Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
WITH I Don't Give A S and I Got U On Me, rapper Nadz turns her considerable talent to two sides of relationships. While the music for both is definitely hip-hop, the first being more uptempo and the other having more than a touch of R&B, Nadz does not sound like a bad imitation of an American performer. She is 'hard' while being 'yard'.
I Don't Give A S addresses the issue of a woman being involved with a man who has a female 'friend' who is always around. Nadz takes the first person position.
But don't be fooled by the title, as Nadz is not positioning herself as the 'outside woman' who is content with the occasional ride; neither does she show much anger, but simply wants to hear from the man what is up (although by the sound of things she already knows for herself, but you know what they say about fessing up).
A MOMENT OF DECISION
As she says in the opening lines, it is simply a moment of decision. Of course, Nadz puts it better, with "me waan turn this page/I been stuck at this stage for too long", the J'can coming on strong with the first two words.
The song gives Nadz the opportunity to express emotions not only with lyrics, but also through vocal inflection and she does so well.
There is that 'yeah, right' tone when she raps "you're telling me to understand/You're living with this chick, who is just a friend".
She gets into puzzlement as she delivers "as if she got a hold on your life/I'm confused, am I gonna be your wife?", then she sounds urgent, to just bring it on as she raps "it would seem she can give you more/So if it done gone bad just tell me the score". The 'yard' comes out strong again in the second line.
TONE OF ENQUIRY, DISBELIEF
And there is a tone of enquiry and disbelief to "you must be living in a dreamland/To think that she would be so naïve/To invest the time so you could be with me?"
Coming to the end, Nadz makes it a general work of advice to women in that situation with "and it he says she is just a friend/How comes she's around more than you are then?"
As the lyrics finish and there is music to end I Don't Give a S there is an interesting phrase from what sounds like an electric guitar.
I Got U On Me is not nearly as interesting in choice of topic, as it is a straightforward 'guy is gone, girl misses him' song.
In addition, the song does not allow for the vocal inflections that I Don't Give A S does. Instead, Nadz goes for a steady, semi-sultry tone that occasionally intensifies (an exception being when she sounds girlishly giddy on "right now you have me going so crazy"), a whispered, repeated 'so sexy' at the beginning making the matter clear from the get go.
However, lyrically I Got U On Me is the much stronger track. This is evident from the chorus, with which the song begins:
"I got you on me
Your scent of attraction is actually here, even when you're gone
I got you on me
Scars of passion left on my neck, my back, my arm?"
She exhales on "It's like you never left the day you left/On my neck I can still feel your breath, breathing" and paints a word picture of being "cloaked in your shirt, smelling your cologne".
And she states her commitment with "minus the jewellery, minus the cars/without it all you would still be my star".
There is a male rapper on the track, who is unnamed for the promotional copy.
