Music Review: Brooke Hogan & Paul Wall "About Us"
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Brooke Hogan & Paul Wall
About Us
Album: Undiscovered
Year: 2006
The paparazzi are bothering Brooke Hogan in the babbling “About Us.”
Vigilant synths open the single, setting a guarded tone. intro, Paul Wall says there are some guys within his inner circle selling stories to TMZ and other gossip sites. He says they want to be celebrities just like him and his best friend, Brooke Hogan. He says hello to Hogan and she says he’s quite opinionated on the issue. (“Boys talkin’ down/On the sidelines watchin’, wishin’ they was playin’ the game we playin’/But it's all good though/Brooke what up baby?/What's it to you Paul Wall? Yeah (naw)/Now who's talkin’? (naw.”)
In his rap, he continues that he watches TMZ everyday. Today, actually, he just saw a story on him and Hogan. They were saying they were a couple by some photos taken by the paparazzi. They mostly ignore the paparazzi as they head out. He’s heard that he’s a flop and broke. In response, he leaves his home wearing his most expensive as proof of his wealth. He makes sure to look presentable, wearing a pressed t-shirt and khaki shorts, fresh out of the dryer. The stryofoam cup in his hand is filled to the brim with prescription cough syrup, his drug of choice. He sees that the photos showing on television of them leaving in his Benz, talking closely together. It’s all rumors. Not one of them is true insider within Hollywood. (“Okay, hey... what it do?/I hear the commentators on the side chatterboxin’/Paul Wall and Brooke got all the paparazzi watchin’/I hear 'em jaw-jappin’ bumpin’ gums, chasin’ crumbs/We ain't concerned with the bums, we accumulatin’ funds/Flash the wrist, got the Johnny Dane watch froze/Five karat with the yellow stone in my earlobe/I'm squashin’ chatter when the light hit the pinky ring/Starched and clean, white cup full of lean/See me in that new Benz cause I'm also ballin’/Or a old school slab with the fifth wheels fallin’/We got 'em talkin’, but really they ain't sayin’ too much/Just speculatin’ with they gossip/Truth is, they don't know about us.”)
In the chorus, she says she flips through the gossip shows and rolls her eyes. They are all acting as experts on their lives, guessing where she’s had plastic surgery. For her, she’s another story for them, a way to try make themselves celebrities. Wall totally agrees. (“I see your lips movin’ but I don't hear nothin’ (naw)/Everybody actin’ like they really know somethin 'bout us(They don't know baby)/ But they don't know nothin’ 'bout us (They don't know baby, they don't know about it)/I see your lips movin’ but I don't hear nothin’ (naw)/Everybody's actin’ like they really wanna know about us (They don't know baby) But they don't know nothin’ 'bout us/(They don't know about you baby, talk to 'em Brooke.”)
The paparazzi follow her everywhere now. She can’t even get out of her driveway to go anywhere. There is a camera stuck in her face and some annoying reporter asking questions about her personal life. It’s none of their business. (“I'm just tryin’ to live, but you're all up in my grill/How's a girl to breathe with the media/Starin’ down my mouth, with a fo' inch lens/I just wanna hit the mall with some of my friends.”)
Wall says they must be worth all the attention. The media knows they have money. However, they can only guess at their net worth. He says they have plenty of money. They’ve worked hard for it. (“They talkin’ 'bout us so I guess we doin’ somethin’ right/Ballin’ in the mix with the camera lights shinin’ bright/They know we caked up, but they don't know how much we worth/Paper stacked to the ceilin’ all because we put in work.”)
She says it’s made her paranoid. It’s such intense scrutiny and they don’t leave her alone. They are just repeating what they think they saw and reporting it as though it’s news. (“Picture yourself in my shoes (uh) top story in the news/Everyday it's something new, everybody's watching you (f'real)/But they ain't seen nothing (naw) they ain't heard nothing (naw)/Everybody's just fronting, it's what they do.”)
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, one of her friends saw something on television about who she is dating. She wants to know if it’s really true. She tells her to not believe a word of it. The media is out to destroy her family. (“Stop stop stop! I'm not listening, you can save your breath/I don't wanna, hear the rumors people are spreading/Why, why, why do people go, out of their way/To try to bring us down, they don't know nothin 'bout us.”)
The chorus is sung again.
Wall adds that everyone is trying to glom onto the latest thing, which is her at the moment. (“They don’t know, baby, naw.”)
Hogan’s feeble vocals defend herself and her family to the press, who are hounding her. At that time she was a willing participant on “Hogan Knows Best, “ a reality show designed to pry into the family’s life. After that, the ranting regarding privacy no longer applies. Nonetheless, her feebleness works in her favor, giving her complaints credibility where they really shouldn’t have any.
Wall’s collaqiual rap provides moral support to Hogan. He’s dealt with the same issues himself and she needs a true friend right now. Wall knows every note, it’s as though he studied it, He also has a great sense of rhtythm and can keep up without breaking a sweat. He should be featured on more singles.
The coddled “About Us” is such a guilty pleasure that it should be in jail, sentenced for life.