Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant dad Bariki “Bar” Smith is following in the footsteps of Debz OG and N.I.C.K. B (Jo Rivera) by releasing a rap song!
Bar has been teasing the track “How You Steppin” for a few days, and he finally posted the song on Youtube on Friday. The song includes fellow rapper POEAFOE and be WARNED that the lyrics are VERY explicit and not safe for work:
POEAFOE starts the song with Bar (aka BarBadBreed) coming in right around the 41-second mark. “Watch how you steppin’ ’cause I keep a fully loaded weapon,” Bar begins, before rapping about a brother making the front page and “momma cryin’ at the courthouse every couple days.” I assume that’s a reference to Bar’s brother Troy Seales, who was recently convicted of murder in California, and their mom Shen, who was at the courthouse throughout Troy’s trial.
The song was actually uploaded a couple months ago, but was later deleted. It’s unknown if the current version has been altered from the original.
Also, I should point out that “How You Steppin” isn’t Bar’s first rap song. Here’s a song Bar uploaded back in 2015, entitled “From London to Cali,” and featuring someone named Finz:
One thing that seems obvious after watching that video: Bar DOES NOT like photographers! He was giving pretty much every one of them the finger! ?
As mentioned above, Bar is not the first mom or dad from the Teen Mom franchise to try to cross over to music stardom. While writing this post, my mind began to wander back over the years at all of the Teen Mom songs, and I decided I would try to compile a complete list. I think I got them all, but it’s been close to a decade now, so there may be one or two that slipped my mind
Oh, and for clarity’s sake, this is just a list of the actual moms, dads, and grandparents from the shows. So many boyfriends and girlfriends have come and gone that I simply can’t be sure they haven’t dropped a track or two. (Didn’t Farrah fake date some DJ? And how did Kieffer Delp never record a song?!)
I should also point out that all of these are rap songs, except for Farrah’s album My Teenage Dream Ended — which defies genre.
On with the list!
JO RIVERA aka N.I.C.K. B aka Nerd In A Cool Kid’s Body
“Unthinkable Remix” 2011
The song that started it all! Jo was the very first Teen Mom mom or dad to release a song, and he actually had a real-deal music video starring his future girlfriend, wife, and mother of his child Vetzabe “Vee” Torres! Jo talked a lot about wanting to pursue a music career in the early days of Teen Mom 2, but he seems to have abandoned that dream in favor of cashing HUGE MTV checks, focusing on his growing family, and potentially dabbling in real estate.
FARRAH ABRAHAM
“My Teenage Dream Ended” (full album and companion to her memoir) 2012
Farrah Abraham blew a lot of people’s minds with the release of her debut single “Finally Getting Up From Rock Bottom” in August of 2012. And she followed it up with nine more tracks that were just as bizarre. It’s easy to shake your damn head and laugh off Farrah’s short-lived music career, but I think it’s much more interesting to try to consider what she did seriously. And it appears as though I am not alone — as evidenced by all of these insightful takes on the project:
The Secret Cyborg Genius of MTV Teen Mom‘s Farrah Abraham
by Phil Freeman for io9 in 2012
This short album (10 tracks in under 30 minutes) is one of the most brilliantly baffling and alienating records I’ve ever heard. Its sheer cyborg whackedness can’t possibly be accidental, and to make something that sounds like this on purpose evinces a commitment to anti-listener hostility that’s genuinely impressive.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Farrah Abraham’s My Teenage Dream is the purest expression of pop ever recorded
by Joseph Earp for The Brag
The record is a means to an end; an attempt to gain success by releasing an album about success, not to mention a desperate plea for attention auto-tuned to the point of pitched perfection. For Abraham, the record wasn’t some way of satisfying some years long creative itch, or about communicating her soul to the world, or any of those trite reasons that artists dole out for making their art when they are pressed on an album’s publicity tour. My Teenage Dream Ended was reverse engineered. It was as conniving and as calculated as a presidential campaign run.
And in its bare-faced honesty – in its sheer, uncomplicated grasping – it has a genius all of its own.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Farrah Abraham’s pop music should make her an avant-garde icon
by Duncan Cooper and producer Fredrick M. Cuevas for Fader in 2017
Her 2012 album My Teenage Dream Ended is a one-of-a-kind Auto-Tune oddity. After I interviewed its producer, it inspired me for reasons I didn’t expect.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ANDREW LEWIS
“A Song For Jace” 2013
Jenelle Eason’s ex and Jace’s father had a brief return to the spotlight in 2013 as questions about Jace’s paternity arose. Andrew took advantage of the attention to drop a track dedicated to his son Jace in which Andrew expressed his love and frustration over not being a part of Jace’s life. Here’s a sample of the lyrics:
So I love you like cooked food
Never listen to the people
I’m a good dude
And I try to play my part
We stay in different states
but you stay in my heart
We were actually inspired by Andrew’s song and wrote lyrics for Barbara Evans in hopes that she might try her hat at the rap game; unfortunately, Babs OG never came to fruition. Even so, the Babs OG image we created has become quite the meme sensation — and even merited inclusion in Jenelle’s JEmoji app!
MACKENZIE MCKEE
“The Sweetest Treat” 2015
Teen Mom 3 star Mackenzie McKee surrendered herself completely to the headline-grabbing template her manager Gina Rodriguez used so many times at GR Media. That template includes dramatic divorce rumors, a sex tape, plastic surgery, post-plastic surgery paparazzi beach photo shoot, and a song with GR Media’s resident songsmith, Adam Barta.
The result was Mackenzie’s song “The Sweetest Treat,” about her struggles with type 1 diabetes. As we wrote at the time:
Even though most of the reviewers aren’t very complimentary of Mackenzie’s skills, it is great that 50 percent of the iTunes profits will go to diabetes research and awareness.
DEBRA DANIELSEN aka DEBZ OG
“Debz OG” February 2017
Farrah Abraham’s mom launched the longest-lasting music career of all the aspiring Teen Mom pop stars (six months and counting) with her eponymous debut “Debz OG.” Here’s a lyrical excerpt:
Oh, it’s a celebration
I stay fresh, no expiration
This goes out as a dedication
Debz OG in the place to be
C’mon![chorus]
More than a mom
TheBomb.com
Hey DJs play this song
OK let’s get it started
We rockin’ on and on
Debz OG has since recorded two additional songs, including “Suga Momma” featuring Money Carsin in June of 2017, and “22x” (with Money Carsin again) last August. The latter is reportedly about her ex-husband Michael Abraham’s infidelity, and he was none too happy about the belated diss track!
OK, I think that’s it! So: which Teen Mom song do you think is the best actual song? And because it is probably a different answer (I know it is for me!), which Teen Mom song is your favorite?
(*Teen Mom OG‘s Gary Shirley plays guitar and sings, but he has never to my knowledge officially released a song. He did post a tribute song to his best bud Evan (which has since been deleted). And there was that brief scene on the show with Gary pickin’ and singin’ — but nothing that merited inclusion above. Additionally, Teen Mom Young and Pregnant dad Sean Austin is a musician who performs under the name Lilfoot. He used to have a Soundcloud account with songs, but he has since deleted it. Also, I think Briana DeJesus’ ex (and Stella’s dad) Luis is/was a DJ, but I do not know if he ever recorded any original songs.)
UPDATE – As new songs from Teen Mom cast members continue to roll in, I will try to update with links below. Unfortunately, Debz OG is releasing too many to keep up with them all!
#TeenMomOG Farrah Abraham's daughter Sophia dropped her new music video for the song #TakeYoBestie today & it sounds VERY similar to @MahoganyLOX's single #TakeYourMan. Did Sophia #TakeYoSong too?! Listen to both songs & see side-by-side lyrics to compare! https://t.co/p1Kb9IumGR pic.twitter.com/5dlaEbuKS9
— Starcasm (@starcasm) May 15, 2020
#TeenMomOG @F1abraham's mom Debra #DebzOG Danielsen dropped her new song "White Woman's Rap" on Friday, as well as a video showing off some of the dance choreography she will be doing for the music video. Check out the full song and lyrics. #TeenMom https://t.co/hxNPenZsIb pic.twitter.com/VchJBG4L1i
— Starcasm (@starcasm) June 3, 2020
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm.
