Have you ever been in class and you hear Rihanna’s “Umbrella” or T-Pain’s “Buy You a Drink” interrupting your professor during a very important lecture?

It could possibly be one of the most annoying and irritating fads that has vastly become synonymous with cell phones, even more so than that camera hardly anyone uses anymore.

To performers, the undeniable obsession with ringtones is so great that none other than Mr. Alleged Child-Lover himself, R. Kelly wrote a song about it, “Double Up,” from his last album. Kelly talks about how he uses them as a groupie meter, with ringtones measuring how
hopelessly in love fans are with his music.

In one way they are fun because they connect you at all times with your favorite artist and favorite tunes. Ringtones also show perfect strangers you are cool and trendy, walking down Grand River Avenue blasting the latest Maroon 5, Gym Class Heroes or Kanye West, before you pick up the call. But they also can work against you — revealing way more about you than you may be willing to say yourself.

Let’s take, for example, the now-ancient Shawnna hit “Gettin’ Some.” Great song, catchy song, funny song. However, it also is synonymous with oral sex. Now, if you are cool about it in a crowd when the song comes on, you might get laughs, winks, nods or even a quick slip of the number.

But if you scramble to cover it up, you might be the victim of an amusing laugh or side conversation being noted as the infamous fellatio pro.

I know this appropriateness factor is so important, especially when you consider your location. You would not want to be in a meeting, on the job, or, God forbid, in church, when all of a sudden your oddly revealing choice of a song goes blaring over your celly.

This is like an incident my mother told me about, when a fellow church member failed to press the “off” button before the entire congregation knew her as “Sista Big Bones,” as Anthony Hamilton suggests in his hit song.

Frankly, whoever would put this song on their phone should not be hard to spot but really this is a classic case of misrepresentation. Just because you like a song does not mean you are not socially responsible when it graces your cellular possession.

Another issue is ringtones are just like music videos