Lemon Pound Cake, by Afroman
[Note: Content warning. This may not be suitable for all audiences.]
Like many people, I am most familiar with Afroman for his successful early 2000s rap single “Because I Got High,” which humorously discussed the harm done to a the life of a narrator because of his love for weed. After his brief moment of mainstream popularity, he remained a touring and active artist, set up an independent label, and moved to rural Ohio. From what can be gathered, though, he made some enemies, as an anonymous (and false) tip led to a police raid on his property while he was out of town that destroyed his front gate, led to his front door being smashed open, and the cops searching his house and tearing through in search for a nonexistent torture dungeon, taking some $4000 of his money, and not finding the massive drug stacks that were alleged to be there. When he returned home and saw the damage that had resulted from the police raid and saw the behavior of the Adams County (Ohio) police officers on his security cameras, he decided to turn his experience into art. This album is one of the aspects of this art, dealing with serious issues of the responsibility that police officers have to the damage that results from their acting on false accusations that lead to unworthy search warrants. Worse, the cops portrayed here brought charges against Afroman that only drew the attention of people like me to this album in the first place. We know this album has cultural and historical significance as an element of the relationship between cops and law-abiding citizens in contemporary America, but is it any good? Let’s find out.
The album begins with news clips that set up the context of “The Police Raid” as well as Afroman portraying the cops as being totally incompetent bunglers in an effective skit opening. This transitions into the title track and most popular song from this album, “Lemon Pound Cake,” a hilarious parody song about a hungry sheriff who was caught on security footage eyeing the cake a bit too hungrily set to the music of “Under The Boardwalk.” Following this is the upbeat and pointed “Why You Disconnecting My Video Camera” with its relatable and popular call to put crooked cops in the slammer along with some disrespectful references to the cops as if they were ops. “I’m A Have A Good Time” clocks in at just over 7 minutes showing Afroman’s commitment to enjoying himself despite the sadness of the world and the difficult times in which we live. “Sign My Titties” makes for a highly irreverent slow jam for the ladies who like Afroman and purchase his merch. “Wet Tight Energy” continues Afroman’s set here of showing his popularity, style, and reputation, showing his artistic persona that was interrupted by the police behavior, set to a classic sample. “H.A.D. (Hard Ass Dicc)” follows with more flexing and bragging about Afroman’s success with the ladies and his masculinity, which is a pretty standard rap approach. “I Need $” then returns to the state of the world and Afroman’s need for money to repair his losses from the police raid, injecting some sincerity into what has been a fairly boastful album. “Will You Help Me Repair My Door” provides another sincere and straightforward call on the Adams County (Ohio) sheriffs to repair their damage to Afroman’s house and property, even offering them some lemon pound cake and asking honestly why they would think that a successful rapper like himself would need to deal or engage in human trafficking. “48 Hrs” featuring Merkules returns to a more braggadocious mood about the effects of smoking and drinking in the face of life’s troubles. “It’s Alright” shows a slow and meditative Afroman reflecting phlegmatically on the struggles as an independent artist and label owner dealing with the grind of obscurity. “Holding On” shows Afroman defiantly holding onto his dreams with a poignant sample of Simple Red’s “Holding Back The Years” reflecting on the temporary and passing nature of the rap game and marriages and the aftermath of his ambitions and his feelings of isolation and rejection. “It Never Works” follows with another downbeat reflective track about how it is that a player and a ho and their character flaws find that they are toxic together and unable to relate to each other beyond superficial physical attraction and passionate sex. The album then closes with “Some Days When Your Life Is Hard,” with its commitment to enjoying some tasty lamb BBQ along with weed and alcohol as well as religion as a way of coping with life’s difficulties, demonstrating Afroman’s approach to using comedy as a means of dealing with life effectively and profitably, wrapping up the album in a coherent and uplifting message.
Afroman is an easy rapper to disregard or see in a false light. His biggest hit, and the only song played on the radio, is a novelty comedy rap song. The recent trial focused on the more insulting verses that Afroman dedicated to cops after they wrecked his house without so much as a “by your leave” or any offers to repair the damage, but the album as a whole has a more reflective tone where Afroman feels besieged, isolated, rejected, and struggling to meet his ambitions in the face of disrespect from members of the rap community who reject his turn to simple rural living and racist police officers who cannot see him as a productive entrepreneur but only a black man. Ultimately, what strikes this listener the most about the album is Afroman’s sincerity and vulnerability, his honest call on police officers to repair their damages and live worthy of respect and his feeling that his own well-being and survival depend on having an ability to see the humor in the ridiculous nature of the attack on his home and his struggles to find enduring relationships while seeking to take care of his family. Humor is a means of coping with life’s difficulties and keeping one motivated to work for success and seek to live in dignity, but all too often people react defensively to obvious parody rather than righting their wrongs and avoiding well-deserved criticism. In a better world, Afroman would feel respected by people and by his peers and be able to compensated for the damage done to his home so he can send some lemon pound cake to the sheriff’s deputies in a shared appreciation of life’s modest pleasures, but instead we have biting comedy rap albums that are misunderstood.
