Versatile (1 Viewer)

[Cornu Ammonis]

I suppose the real worry is whether most of the audience know it’s a piss take or not. I’m on the fence about how much they intend as a joke and how much is real. And even if it’s intended as a joke, it’s still appalling.

 

[Lili Marlene]

As I said way back in this thread

Hmm, on the one hand she has a point...

On the other, I didn't really need to listen word for word to Versatile to assume that there's probably some dumb opinions in there. They seem to capture young lads off their face pretty well, it ain't gonna be pretty.

You want to start a conversation about why lads (not just lads based on videos of their live performances) are like this, cool, sounds good; you want to just ignore them and talk about something decent, cool sounds good; you want to try and solve the problem by cancelling them

 

[egg_]

So what is the deal? Are they actually secretly rich kids from D4 or what? I mean, if so fair play, they're pretty good at cosplaying the worst aspects of the worst lads around Dublin.

Ringsend is in Dublin 4. I very much doubt they're rich kids

 

[Lili Marlene]

Ringsend is in Dublin 4. I very much doubt they're rich kids

People are just ragging on them for going to private school, and rightly so!

 

[egg_]

I honestly don't understand why people would have a problem with lads rapping about black women fancying them, but no problem with lads rapping about murdering people and kidnapping children

Is it cos the former might be construed as real, when the latter obviously isn't? Genuine question, not looking to score points here ...

(FWIW that Craic Boy Mental song is really fucking poor)

 

[therealjohnny]

It's a good oul storm in a tea cup innit.

Versatile is pretty obviously a piss take and not to be taken seriously. The music/lyrics aren't representative of the people making them, because it's all being done for a laugh and it has much more in common with a theatrical performance when they do perform live.

Anyone jumping on top of them for the lyrics etc. is maybe just another example of people who can't understand the concept of parody, because really that's what Versatile is, a parody of young adulthood in Ireland. It's easy to understand the Rubberbandits showing support for them, because the Rubberbandits had to make the exact same defence of their own act against people who don't understand that not everything in the world should be taken as literal truth.

That all said, I don't find them funny myself because the humour is fairly lowest common denominator alright – but like somebody's already said, isn't that probably exactly why they're appealing to so many people and can sell out the 3arena?
I mean, I've worked at Jack Whitehall, Chris Rock, Ricky Gervais in the 3arena. I think all those shows were sold out, and from the bits I watched from each, I didn't hear one funny sentence. They were all shit. But, apparently, some people like this shit, go figure.

Versatile aren't particularly great and I don't really see them as having much longevity at all in their current form, but they're also quite clearly a piss take and not something people should be lambasting as evil racist misogynists that are the enemy of all society. They're just a bunch of lads playing stupid characters that loads of young people think is class for whatever reason.

Typical straight white man response. Check your privilege.

 

[therealjohnny]

Typical straight white man response. Check your privilege.

Oh sorry, I thought I was on Twitter. No, well said Cormac, well said.

 

[Lili Marlene]

I honestly don't understand why people would have a problem with lads rapping about black women fancying them, but no problem with lads rapping about murdering people and kidnapping children

Is it cos the former might be construed as real, when the latter obviously isn't? Genuine question, not looking to score points here ...

(FWIW that Craic Boy Mental song is really fucking poor)

What does it mean for "black women" to fancy you? Are all black women interchangeably the same in your mind?

 

[egg_]

What does it mean for "black women" to fancy you? Are all black women interchangeably the same in your mind?

Erm ... I'm not asking why saying black women fancy you is bad, I'm asking why is rapping about $BAD_THING_X causing such a kerfuffle when $MUCH_WORSE_THING_Y is not?

 

[Lili Marlene]

Erm ... I'm not asking why saying black women fancy you is bad, I'm asking why is rapping about $BAD_THING_X causing such a kerfuffle when $MUCH_WORSE_THING_Y is not?

Your question doesn't make sense, none of this is literal. They're not rapping about black women fancying them, they're playing with basic 90's rap tropes about "black bitches" in a world where the biggest rap stars nowadays are these vulnerable men talking about their sexuality in new ways that had never been done in mainstream rap before (or are these emo lads rapping about how a message delivered in whatsapp and the person didn't reply immediately). It's embarrassing when we actually have modern rap coming from Ireland that isn't so regressive but this is the stuff that sells out the O3Point.

I'm ambivalent about it myself, I think the dumb madzer lads from Dublin should be allowed have their dumb madzer rap and if it's the most popular well yeah, the dumb stuff has always been the most popular with only the odd exception breaking through. Maybe we should be looking at the root causes of that.


edit: I still think the first song you posted in this thread is pretty incredible.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

Maybe it's a generation gap thing. Young people these days, wreckers of civilization etc. I know I've written them all off anyway

 

[egg_]

Your question doesn't make sense, none of this is literal. They're not rapping about black women fancying them, they're playing with basic 90's rap tropes about "black bitches" in a world where the biggest rap stars nowadays are these vulnerable men talking about their sexuality in new ways that had never been done in mainstream rap before (or are these emo lads rapping about how a message delivered in whatsapp and the person didn't reply immediately). It's embarrassing when we actually have modern rap coming from Ireland that isn't so regressive but this is the stuff that sells out the O3Point.

So people's problem isn't actually that they think Versatile are racist/misogynist, it's that they think their lyrical approach is passé?

 

[Lili Marlene]

So people's problem isn't actually that they think Versatile are racist/misogynist, it's that they think their lyrical approach is passé?

No, they think Versatile are racist and misogynist and their lyrical approach is passé,

 

[ann post]

Satire or humor or whatever it's being sold as, they are essentially punching down most of the time which is lots of the things people are saying about them.

I also thought the craic boy thing was shite.

 

[therealjohnny]

They're not rapping about black women fancying them,

They are though. They specifically talk about their small white cocks compared to the big black cocks black women are used to.

 

[Lili Marlene]

They are though. They specifically talk about their small white cocks compared to the big black cocks black women are used to.

Yeah but only because an older boy told them to.

 

[therealjohnny]

I also thought the craic boy thing was shite.

It's terrible

 

[Cormcolash]

Typical straight white man response. Check your privilege.

DID YOU JUST ASSUME MY GENDER???

 

[therealjohnny]

DID YOU JUST ASSUME MY GENDER???

I withdraw my hurtful statement. I have a lot of learning to do. Please pray for me at this difficult time.

 

[Lili Marlene]

I withdraw my hurtful statement. I have a lot of learning to do. Please pray for me at this difficult time.

So, what? You can just start posting again in six months having "learnt" your lesson? The fucking privilege of you. I won't rest until you are DEAD.