This week I will be looking at Wale’s song titled “Ambition,” which his second studio album is named after. The song features Rick Ross and Meek Mill who grew up on a street very close to where I grew up in Philadelphia. The song talks about how the rappers struggled to make ends meet and had to sell drugs to survive.
The song begins with Meek Mill talking about his experiences growing up in Philadelphia. He begins by talking about how he felt that the only way he could make a living was selling drugs on the streets of North Philly. He says that his mother taught him “never steal and never tell on folks” which says that she instilled good values but also didn’t openly discourage the illegal actions that were occurring around them. This also could have been due to the unofficial “no snitching” policy that is instilled within communities with high crime. Typically those who “snitch” are targeted and can sometimes lose their lives. Meek talks about how he was “raised by the stop sign” which refers to how he spent much of his early life on the corner selling drugs. This lifestyle was lavish and came with respect on the streets. He stopped when he had a bad experience with the people he thought were his friends. This led him to the rap game. When he began rapping it was hard to get signed but now that he is successful and many of the places who rejected him regret their decision. Now he uses his “mind as a weapon” as opposed to his drug dealing life style where he needed a gun.
The song then moves on to the chorus where Wale claims that his Ambition is what got him where he is. He says that it is “easy to dream a dream, though its harder to live it.” This refers to how it is easy to have goals but its harder to actually fulfill them.
Rick Ross then talks about how he grew up watching his mother struggle to make ends meet while suffering from health problems. He began selling drugs to help her with rent and the bills. He recalls waking up to no electricity in his house. When incidents like this occurred he realized he had to go out and sell to help out, especially considering his father had been absent in his life since he was young. There were few job opportunities for people from the projects like him. This led him to be attracted to the luxurious lifestyle that selling drugs brought. At the end of the day his ambition helped him to get out of that rough situation.
Though it appears that this song glorifies drug dealing, it is an insight into the motivations that lead people to the lifestyle. What people fail to realize is that these rappers rap about what they have seen their whole lives. When you are surrounded by cycle of poverty that many people are, the first opportunity to make money you take. Legal or not.