Is it possible that Aaron McGruder and his team have set the bar so high in the first two seasons that a disappointing Season 3 is inevitable? With just two episodes in, it looks like Season 3 will have a tough time toppling its predecessors. I’m willing to give the Boondocks creator the benefit of the doubt because the first two seasons as well as the outstanding comic strips that started it all couldn’t have been an accidental success. Maybe this one is a slow cooker that will improve as the season wears on. Yes, I’m holding my breath.
Episode 2, Bitches to Rags, carries on the tradition of lampooning some of the deplorable practices in hip-hop culture, everything from the “monkey see, monkey do” Auto-Tune craze to the silliest beef in hip-hop history. Again, the Boondocks characters spew quotes culled directly from a rap event, in this case the feud between Ice T and Soulja Boy. They’re clearly making a statement about how ridiculous rappers can be attimes. In other words, the jokes practically write themselves.
The episode keeps its lens sharply focused on Thugnificent–a representation of your average rap dude–and his financial struggles. When his Auto-Tune-powered album, Mo Bitches Mo Problems, tanks woefully. His desperation leads to one questionable business decision after another. He tries his hands at everything, from stirring up beef on DJ Vlad’s show to selling crack. No dice. He then wonders why his album bricked: “I used Auto-Tune. I instigated a beef. I even made a dance, nigga!” When it all comes crashing down, his crony Flonominal suggests getting a real job. Thugnificent would have none of this. He fires back: “Isn’t that why we became rappers in the first place, so we don’t have to get a job?” Thugnificent never for once stops to turn the mirror on himself. Sound familiar? Yep, this is your typical rapper. Most rappers are allergic to criticism or, heavens forbid, self-introspection.
While Episode 2 showed remarkable improvement from Episode 1, the new series still hasn’t lived up to expectations. I’m starting to suspect that McGruder is wary of falling into the same Message vs Minstrelsy trap that drove Dave Chappelle off the air. In an effort to preserve the show’s sanity in its final season, he seems to have upped the ante on “message” while unintentionally toning down the vitriol that sometimes gets mistaken for minstrelsy. Unfortunately, it’s the latter that made Boondocks one of the best animated series on TV.
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