A state hip-hop song is great, but let's raise up some other genres as well

Some North Carolina legislators introduced a bill recently to adopt a state hip-hop song. WFAE’s Tommy Tomlinson, in his "On My Mind" commentary, suggests some other good choices to update the state’s musical playlist.

The past few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind, with thousands of federal workers getting let go and the stock market tanking so badly that the smartest investment strategy might be burying your money in PVC pipe in the backyard.

But somewhere in there, I had a vague memory: Are North Carolina legislators thinking about naming a state hip-hop song?

In fact, they are.

Three state senators, including DeAndrea Salvador of Mecklenburg County, introduced a bill to adopt Petey Pablo’s 2001 anthem “Raise Up”:

This one's for North Carolina, come on and raise up

Take your shirt off, twist it 'round your hand

Spin it like a helicopter

North Carolina, come on and raise up

Solid choice. Petey Pablo is from Greenville. They play “Raise Up” at Carolina Hurricanes games, and the UNC marching band plays it at football games. Which conjures up the unsettling image of Bill Belichick taking his shirt off and spinning it around his hand like a helicopter.

Maybe we should just move on.

North Carolina’s official state song, by the way, is “The Old North State,” which was written way back in 1835. The lyrics were written by state Supreme Court Judge William Gaston — yes, Gaston County and Gastonia are named for him. I would not exactly call his song a banger:

Carolina! Carolina! Heaven's blessings attend her!

While we live we will cherish, protect and defend her…

So it feels to me like we should not only adopt “Raise Up” as our hip-hop anthem, but ditch “The Old North State” in favor of some fresher tunes.

Our state country song could be “Heads Carolina, Tails California” by Jo Dee Messina:

Heads Carolina, tails California

Somewhere greener, somewhere warmer

Up in the mountains, down by the ocean

Where it don't matter as long as we're goin'

Somewhere together, I've got a quarter

Heads Carolina, tails California

Rock song? Ryan Adams is a little problematic as a human being, but “Oh My Sweet Carolina” gets me choked up every time I hear it:

Oh, my sweet Carolina

What compels me to go?

Oh, my sweet disposition

May you one day carry me home

If we expanded to include not just songs about North Carolina but artists from North Carolina … well, there’s not enough time today to cover music by everyone from the Avett Brothers to Fantasia to Parliament/Funkadelic.

I do think we have to make room for one instrumental — “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” from Cleveland County’s Earl Scruggs, which has become the singular classic bluegrass tune.

And I’m sure many of you have your own nominations — I’d love to hear your favorite North Carolina songs. For now, I’d just like to mention that I got all the way through this commentary without mentioning James Taylor’s “Carolina In My Mind” or “Wagon Wheel.” Just in case you think I forgot.