"The TTC Can Be a Drag; Other Times It's Super-Great."

It's funny how the word 'fag' was dropped in their by the writer of this article not the writer of the lyrics.

In fact, the word 'fag' doesn't appear once in the lyrics.

Once again, Torontoist looking too deep into everything. Right up there with calling the city racists for shutting down a rat infested restaurant.

Nope, torontothegreat, it's in there. Fast-forward 0:57 to 1:01.

It's there, it's said and it's derogatory, however the lyrics are replicated on Torontoist. My point is that this crap shouldn't get any attention.

It's not clever or blatant enough to be a slam on the homophobia/hypermasculinity of hip-hop music. Not to date myself, but a great example of riffing on that would be Black Sheep's "U Mean I'm Not."

In related news, straight guys who think they're universally attractive to gay guys usually aren't and should stop flattering themselves. And "super straight" guys who feel the need to overcompensate by continually insisting on it have other deep-seated esteem issues.

don't take it too seriously, folks, i don't he was insulting gay people at all, he just wants to have his space, stop smelling other people's farts and eat his celery at Bellamy...

Hello readers, I'm Syrus. I would first like to apologize to anybody who is offended by this song. I am not homophobic, I didn't expect the song to draw this much attention. It was not meant to be a new 'Anthem' in any way. I am simply a Humber student with alot of time on my hands as I make the hour and a half trip from Kennedy to Kipling. This boring ride leaves me with alot of time to think, observe, and rewrite lyrics to the 'Young Jeezy ft. Kanye West- Put On' song. It has a catchy beat and I was slouched in my seat on the train, listening to the song when the first line came to me. from there I just began writing about real stuff. I called my friend and asked him if he wanted to write some lyrics for Kanye West's part in the song. I made this song and video out of sheer boredom, expecting my friends be the only listeners.

DEADROBOT- I was hoping these weren't necessarily MY thoughts, but the thoughts of transit riders in general, and all my friends that do take the ttc could listen and say "ha, that's so true" . Although I don't get angry when someone's leg is touching mine I know for a fact that some people do. Nothing personal, didn't mean to offend.

MARK OSTLER- I agree, it is a great song otherwise. Yes I do think 'the hyper-masculinity of the rap/hip hop scene' was portrayed here, although inadvertently. I was just bored. Thanks for the compliment.

TTC RIDERS PUT YOUR METROPASSES/TOKENS/TICKETS IN THE AIR AND ENJOY THE RIDE.

S.

Great song & video, guys.

I very much enjoyed this. A lot. Big ups.

Genius.

just for the record this is all a joke... it's written to the beat "I Put On..." by young jeezy... all the rhyme structures and a bunch of the line endings are straight from the song -- which is hard to do if you're writing on a whole new topic.

it's like primo Weird Al...

Great news, Skippy!

As long as I use "generic taunts" which aren't truly homophobic, racist, etc. and aren't directed at that particular group, they're fine.

Yay, f- and n-bombs for everyone!

What a — everyone else here too. I hear commenting on Torontist makes you a fag. Which, you know, is fine by me.

Hey Syrus,

Thanks for acknowledging my concern. I too dislike the inevitable touching on the subway, but it doesn't make me utter slurs, even in jest. While homophobia will not be wiped out in our generation, we gotta start somewhere, right?

The song is great and clever and funny, but that one instance turned me off.

Ironically, David T alerted me to your response by posting the one word response on my blog: "Fag". In jest, of course because I use to write about queer issues here on Torontoist. It's a double standard, I know, but I wonder how many laughs I'd get if I was doing a comedy sketch and mention the word "n**ger" without any African Canadians in it.

Edward, if posting on Torontoist makes you a fag, then what are you doing Sat night? I have a ball gag and assless chaps...

Can you guys take the "fag" argument to Now Magazine and cry about it there?

You're making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Some of us who aren't homophobic in the slightest still thought it was a funny.

It's not that bad words should be banned from "art"; it's that people who use them—especially unironically—deserve to be called on it. I'm not a fan of banning offensive language at all, but using it is a judgment call, and there are risks to the user in its interpretation, most significantly when you are not part of the demographic being slurred.

Given what I hear everyday, I really didn't find this song very offensive. Actually, I thought it was pretty awesome. But people:

a) please do not derail a conversation of homophobia by telling everyone to "lighten up"; we have no obligation whatsoever to conform to your comedic sensibilities, and I think many of us know that in the great scope of things, using "fag" in a song is a minor infraction. That doesn't mean we shouldn't speak up about it. There's no reason to demand that we lighten-up-or-shut-up unless our anger at something you find acceptable makes you feel...a wee bit defensive.

b) please do not invoke a strawman argument like "If we deleted all the offensive things from art..." which was never made or implied, and which misrepresents the bent of the actual discussion. Within various legal limits, artists can express whatever the hell they want. They're allowed to. Just as we are allowed to problematize or critique them for it.

montauk,

I'll derail whatever I want, I'll tell you to lighten up, and I'll tell you to STFU.

If you don't want to listen to me fine, your choice, but I can guarantee you you're not going to pull your moral police/e-bully routine with me.

These artists did a good job, came and explained themselves, and you feel the need to turn this into something bigger than it was. You must be real fun at parties.

And if anyone is a "wee bit defensive" it's you.

Exactly.

I think a key to subway surfing is knowing when to pivot. When the train is moving at a steady speed, you should stand parallel to the emergency exit doors at the ends of the train car. But if the train is slowing down or speeding up, you should stand with your body parallel to the regular doors. It's easier to balance that way. Of course during rush hour it's impossible to pivot, but it's also impossible to fall. Win/win?

Syrus: That shows an incredible amount of class and respect. I'm an instant fan.

Syrus, that's fucking dope you edited it. Big up.

I'm sure radio dj's appreciate it - I've watched Grouch and Dalia manually edit out bad words using the crossfade and that shit ain't easy.

Everyone should check out this similar video series called "Paul in Transit" about guys obsessed with the Toronto subway:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=tIBZrbfw-sk