Music Discussions

I was watching videos from the ’80’s the other day and stumbled across Run-D.M.C.’s "It’s Tricky". I remembered how influential the song was on music, but had completely forgotten how humorous this video was.

It starts out with famous musician / comedian / philosopher / con-artist team Penn and Teller ripping people off at Three-card Monte. The duo though pick the wrong mark and end up cleaning out a friend of Run-D.M.C. who rush to the scene. After taking their turn at reducing the finances of an extremely young Penn, Penn asks if they can teach him to dance. Apparently, according to Run-D.M.C., suits are not appropriate attire for such activities. Run, D.M.C., and Jay proceed to rap for awhile while Penn and Teller – in a slightly different wardrobe – attempt to follow along.

Six months later, the band arrives at a venue in Japan only to be told that Run-D.M.C. is already on stage. Penn is doing his best to rap and Teller is merely going through the motions as he speaks less frequently that Silent Bob – although he did have some spoken material at the end of Penn & Teller Get Killed.

It is rather amusing that slight-of-hand experts are conned by rappers and that musicians are similarly bested by magicians. However, a couple of serious lessons are illustrated by this video.

First, the age old wisdom of "don’t judge a book by its cover" is illustrated. Penn and Teller do not look like rappers, but they managed to fool a screaming audience.

Second, never assume that someone only has one talent or skill and give everyone a chance to prove their abilities. While Penn and Teller are arguably terrible rappers, the video portrays them as extremely talented at the end of the video – although it is hilarious to watch Teller silently beat box. Likewise, while Run, D.M.C., and Jay are known for music, in the video they also have mastered hand-eye coordination and knowledge of con games.

The third lesson is do not be afraid to try new things. If Run-D.M.C. had not tried to out-con Penn and Teller their friends would have lost all of their money and gold chains. On the other hand, if Penn and Teller had not tried rapping and dancing, they would have been penniless after losing all of their money in a subsequent game..

While the setting for these lessons is humorous, contrived, and somewhat surreal, the lessons themselves are still important. The only thing that contradicts these lessons is the comment that Penn and Teller are dressed inappropriately for rapping; this could be construed as "judging a book by its cover" and not giving others a chance to show their abilities. However, Penn and Teller leave their suit jackets on as a way of showing that they are not conforming to the expectations of others and not allowing people to constrain them.