Steve 'Flash' JuonI used to like it when white rappers referred to themselves as “country.” It made me think they were a little more humble and less pretentious than white rappers who expected to walk into the game and become the next Marshall Mathers overnight. You wouldn’t get that impression from Bezz Believe’s “Country Trapper Volume 1” though. You might even think this dude has already got it made given he’s sitting on the hood of a very expensive and shiny sports car, although his blue jeans and beard and meant to let us know he’s “still a normal dude.” Hard to buy that when on songs like “Paralyzed” he quips “These the trials and tribulations of a superstar.” Now he immediately shifts course and tell us he tries to “stay humble” but you already done called yourself a superstar now didn’t you?
You’re probably thinking “Some superstar. I never heard of him before.” Well neither had I until he did a song with Forgiato Blow, who gained notoriety and fame (or perhaps infamy) for being one of the loudest and proudest supporters of Donald J. Trump in rap songs. I’m not telling you he admires his wealth and wants that kind of wealth too — that’s what rappers did in the 1980’s and 90’s. No, I’m telling you Blow (who blows) admires his POLICIES and believes they’ll “make America great.” If you think Bezz Believe being friends with Forgiato made me suspicious of his music, you’re damn right.
Bezz Believe tries to position himself as a modern day Bubba Sparxxx, even calling his girlfriend “Ms. New Booty” on the song “Privacy.” Now Bubba Sparxxx has done his own problematic collaborations in recent years so that alone isn’t going to get him a pass. On top of that there’s something you can’t escape when listening to Bezz Believe — he expects people to be loyal without questioning him at any time. He wants his girl to be subservient to him, to live in a rural area with him, and to keep their business to themselves. He extols a certain set of country values that remind me of a Sundown Town yet constantly complains about “the negativity” and claims he’s “a peaceful man.”
Unfortunately Bezz Believe is not a terrible rapper. In fact he’s so much better than Forgiato Blow that I’m actually talking about BB and not that other unfortunate piece of shit. He’s no kind of singer and shouldn’t sing the hooks on his tracks, but in terms of having good timing when he spits bars and a clear delivery with a nice Southern drawl, he’s on point. The problem is really that I just don’t trust him. He doesn’t come right out and say he’s a redneck racist but I can’t help but wonder if he’s the kind of person who would have a Michael Richards style meltdown at a fan who attended his live show.
“Why are women so complicated?”
Maybe they’re “complicated” because they’re not one dimensional creatures put on this earth solely to have your babies and cook your breakfast, sir. The good news is that the South isn’t one dimensional either, nor is the definition of “country.” We don’t have to take Forgiato Blow or Bezz Believe as the end all be all definition of country rappers — black, white or otherwise. I’m not sticking around for volume 2.