Shwayze

Review

Common Sense Media says

Getting high, casual sex, and very clever lyrics.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Shwayze is completely inappropriate for young kids, tweens, and even most teens. Although the music is mellow and the duo fun loving, the album makes light of anonymous sex, constant pot smoking, and hard partying with prescription drugs. Women are objectified to the role of sex toys and the duo celebrates the "love-'em-and-leave-'em" mentality. Underneath all that there are also clever and creative rhymes.

  • Positive messages0
    Shwayze's message consists of lots of inappropriate references: party drugs, habitual pot smoking, and casual sex. Even traffic laws are flaunted by the duo with the line "f--k the speed limit."
  • Violence0
    Not applicable.
  • Sex4
    This duo talks a lot about casual sex, threesomes, oral sex, and using women for their pleasure. "One conversation lead to another/was under some drinks/now we f--king each other/Constant sex turn to constant text" and "I know a place where we can get down babe/I got a blankie/I'll lay it on the sand/I went deep like the goddamn Grand Can" are two examples of sexually-charged lyrics.
  • Language3
    "F--k," "s--t," and bitch are used on several tracks. On the song "Flashlight," Shwayze sings, "My pick in my hair and my d--k in my hand."
  • Consumerism0
    The duo is featured on an MTV reality series titled Buzzin'.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking4
    Mostly every song has a reference to either drinking, smoking pot, or taking pills. Shwayze talks about drinking Patron and "chasing it with some Jack just to smile again." The downer drug group benzodiazipan is mentioned on the song "Flashlight." Shwayze celebrates pot smoking by comparing himself to Cheech and Chong and rhyming lines such as "Just as long as I can get high/sit back and watch the sunset in the sky" and the chorus of "if you got the weed/I got the light/we can get high together all night."
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What's the story?

Cisco Adler, son of famed producer Lou Adler, used to be more famous for dating Hollywood stars than for his musical career. Aaron Smith AKA Shwayze grew up in a trailer park not far from Adler's privileged Malibu residence. Together the unlikely duo has come together to create SHWAYZE, a mellow mix of folky rock and lucid hip-hop.

Is it any good?

 

Remember Jeff Spicoli, the stoner surfer made famous by Sean Penn in the classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High? Well just imagine if Spicoli met Kanye West and they formed a music duo. Now you have an idea of what Shwayze is all about. With a mellow mix of classic rock sounds overlapped by smooth raps, the twosome takes listeners on a musical trip, literally. But amidst the over-sexed and over-smoked lyrics, there is a truly unique and pleasing sound to the album. Add some inventive rhymes such as "like the Beatles/when they were bigger than Jesus/I'm genius/Bill Clinton wrote my speeches," from the gem "Hollywood," and you've got an album that rises higher than these guys on a Saturday night.

Explore, discuss, enjoy

Families can talk about society's conflicting messages about pot. In most states, being caught smoking pot can get you into a lot of trouble, yet it's seeing a cultural revival on TV, in the movies, and in music. Why do you think the drug is subtly being promoted by record companies, movies, and TV networks like MTV, whose new reality show Buzzin' follows the Shwayze duo on their "high" livin' lifestyle. Do you think teens who see famous people smoking pot will be more likely to try it themselves?

This review of Shwayze was written by
Kid, 12 years old
April 19, 2010
AGE
17
 
Great album and clever lyrics, too bad it's horrible content-wise
It has some awesome rhymes and is perfect at combining rap and rock/pop sounds. It's just too bad it talks so much about drugs & sex. It has many references to drug abuse (mostly weed and pain-killers) and a few to alcohol abuse. It also has a lot of sexual content and some of its a little graphic. Theres also some strong lasnguage (I heard a few f--ks and sh-ts and several uses of b-tch). It can send out some horrible messages to teens but if you can get the clean version MOST of the problems listed above are solved :)
What other families should know:
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Teen, 15 years old
January 23, 2009
AGE
2
 
I SMOKED
It was amazing and i loved it
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Helped me decide (9) | Had useful details (4) | Read my mind (10)
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This review of Shwayze was written by
Artist:Shwayze
Release date:August 19, 2008
Label:Geffen Records
Genre:Hip-hop
Parental advisory:Yes
Edited version available:Yes
This review of Shwayze was written by
 
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