of who we are: to remain our own heroes. I have little doubt that most of what Mess says in this song is not true, from the house near Lil Wayne that he bought with "ho money", to saving San Quinn's life with his MAC-10. While all his claims are probably objectively false, I'm sure that Messy Marv believes them to be true. He has to believe them in order to still see himself as the protagonist in the bizarre story that is Messy Marv's Life, instead of a self-destructive and petty man who is burning bridges with everyone who ever cared about him, or knows who he really is.

The tragic story that underlies all of Messy Marv's recent music is, I think, what makes him so compelling to watch. On the surface, it is just rap. But when you realize that Messy Marv is an actual person - not just an entertainer - it's hard not to sense something deeply sad about the music he makes these days. Rappers invite you to hear about the minutia of their everyday life, with Twitter this phenomenon is exaggerated even further; Messy Marv's life, we learn, must be very, very empty.

The strangest thing is, despite the fact that he reminds you of all of your worst qualities, you can't help but root for him, perhaps because he reminds you of you at your worst. Messy Marv's notion of who Messy Marv is might be based on lies and half-truths, but we all lie to ourselves about who we are, right?

Don't forget to call mom.