I remember when we all first heard T-Pain's introductory hit "I'm Sprung", the song resulted in the beginning stages of our own infatuation with T-Pain's auto-tuned hits. Then came the love affair with table dancing vixens and a few hundred remixes later, shawty was snapping. Having successfully made the journey from being love lorned scrubs to buying these chicks drinks in the club, the time has come to step away from the dance floor to the bar and fraternize with the help. Do you notice a pattern here? We can't completely blame T-Pain for being a hopeless romantic in a Magic City/Club Rolexx sort of way. The women in these places have amazing talents any heterosexual man could appreciate. When getting to the root of each songs content, you realize an unmistakable fact: T-Pain is just a big ole trick! Take a look at this man's track record and you too will see that he has an affinity for salaciously approaching, then paying for a woman's attention, it doesn't matter if it's with household chores or fiiiiiiive hundred dollars. Granted, many of you may say "Well look at him, he better be paying for something"! Looks or lack thereof aside, that should make us all wonder; is tricking dough on these broads at an all time high?

Many of us come from similar schools of logic, whether taught the ways of the world by your mama, daddy, homeboys on the block or a healthy combination of all three, we have all at one point in our lives been told: "Don't just go around giving your money away to these fast little heifers"! Judging from the lifestyle these rap cats lead you would think they didn't have any home training; home training which actually does include lessons on not tricking off your paychecks. Nevertheless, men nationwide are either too lazy or not confident enough in their ability to talk a lady out of her draws, spawning the notion of necessary tricking. Despite the perceived differences amongst the opposite sex, one thing that all women love is a man who is, or at least appears to be in control. Women also love you silly guys who ball out of control because, it's obvious they will at least get a meal out of ya'll trick asses. The hip-hop timeline would show Biggie was one of the last to "lay his game down quite flat", before dudes started treating everyday like they just received a tax return check. Currently the majority of men are just laying money on the dresser. I won't doubt that Biggie threw a few dollars at some women, but at least he didn't boast about it! Like never before, we are bombarded with odes to frivolous spending. It appears the tricking game has evolved, Red Lobster and cheddar biscuits are played out, now you have to make it rain on these hoes, order mo bottles to get mo models, so you can then take them to the room like cavemen. Now that's what I call laying the game quite flat.

For you younger kids who only know what Lil Wayne tells ya, there was a point in time when spending money of any kind was severely frowned upon, "brown nosing these hoes" and "taking them out to the Cheesecake Factory for strawberry lemonade" was as taboo as cunnilingus. That was in the 90's, in 2007 it’s a whole different story. I won't go into the lyrical boasts of what these rappers do with their mouth (that’s just gross son). You can't ignore how proud they are, when they 'money machine" a stack just to see a woman take off her bra top. In defense of their own inability to keep their money in pocket, the phrase "It Ain't Tricking if You Got It" has been heavily adopted. To that I say, SELL THAT BULLSHIT TO SOMEBODY WHO WANTS IT! Tricking is basically defined as spending money on the opposite sex or an object of affection, more so for your own pleasure than the pleasure of the money spendee. If this sounds like what happens when you buy an hour or so from a hooker, that’s because it is. The term trick is heavily used in the sex commerce game, if coining "it ain't tricking if you got it "is an attempt to disassociate yourself with old white men who buy poontang, try again you rappers.

We have to wonder if a number of things are happening; maybe the men are self conscious; they realize they are funny looking, only have as much game as what is in their pocket, so they just submit to paying for it. Perhaps it is capitalism at its best, these clubs are full of "business minded" women who realize the power they hold between their legs, placing the nuts of these playa pimp types in the ultimate vice grip, "no money no honey... honey". Maybe everyone has too many extra things to spend money on, and feel there aren't enough relevant causes to spend it on (yeah right). Better yet perhaps these men feel they ARE giving back to the community, follow me now; women are the givers of life, by supporting the givers of life with phonebook sized stacks of ones, they now have money to support the child (who are the future by the way) the woman has or may potentially have with one of these stack throwing, life giver supporters! Sounds nice, don't it?

My favorite phrase of late was re-introduced to me by 8 year old Riley Freeman of The Boondocks. While chastising Granddad for taking a prostitute out to eat (how preposterous is that) he asked Granddad, who proclaimed to have all the game: "What part of the game is that"? If someone can tell me how garbage bags full of money and buying the bar are now a part of this hip-hop game... I will still be resistant to tricking off, but that's just me. Hip-hop and society always possessed contrasting elements in regards to the treatment of our women. There were always the sistas and the guys who loved them, pimps and playas and the bitches and hoes who apparently love them. Now in contrast to what was once like an unbreakable commandment, you have to spend each dollar as if it is your last, which many think keeps them hustling harder. Spend it, just to make it over again and spend some more; if that's not a nigga mentality I don't know what is. People claim to be addicted to paper and the luxuries that come with it, like any bad habit, the end result isn't usually pretty if the addiction isn't reigned in properly. "Game recognize game and right now you lookin unfamiliar" Hip-hop, is that you?