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The surprising origin story behind the cliche rap intro 'My name is...and I'm here to say'

An iconic 1940's brand jingle may be to blame.

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The "worst rap cliche" actually makes a ton of sense when you learn about its history.

If I were to put you on the spot, right now, and force you to perform a freestyle rap, how would it go? If you're like 99% of the people on the planet who aren't naturally gifted in lyrical storytelling, you'd probably say something like, "My name is Mike and I'm here to say..." to get you off and running, and then your brain would scramble for something easy to rhyme with "say." Probably doing something in a "major way," right?

It's the first thought that comes into almost all of our heads, and it's a heavily used trope on sitcoms and in film. It's deeply embedded in pop culture lore, so much so that we've all absorbed the rhythm and cadence of the rhyme practically by osmosis—even kids who weren't even born during the early hip-hop of the 70s and 80s know it! But where the heck does it actually come from? Certainly, not a lot of real rappers use the line; not anymore. I heard it used on an episode of one of my favorite sitcoms the other night and got to wondering about its origin. I'm always fascinated by our sort of shared consciousness, how we "all" seem to intuitively know and understand things without ever understanding why—so I decided to do some digging.

When it comes to "My name is...and I'm here to say," one of the earliest known uses of the phrase came from, wait for it...a Chiquita Banana commercial created in the 1940s.

The specific line in question, sung by a sultry and unnecessarily-sexy cartoon banana in a low cut dress, goes like this:

"I'm Chiquita Banana and I've come to say / Bananas have to ripen in a certain way / When they're flecked with brown and have a golden hue / Bananas taste the best and are the best for you."

The commercial became iconic (the YouTube clip below, for example, has over three million views) and a staple moment in pop culture. If you can believe it, at that time bananas were relatively new to Americans. The fruit had been around for decades but different distributors and producers jockeying for position had kept it from really reaching the mainstream. The song was catchy as all get out and also helped Americans understand how to store, eat, and use this new exotic fruit; it was a reintroduction of sorts. Chiquita also desperately needed some positive press after the horrific Banana Massacre in 1928.

It's one of the most famous commercial jingles of all time.

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

In 1988, Barney Rubble took a page out of Chiquita Banana's playbook and helped further cement the catchy rhyme into the zeitgeist.

If you don't remember the Fruity Pebbles commercials of the 80s and 90s, most of them feature Barney Rubble trying to trick or distract Fred Flintstone in order to steal his cereal. In this clip, Barney pretends to be a rapper, allowing him to (nearly) swipe the Fruity Pebbles while Fred is busy dancing to the beat.

"I'm the Master Rapper and I'm here to say / I love Fruity Pebbles in a major way ... But to get that fruity taste / I've gotta trick Fred"

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

Those are two of the earliest iterations of the rhyming intro. But around the same time, the catchy catchphrase was beginning to show up in early hip hop.

Yes, honest to God rappers actually did use the phrase, contrary to popular belief.

In 1979, the legendary "Rapper's Delight" by Sugarhill Gang featured the line: "You see, I am wonder Mike and I'd like to say Hello / To the black, to the white, the red and the brown, the purple and yellow."

In 1983, Melle Mel drops the exact line to perfect in "The Birthday Party" by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5: "Melle Mel and I'm here to say / I was born on the 15th day of May"

But you might not have picked up on those if you weren't a big hip-hop listener at the time, so many people actually credit the commercials with "My name is..." catching on beyond the rap world.

At some point soon after, the rhyme became a trope used in sitcoms, more cheesy commercials, and films to portray someone who knows nothing about rap trying to rap.

Think of it like when parents start using their kids' slang, thus ruining it for everyone.

My personal favorite example has to be Will Ferrell's devil character from a Saturday Night Live sketch, struggling to write music, when he finally spits: "I'm the devil and I'm here to say / I'm the most evil rapper in the USA"

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

Announcing your name at the start of a rap may seem like a cheesy trope now, but it actually had significance in the days of early rap.

Chaz Kangas writes for The Village Voice: "Whether literally tagging their name in graffiti in public spaces or mastering signature break dancing maneuvers, it was about getting your name in as many eyes and ears as possible. Of course, when it came to rocking the mic at a party to the break-a break-a dawn, there was no better way to have people know who you were than by identifying yourself."

Rappers still do it today, though the script has changed a bit. Most artists find a way, especially early in their career, to work their name into certain songs. It helps give them notoriety and it gives them some recognition for listeners who may have liked one of their guest verses on another artist's track. For crying out loud, one of the most famous and influential rap songs ever is literally called "My Name Is" by Eminem!

And as for the "I'm here to say" part? Well, it's a great segue into whatever comes next, and there are endless words and phrases you can rhyme with "say," so you're pretty much set if you decide to go with the cliched opener.

So, maybe it's not the worst rap trope ever. When you think about the storied history, the importance of name recognition, and the flexibility the rhyme gives you...maybe it's actually the best.

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Utah lawmakers made a rap video. This is why we can't have nice things.

Picture this: Legislators for the great state of Utah gather in their chamber wondering, “How do we get young people to care about laws?”

And then, a mysterious voice from the shadows whispers, “Make a rap. It will be fun," before spraying a cloud of some kind of cartoonish "agreeability mist" into the air and scampering back to an evil lair.

And somehow, before the agreeability mist wore off, these seemingly reasonable lawmakers set to work on writing, filming, editing, and releasing the best/worst rap video of all time.

That is the only way to explain how this could have happened.

OK, maybe not. But it’s probably the story they should stick to. GIFs via Utah House of Reps/Twitter.

Legislators from the Utah House of Representatives debuted their first hip-hop single Feb. 28.

It’s a "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" send-up called "Fresh Prints of Bills Here" and it's about how a bill becomes a law. It is — and I say this with near 100% certainty — the best thing you will see all week. (Or maybe the worst?)

There are fake bills.

A surprising amount of Comic Sans.

(Or if you're familiar with local government, maybe it's not surprising.)

Damn it, Jerry! GIF from "Parks and Recreation."

There's a poorly choreographed thumbs-up.

But not as poor as the fit on this MAGA cap.

The wordplay is FIRE. They even rhyme "there" with "chamber"

(Yeah, they made it chame-bear. THERE ARE NO RULES!)

Plus, there's this Jason Sudeikis doppleganger, in a backward hat, making what he undoubtedly thinks is a cool rap hand gesture. IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THIS CONTENT IS FREE.

And we can't forget Rep. Susan Duckworth, who appears to be the only person who can stay within 10 feet of the beat.

Go off, Susan!

Basically the video has everything but black people. (But can you blame Rep. Sandra Hollins for sitting this one out?)

But (and I'll admit this is a big but) if you can get past the dancing, cringeworthy rhymes, and hilarious hats, the video actually has a lot to offer.

Sure, a mostly negative reaction to the political parody was swift, with Stephen Colbert discussing it on his show and one of Utah's U.S. Senate candidates, Jenny Wilson, promising to never appear in a rap video if she's elected.

But if "Schoolhouse Rock!" was before your time, this video offers a succinct and useful breakdown of the legislative process.

It's also a great way for people to get to know their elected officials. In a 2015 survey, nearly 77% of respondents could not name one of their state senators. Yikes! These are the people responsible for a lot of the laws and policies that affect our daily lives. Knowing who represents you (and how they're doing) is key to making sure your voice is heard. This video offers a chance to match names to faces or at least names to stuck-out tongues — and that's a start.

To the good people of Utah, as ridiculous and cringeworthy as this video is, hats off to you.

Specifically, the backward one. Take it off. You'll thank me later.

Check out the video in full. Who am I kidding? You'll have to. It's impossible to turn away.

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Last year, Sia's manager did something really brave. It inspired her new video.

On June 8, Sia released the video for "Feel Me," an emotional new song with a powerful message in support of a great cause.

Sia is known for unique, visually captivating music videos. Her latest, for a new song called "Feel Me" is all that and important too.

Starring Zoe Saldana with narration by Julianne Moore, the video follows the impassioned journey of a mother-to-be who's just found out that she's HIV-positive.

The video — which was choreographed by Ryan Heffington (who also choreographed videos for "Chandelier," "Cheap Thrills," and "The Greatest") — is the stunning work of art the world has come to expect from Sia. But "Feel Me," and the cause it was made to support, has an important backstory.

The song was inspired by Sia's manager, David Russell, who came out publicly as HIV-positive in a 2016 interview.

Russell's diagnosis in 2002 inspired Sia to become more engaged in HIV-related activism. Over the course of the past 12 years, the two have worked together as manager and client — both watching the other grow in their own ways.

"I've been thrilled to witness Sia's reach grow further and further, all the while using her status as a person of influence for good," Russell writes in an email. "'Feel Me' is a gorgeous record and I'm so happy and proud to work with an artist as generous and open hearted as she is. She makes a difference."

Sia wrote in Billboard that Russell's "transformation of his shame into self acceptance has been magic to watch."

Photo courtesy of David Russell.

A lot has changed for the better since Russell first got his HIV-positive diagnosis.

That's due, in part, to efforts designed to fight HIV stigma — and messages like the one in Sia's "Feel Me" video.

GIF from "Feel Me" by Sia/YouTube.

"When I was diagnosed, it was only five or six years after the first round of anti-retrovirals were introduced so concepts like 'undetectable = non-transmission' or regimens like PrEP were either unavailable or not common knowledge," Russel writes. "I’d say the first five years of my living with HIV were at the tail end of the 'panic' years, and as a result I experienced a lot of negativity about my positive status."

Over the past five years or so, preventative treatments like PrEP and a fuller understanding of how and when the virus can be transmitted began making their way into common knowledge. As a result, HIV stigma has started to decline.

Sia during a 2016 concert. Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images.

Proceeds from "Feel Me" sales and streams will go toward the #endHIV Campaign's efforts to develop an HIV vaccine.

While HIV isn't anywhere near the death sentence it was in the '80s and '90s, it's still a serious issue without a cure. Nearly 40,000 Americans were diagnosed with HIV in 2015, adding to the more than 1.1 million living with it in the U.S.

"While this is a diagnosis nobody looks forward to it can also be a blessing in disguise," Russell writes when asked what advice he'd offer someone newly diagnosed with the virus. And that's really what the video is about — the scary moment of diagnosis and the flood of emotions that come after.

"Finding out I’m positive led me to look closer at my relationships, my health — both physically and mentally — and challenged me to live my life in the present.  We’ve made such enormous advances medically that anyone diagnosed in 2017 can expect to live a normal life with regular check-ups and adherence to medication."

"Feel Me" is now available on all major streaming and digital platforms. For more information about the #endHIV Campaign, visit the group's website.

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Singer-songwriter Andrew Bird's latest music video tackles a tough topic.

Andrew Bird's latest music video shines a light on an important issue.

By the time September rolled around, the city of Chicago was on the verge of its 500th murder in 2016.

In just over nine months, nearly 3,000 people in the city were shot, roughly matching the total for all of 2015. While the root cause of this violence can be debated, one thing people from around the political spectrum should be able to agree on is that something needs to be done.

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

Musician Andrew Bird wanted to do something about gun violence, especially as it concerned his hometown of Chicago.

That's why he teamed up with Everytown for Gun Safety last fall. Together, Bird and the Everytown movement found a way to make gun safety a key theme in both his latest album ("Are You Serious?") and its ensuing tour.

Andrew Bird performs at Coachella. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Coachella.

"The rhetoric around gun violence has gotten so reactionary that it seems no one is talking sense," says Bird in a press release. "Everytown is an organization that is talking sense, making points that no one can argue with."

What started as a plan to donate $1 from every ticket on his U.S. tour and sell special edition T-shirts in support of Everytown's cause quickly turned into something much more ambitious.

Bird and Everytown joined forces with director Natalie Morales to create a music video meant to highlight not just the body count, but as Bird says, "the psychic toll that gun violence is taking on our citizens."

In this latest endeavor, a music video for Bird's 2013 song, "Pulaski at Night," Bird, Morales, and Everytown take a look at the new reality of what it means to be a kid in America — specifically, one in Chicago.

The "day in the life" style video centers around a single student as he navigates his way through disruptive lockdown drills during class and as he passes pop-up memorials for gun victims between home and school. It's a reminder that the world isn't as safe or as innocent as we'd like it to be for our children.

Image by Andrew Bird/YouTube.

"I used to throw up my hands and say, ‘What can we do? It's complicated,’ but that’s lame," adds Bird. "There’s so much we can do and Everytown is out there doing it."

Will this music video single-handedly put an end to gun violence? Of course not. Will it spark conversation about what we, as a society, can do to address this problem? Absolutely.

Everytown is pretty thrilled to have artists like Bird and Morales on board in their mission to promote gun safety through common sense solutions.

Jason Rzepka, director of cultural engagement at Everytown, stresses the importance of using a variety of strategies in bringing attention to this important issue, saying, "Eradicating gun violence from our communities will require all of us, using every tool at our disposal."

You can watch the brand new music video for Andrew Bird's "Pulaski at Night" below.

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