Music: Coolio’s ‘It Takes a Thief’ is a highlight of hip-hop

Atticus Gregory Upton Lewis

Title: “It Takes a Thief” by Coolio; A Highlight of Hip-Hop

When I think of the 1990s, I think of both the rise of Hip-Hop and where the genre reached some of its highest highs. I think of the MTV era and how much music in that time was starting to be made with music videos in mind rather than just the radio. Coolio’s “It Takes a Thief” was his first studio album after leaving the rap group M.A.A.D. Circle to pursue a solo career. While he was a member, he showcased phenomenal lyricism and that pattern followed for not just this album, but for his entire career. Struggles with addiction, either his own or others’, were a core part of this project despite its mainstream status.

The first track off the album, “Fantastic Voyage,” became a massive overnight hit as it was also one of the first four singles released as part of the album rollout. It demonstrated a number of factors that would make Coolio a household name, the first being his incorporation of pop elements into hip-hop, creating a unique sound. As a matter of fact, Coolio was one of the first rappers to do this, something that is now mainstream in hip-hop. The second was his lyricism, being able to create a song about escaping your current situation, a typically depressing subject matter, and making it upbeat and downright catchy. Oddly enough, the twelfth track on the album covers a similar subject matter, but seems to be more direct in confronting the listener’s escapism as hopeless as the track asserts that no matter what, black people will be in poverty wherever you go. Regardless, the sound of the first track combined with the music video allowed the track to become a smash hit on both radio and TV. 

The second track, “County Line,” is another great demonstration of Coolio’s lyricism. In this track he is playing himself going to collect food stamps and unemployment. The track is meant to be a humorous one as he is a well known and successful rapper, trying to get government assistance. Even in this track, the subject matter remains on the sobering reality of how much poverty is present in the black community of southern California. This track, as well as the tenth, and fifteenth, all seem to focus specifically on the visual ugliness poverty creates, not just in poverty or in institutions, but specifically in people. 

The third track, “”Mama, I’m in Love Wit a Gangsta,” is about the struggle of a relationship where the father, played by Coolio, is incarcerated for a murder and stresses about his relationship with his significant other and his kids coming to an end. With an excellent feature from LeShaun, who plays the mother, who expresses her struggle in having to be effectively a single mother who is essentially trapped. They both express frustration in the shortcomings they see each other and communicate the desperation they have in trying to maintain the relationship. 

The fourth track, “Hands on My NutsAc,” has nothing to do with the title at all, surprisingly. It is instead describing the need to constantly maintain vigilance in the ghettos. He expresses frustration at the state of his community and desires a better life. The fifth track, “Ghetto Cartoon,” continues this criticism through the metaphor of witnessing violence in the ghetto through a ghetto cartoon. The imagery he creates here is both very humorous, as imagining Mickey Mouse with a glock is very funny, but also very clearly a criticism and very serious subject regarding witnessing horrific violence due to poverty. 

The sixth track, “Smokin Stix,” introduces drug abuse and the struggle with addiction. In typical Coolio style, the flows and beats are catchy, the lyrics are depressing. He goes to great lengths, especially in his third verse, to describe the effects of withdrawal symptoms on his thoughts and actions. The eleventh track, “N Da Closet,” focuses not on the withdrawal symptoms, but on how drug usage affects people besides yourself. He describes hiding his abuse, even going to different neighborhoods or cities to avoid being recognized. He continues the theme of drug use pushing you to destroy yourself, and those you care about, all to the tune of a catchy yet laid back beat.  

The seventh track, “Can-o-Corn,” contrasts the rest of the album with a sobering flow fitting the subject matter. He describes food insecurity under great poverty, having to only eat one meal a day in order just to survive. Even stealing food or money to buoy food from restaurant tables. He describes doing it not just in his childhood, but even into his adult life and as a family man, eating only a can of corn. 

The eighth track, “U Know Hoo!” is the most out of place on this album. It is a brief reunion of Coolio and his former rap group, which, while it is a good track, doesn’t match very well with the other tracks on the album. I feel almost identically about the fourteenth track, “Thought You Knew.” 

The ninth and title track for the album is another track with a feature from LeShaun. It starts with this intriguing flute sound, then getting right into the funky beats. This track is a how-to-guide sponsored by Coolio on how he robs a home. He describes the might makes right philosophy created by the poverty in southern California that forces one to fight, steal, or even kill to survive. The thirteenth track, “Sticky Fingers,” describes many of the same themes, but also adds in the themes from tracks six and eleven, further adding to the cycle of poverty begets crime, crime begets drugs, drugs begets poverty, poverty begets crime. 

“Bring Back Something Fo Da Hood,” the tenth track on the album, is also the most literal track on the album. It criticizes wealthy black residents for leaving the ghettos behind and not even bothering to invest back into them to lift them out of poverty and break the cycle mentioned above. 

The sixteenth and final track on the album, “I Remember,” contains features from J-Ro and Billy Boy on the chorus of the track. The overall tone of the track is in direct contrast to the first, being sober and sad. While you might think this track is about remembering good times, it is anything but. In the track, Coolio describes eating everything on his plate as a mistake, calling back to the food insecurity he described in “Can-O-Corn.” He describes getting shot for wearing the wrong colors near gang members. He recalls how this incident hardened him into a criminal, a drug addict, and now, the rapper we all know and love. 

“It Takes a Thief” is a personal favorite album of mine, but I don’t think it’s the best. It isn’t even the best rap album from that half of the decade. Regardless, I do think this album gets ignored far too often in hip-hop discussions today. It has strong lyricism, it has catchy flows and beats, and while it was more mainstream, it never compromised its subject matter. For these reasons, I believe this record is a classic and a highlight of hip-hop.