There’s no shortage of wannabe rappers who want to act like they’ve lived the so-called thug life — dealing drugs, handing out beat-downs, holding guns to people’s heads, shenanigans like that.
Now, we can debate the artistic merits of gangsta rap if, of course, the background checks out. If you’re the son of a well-remunerated Dallas Cowboys legend who grew up in luxury, not so much.
However, that didn’t stop Elijah Irvin, son of NFL Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin, from creating an alter-ego called “Tut Tarantino.”
Tut Tarantino doesn’t quite have the same skill level at the rap game as Quentin has at film-making, but at least he tries. Hard. A bit too hard, as his father pointed out in an appearance on the Fox Sports 1 show “Undisputed” last week.
The panel — which included Irvin, former NFLer Keyshawn Johnson and (sigh) sports commentator Skip Bayless — were discussing the travails of NBA player Ja Morant, another thug-life fantast whose antics with the Memphis Grizzlies have drawn negative attention.
However, Morant is far from alone in this department, since Irvin pointed out that his son raps and talks about “that old thug life, ghetto life, and all of that stuff.”
Just so we’re clear what we’re talking about, here are the opening lyrics to “M.O.B. Freestyle,” released in 2017. (According to Genius Lyrics, “M.O.B.” stands for “Money Over B****es,” so we’re clearly talking Lennon/McCartney-level songwriting here.)
Gang wit me and I got that thang wit me (gang)
Big blick i’ma leave his face s***ty
Car flying like a cape came wit it
Stop trying boy I know you ain’t wit it (boy you ain’t)
Shots flying at yo m********g fitted
30 in my .45 bust till ain’t nun in it (ha ha)
New foreign it ain’t m********g rented
In a coupe got a big bag fill my bricks in it
In short, he has a gun and a fast foreign car that isn’t rented but bought, and he’s going to be filling bricks full of cocaine inside it, presumably for sale. Later in the song he talks about abusing cough syrup and his romantic priorities:
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She told me she don’t understand
She said I am the man she said she love me
I said I’m in love with the bands
And popping them xans and sippin this muddy.
Again, translation: She’s in love with him, but he’s in love with money and abusing prescription drugs, namely Xanax and codeine. And this is actually the cleaner stuff in the ditty.
For all I know, Elijah Irvin really has a fast foreign car that is not rented. He didn’t get it because he’s “filling his bricks” with Bolivian marching powder, however. He got it because his daddy is rich, instead — and daddy wasn’t unwilling to point that out on air in a discussion about the company that Morant is keeping.
Watch it here:
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“I got a son. He raps. His rap name is Tut Tarantino,” Irvin said in the midst of the conversation about Morant.
“If you ever listen to some of his raps. I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ Where does this come from, son? You grew up in a gated community your whole life.
“But he’s rapping my life. ‘Cause we romanticize and fantasize about that ol’ thug life, ghetto life, and all of that stuff — when we used to work to get away from it. Now, we’ve gotten to a place somehow where we’re running back towards it. In the music, in everything.”
What’s got to sting Irvin fils more is that Irvin’s comments on his son’s rapping got more attention on social media than “Tut Tarantino” has gotten via rapping.
Only two songs on Elijah’s 2018 album “Tarantino World” have gotten more than 10,000 listens on Spotify. To put this into perspective, it has roughly the same number of listens on the streaming service as a 2002 album by virtually unknown Malaysian indie band Force Vomit called “Give it Up for the Trustfund Rockers” — the only thing I could quickly find in my library that roughly approximates the popularity profile of “Tarantino World.”
That’s how bad and/or unknown he is for his talent, anyway — and it’s unclear how many of those listens came after this clip went viral:
Michael Irvin went on live tv & says his son “tut Tarantino” is lying in all his raps 🤣 🤦🏽♂️
“You grew up in a gated community” pic.twitter.com/6LmjcOMygV
— SAY CHEESE! 👄🧀 (@SaycheeseDGTL) October 21, 2023
Michael Irvin going on live tv & saying his son “tut Tarantino” is lying in all his raps is the best thing of 2023 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
“You grew up in a gated community” pic.twitter.com/sL84595kqe
— Shannonnn sharpes Burner (PARODY Account) (@shannonsharpeee) October 21, 2023
Tut Tarantino at home like pic.twitter.com/xG5imMbWPQ
— Dee 😈 (@kingdee_11) October 21, 2023
*Tut Tarantino watching his dad expose him on national TV pic.twitter.com/CRcCgEOwKd
— 8BitPips (@8Bit_Pips) October 21, 2023
Tut Tarantino seeing this: pic.twitter.com/Nn49ZA6EQy
— ßølt (@CryftBolt) October 21, 2023
Also, just for the record: From what I can glean from the three songs that I listened to (“M.O.B. Freestyle,” “Tarantino S***” and “Poppin’”), Force Vomit is significantly more talented than Tut Tarantino.
Let that sink in.
For a taste of it, here’s a 2019 video of Tarantino’s “Hit Pt. 2.”
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And, despite all the advantages he has by being born to a man who could more than afford to live in virtually any gated community he wished, Elijah Irvin has decided to push a rap persona that embraces a culture of crime, drug use and violence.
Nor is this the first time his dad has called him out; according to Vibe, in a 2019 appearance on the “Dan Patrick Show,” Michael Irvin had similar things to say: “He raps about some of the hardest stuff in the world,” Irvin said at the time. “I say to him, ‘Son, you grew up in a 20,000 square-square-foot gated community! Where does this stuff come from?’”
Simple: It comes from a pop culture elite that values these things.
For rap artists in general — and black rap artists in particular — brutality, substance abuse and a rap sheet aren’t considered deterrents to a successful career, they’re considered resumé-builders. Those attributes serve to signify that you’re “real.” Until, of course, you end up behind bars for a lengthy stretch. Then, until you’re out, and the media execs will just have to rely on your old material to get them through.
My guess is — since this is most of the world’s introduction to “Tut Tarantino” — rapping isn’t going to be the way Elijah Irvin makes his mark on the world. Indeed, one only hopes a bit of well-deserved value-shaming from an embarrassed-but-famous father convinces him not to throw away the advantages of growing up in a gated community with family around you — a place far removed from the kind of squalid, empty, dead-end existence Elijah embraces in his music.
