A reading from the book of Willie Maxwell 679:1738
… then Rap Gawd formed a man
from the dust of the auto-tune
&breathed into his nostrils
the breath of Rémy Martin
the man became Fetty Wap.
Rap Gawd saw fit to
make Fetty a counterpart.
so he caused the man to fall into a deep sleep;
while he was sleeping
he took one of the man’s eyes
then closed up the place with flesh.
then the Rap Gawd made a woman
from the eye he had taken out of the man.
the creation story of Fetty
the first trap rapper to make a song
I might play at my wedding.
there’s a choir of church mothers
smiling down on the brown boy
that sings of a woman’s worth
in a culture destined to nullify it.
do you know how long
sisters been waiting
for a brother
to willingly let us hit the bando?
(after patiently explaining what the fuck that means.)
l’union fait la force
your music emblematic of the motto of Haiti
unity makes strength
as we scream SQUAAADDDD!
the weight of that bass
hits hard
like Gawd’s tears
landing on glow in the dark floors
’cause Gawd does not just “cry”
He makes it rain
on a crowd of women
in heels higher than most GPAs
dancing their way through
nursing school
&out of some deadbeat’s
roach-filled 1 bedroom.
the fellas
big brother
arm-wrapped shoulders
singing off-key
about Ki’s &pies
and other shit
they have no real idea about.
the only song in the club
that allows a hetero male
to gaze into the eyes
of another
[suspected] hetero male
and/or stranger
singing his fucking heart out.
make him more mathematician
than murderer
spewing lyrics repping
the urban district’s finest cognac
this
is a black man’s
“Sweet Caroline”
oh, oh, oh!
Fetty, you got me —
I, too, see heaven
peering through
the pearly-gated smile
of that gap-toothed princess
in your video.
I, too, have a glock in my rari —
in the form of a master’s degree
but don’t get it twisted
this summa cum laude bloaw
anytime a motherfucker think
they know me!
&my trap look a lot
like a dimly-lit cafe
with semicold
red stripes
a microphone
a couple judges
but I’ll be damned
if anyone tell me
I ain’t a queen of this shit.
&then I blink
&the bass subsides
&the song fades
into another brother
caring more
about his golden grill
than making the best
of a family business.
&she picks up her ass
her purse
slides off the pole
disappears
into a mixture
of low-budget smoke machines
&catcalling men
wedding bands tangled
in the drawstring of their sweats
&another Saturday twerks
itself into the crisp breeze of Sunday morning
&the church mothers glance over the room
covered in government-issued confetti
&Gawd smiles
as they bellow in unison
“I want you to be mine again!”
Roya Marsh’s “Ode to Fetty Wap” uses biblical allusions, commentary of culture, and humor to explore the power of music, survival, and the Black identity. Marsh uses a celebratory and irreverent tone to make Fetty Wap’s work seem like it is something profound, and this portrays him as a mythical figure and symbol of cultural unity.
Marsh uses her personal admiration with her critiques of society, and this creates a voice that sounds reflective and rooted in her lived experiences. In this poem, Marsh reimagines Fetty Wap’s music and art as a divine act, and this emphasizes his cultural significance from the lines like “Rap Gawd formed a man / from the dust of the auto-tune.” This line suggests his artistry and music is as monumental as it is unconventional. By choosing the speaker as both a participant and observer of the Black culture and community, the poem easily moves between celebrating and critiquing the culture. For example, it juxtaposes the resiliency of women in the strip club with the struggles they face like when they are supposed to “dance their way through / nursing school &out of some deadbeat’s / roach-filled 1 bedroom.” The title of the poem foreshadows the poem’s playful yet reflective tone, and this draws on the tradition of odes as praise, which in this poem is directed to Fetty Wap. The enjambed lines in the poem mimic the rhythm of music. The irregular stanza breaks remind me of the pace of trap music and some music that can be played in clubs. The structure of the poem echoes the constant shifts in tone from divine “exaltation” to sobering reality, and this reflects the duality of joy and struggle,
The line, “do you know how long / sisters been waiting / for a brother / to willingly let us hit the bando?” captures the frustration and coping humor in women’s navigation of a male-dominated culture. Marsh critiques the lack of diversity and inclusivity while celebrating the rare moments of unity Fetty Wap’s music provides for listeners. This dual perspective repeats later in the poem, as seen in the lines “the only song in the club / that allows a hetero male / to gaze into the eyes / of another…singing his fucking heart out.” This recurrence highlights music’s ability and capacity to breakdown or dissolve rigid gender norms in society. Marsh uses biblical allusions and irony to reimagine creation as a humorous origin story of Fetty Wap and his art. Using those techniques, combined with a metaphor, in these lines ““the weight of that bass / hits hard / like Gawd’s tears,” makes the club seems like a more divine space, and she does this by using both the sacred and the secular. Marsh’s diction, which is raw but still poetic, underscores the dualities shown in the poem by using the juxtaposition of “heels higher than most GPAs” against the image of “government-issued confetti.” Also, by using profanity in the poem, it shows her frustration with the current gender norms and standards in society, but she doesn’t let that effect her too much because she can feel the impact of how music unites people.
I find Marsh’s poem relatable as I have seen how music unites people across identities and struggles. Her portrayal of the strip club as a space of survival and transcendence at the same time resonates because it shows how marginalized communities can find joy and empowerment in unlikely places.The poem “Ode to Fetty Wap” is a celebration of culture and resiliency, and unites the sacred and every day occurrences in a way that underscores the power of music to uplift and connect people in communities. Marsh’s playful yet moving style honors more than Fetty Wap as it truly honors the broader experiences, hardships, and triumphs of the Black community.