Renee (song)
| "Renee" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
Renee was the most popular hit by the Lost Boyz and their only song to penetrate the Top 40 of the U.S. pop charts. The song peaked at #33 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, #13 on the R&B charts, and #3 on the rap charts in 1996. The song, which was a part of the Don't Be a Menace soundtrack[1], samples the Janet Jackson song Funny How Time Flies (When You're Having Fun)," found on her Control album and never released as a single in the United States.
The song describes a young man (the narrator) who meets a woman ("Renee") while coming back from "John J." The narrator promptly attempts to initiate a relationship. The song describes that Renee is studying to be a lawyer, while the narrator is a writer. The pair date for several weeks before she is shot to death[2]. The moral of the song is "ghetto love is the law that we live by," describing the inevitable suffering of tragedy by those raised in crime-ridden areas[3][4].
The story described in the song has been reported to be true, though the woman's name in real life is not Renee.
References
- ^ http://www.mywire.com/pubs/Muze/2007/02/01/631178?extID=10051
- ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E1DB1130F93AA15750C0A96F958260
- ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E1DF173EF930A25753C1A960958260
- ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E1DF1238F931A3575AC0A960958260&sec=&spon=