This is the first time in a year that I’ve been back in Seattle, and have had the always-pleasurable experience of driving everywhere and listening to really crappy radio stations on the way. It’s the only time all year that I listen to anything but NPR. But you can find some interesting things on top-40 radio stations, and this time around it’s Runaway Love by Mary J. Blige and Ludacris.
Now, the song itself is horrible, especially the end. I’ve always had a soft spot for Mary J, but trying to pull off a “deep” duet with Luda just isn’t working. It’s a sad song, though, which details the lives of three young girls who go through a series of hellish experiences, sort of in the vein of Brenda’s Got A Baby (except that song is a lot better).
But here’s what’s interesting:
Little Erica is eleven years old
She’s steady trying to figure why the world is so cold
So she pops x to get rid of all the pain
‘Cause she’s having sex with a boy who’s sixteen
Emotions run deep and she thinks she’s in love
So there’s no protection he’s using no glove
Never thinking ’bout the consequences of her actions
Living for today and not tomorrow’s satisfaction
The days go by and her belly gets big
The father bails out he ain’t ready for a kid
Knowing her mama will blow it all outta proportion
Plus she lives poor so no money for abortion
Erica is stuck up in the world on her own
Forced to think that hell is a place called home
Nothing else to do but get her clothes and pack
She say she’s about to run away and never come back.
With abortion rarely recognized as a valid choice in mainstream pop culture (TV, movies, music), let alone as something that could be helpful for women, I can appreciate it being mentioned here not only as a morally-neutral decision, but as a tragedy when a girl doesn’t have access to it — it’s listed among all her other problems, like using drugs and coming from a poor family.
Now let’s just count down the days until the anti-choice groups say we should all boycott Ludacris, Mary, and any outlet that plays this song.