Opening with a simple and playful synthesized bass, "Sexy And I Know It" breaks early with an all too cliche' and egocentric reference to the artist's personal appearance. ("When I walk on by, girls be looking like damn he fly.") Almost reminiscent of Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy", "Sexy And I Know It" pushes the limits of conceit to new levels, driven by both the self-love and self-idolatry of the artist. What ensues can only be described as a poor attempt at hypnosis. In an effort to persuade the target audience, LMFAO includes a pre-chorus marked by a sort of repetitive mantra ("Girl look at that body,") followed immediately by a clever punctuation ("I work out.").
Building further the song continues ("When I walk in the spot, this is what I see / Everybody stops and they staring at me / I got a passion in my pants and I ain't afraid to show it, show it, show it, show it"). Finally, the line we've all been waiting for ("I'm sexy and I know it.).
Ultimately, this song tells us that healthy self-confidence is not enough. While the Kingdom vision involves loving our neighbors as ourselves and caring for the orphan and the widow, LMFAO offers a different vision for human purpose: disregard others (unless they are "ladies," "girls," or "Bruce Lee") and idolize the self. Turning a blind eye to the realities of the world, this imperial vision doesn't leave room for the oppressed or the poor and offers little to nothing in the way of restoring anything at all. The content of this song is so awful that I'm almost positive it's a joke.
While I was unable to see the Kingdom in "Sexy And I Know It," I was able to walk away with something else: the wisdom that sometimes a spade is really just a spade. My earnest intention was to discover the redemptive in this artifact. However, after just a few sentences I found myself weaving a hilarious story that the song quite obviously wasn't meant to tell (like Jesus having no shoes, no shirt, and "still getting service" or contrasting the artist's willingness to reveal the "passion in his pants" with the old song from Sunday school, "This Little Light of Mine"). Altogether, I was able to unearth just one positive attribute of the song that is tentatively and potentially apocalyptic: its dance-a-bility and the power of dance to bring people together in community.
Discussion Questions
1. What does the popularity of this song tell us about the priorities of the public? Is this good art? Why or why not?
2. Should we numb ourselves to the content of a song in order to enjoy the music?
Thanks for taking on such a challenge, Kyle. I appreciate your willingness to look for redemption in such an unexpected place and to critique what LMFAO is doing in this song. Watching the video makes me wonder if the kingdom can be seen in this song's mockery of a very real attitude of bravado and narcissism--the ridiculous outfits, the "sexy" moves that just end up being gross... Check this out: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2011/12/lmfao_satire_manliness_in_party_rock_anthem_and_sexy_and_i_know_it_.html. The section about the "wiggle" was making me LOL at LMFAO in the Fish House.
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