"Big Pimpin" - Jay Z (again)

“Good Lawd, Missie! You womens sho is hard to sense into things. He’s got a five-dollar gold piece for a stick-pin and he got a ten-dollar gold piece on his watch chain and his mouf is jes’ crammed full of gold teethes. Sho wisht it wuz mine. And whut make it so cool, he got money ‘cummulated. And womens give it all to ‘im” (989).

            When a new man comes to town, Joe is fascinated with his wealth. Joe adamantly wishes to have the same wealth as Slemmons; even though Missie tells him, “Ah’m satisfied wid you jes’ lak you is, baby” (988). However, this does not suppress Joe’s desire for riches, and he devises a plan to get it, Missie. In the 1930’s, African Americans faced inequality in every way, and Joe sees Missie as a way for obtaining the wealth he longed for. During dinner one Saturday, Joe and Missie are discussing Slemmons’s liking for pretty women, and Joe tells Missie, “Go ‘head on now, honey and put on yo’ clothes. He talkin’ ‘bout his pritty womens – Ah want ‘im to see mine” (989). Joe hopes that Missie will entice Slemmons so that he will want to give her “gold money” to sleep with him. Joe comes home from work early one night and finds Slemmons in his bed with Missie. There is an altercation in which Joe knocks Slemmons to the floor breaking Slemmons watch off its chain in the process. After Slemmons runs out the door, Joe does not seem too upset, and “he put Slemmons’ watch charm in his pants pocket and took a good laugh and went to bed” (992). Missie is frantic and says, “Oh Joe, honey, he said he wuz gointer give me dat gold money and he jes’ kept on after me.” Joe replies with, “Well, don’t cry no mo’, Missie May. Ah got yo’ gold piece for you” (992). Joe is a poor black man in the 1930’s who desperately seeks wealth; however, with no opportunities of achieving his dream, he resorts to using his wife.

So, do you think Joe used Missie?