Thank you to everyone who made my last year special. My last year was tumultuous. I left New York City, New York and moved to Boulder, Colorado for law school. The only thing that stayed consistent other than my friends and family was my music and love for it. Over the last year music helped me get through tough spots in my life.
*As opposed to my usual method of lyrics posting, I’m not censoring a word. When the artists said the lyrics, they didn’t say f*%^ they said fuck. And it’s not on my Facebook page so you have the option of not reading the rest if 4 letter words are problematic for you. That being said, there aren’t a ton of curse words here.
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Trouble on my Mind - Tyler the Creator ft. Pusha T
"This is for the critics, who doubted the chemistry
Two different words, same symmetry
And this black art, see the wizardry
When you at the top of your game, you make enemies
You’ll never finish me " – Pusha T
In the song the 2 different worlds are Pusha T, a former drug dealer and veteran rapper as opposed to Tyler the Creator, a rookie and hipster. My different worlds are, my personal life, dating gaming and rap music versus my professional life, studying and working.
Oldies -Odd Future
"And me? I just spent a year Ferrisin'
And lost a little sanity to show you what hysterics is"
"Then I made a mil and them psychics was liars
Now, how many fucking crystal balls can I buy and own
Humble old me had to flex for the folks"
“To have some type of knowledge that is one perception
But knowin' you own your opponent is a defeatin' bonus”
Oldies is a 10 minutes song. I play the song for timing in the morning. If I need to do something for 10 minutes then leave I use the song. I know one Tyler’s part comes on it’s time to get out of the apt.
Murder to Excellence - Kanye West and Jay-Z
"Is it genocide?
Cause I can still hear his mama cry
Know the family traumatized
Shots left holes in his face about piranha-sized
The old pastor closed the cold casket
And said the church ain’t got enough room for all the tombs
It’s a war going on outside we ain’t safe from
I feel the pain in my city wherever I go
314 soldiers died in Iraq, 509 died in Chicago" – Kanye West
"And they say by 21 I was supposed to die
So I’m out here celebrating my post-demise " – Jay-Z
Murder to Excellence is a dark song. It’s starts with the large amount of black on black violence and ends with the lack of successful black people. Of course it’s related. How many future stars were gunned down, or are in jail because of decisions made in their youth. Also the 314/509 stat is from 2008
Welcome to the Jungle
“My faith in God, every day is hard
Every night is worse, that’s why I pray so hard” - Jay Z
[Kanye West]
“Why I pray so hard, this is crazy God
Just when I thought I had everything, I lost it all”
“I’m losing myself, I’m stuck in the moment
I look in the mirror, my only opponent
Where the fuck is the press? Where the fuck is the Pres?
Either they know or don’t care, I’m fucking depressed
No crying in public, just lying to judges
Risking my life, I’m already dying, so fuck it well”
Great song, not much of a blurb, but it’s another watch the Throne masterpiece
Devil in a New Dress- Kanye West
"May the Lord forgive us, may the Gods be with us
In that magic hour I seen good Christians
Make rash decisions, oh she do it
What happened to religion? Oh, she lose it
She putting on her make up, she casually allure
Text message break ups, the casualty of tour
How she gon' wake up and not love me no more?
I thought I was the asshole, I guess it’s rubbing off
Hood phenomenon, the Lebron of rhyme
Hard to be humble when you stunting on a jumbotron
I’m looking at her like this what you really wanted, huh?
Why we argue anyway? Oh, I forgot, it's summertime "
This is a song I didn’t appreciate at first. This song grew on me, and sometimes in life the songs that are meaningful depend on the experiences you have
Funkmaster Flex Freestyle
-Pusha T and Kanye West
"Penitentiary chances, the devil dances
and eventually answers to the call of Autumn
all of them fallin' for the love of ballin'
got caught with 30 rocks, the cop look like Alec Baldwin" - West
"it's been a while since I watched the tube
cause like a crip set ,
I got way too many blues for any more bad news
I was looking at my resume feeling real fresh today
they rewrite history I don't believe in yesterday " -West
It starts off incredibly dark discussing the perils of the community
"I aint got it I'm comin after whoever who has it
I'm coming after whoever who has it
you blowing up, that's good, fantastic " -West
The sarcasm with which he congratulates others’ success is hilarious in the course of the song but also an insight to Mr. West’s frame of mind.
"Feels like I'm doomed to dealing with women whom
Relationships with their fathers won't allow us to bloom" – Pusha T
BET Cypher
"Is it me? Or is what I'm hearing just pitiful?
Airwaves the same, now the stereo's typical
My skin's thick, so the critics ignored
So unafraid to die, you'd think I did it before " - Joe Budden
"Hi Rihanna.. I don't need to know you better
You tell me you love my music again? We go together
Bye Rihanna.. now back to y'all fools
We rock out like the outside of a guitar school" - Royce da 5'9
"A B, let's C, you said you were gonna do X-Y-Z
'til you fuck around and get dropped like an E when you add an I-N-G
Don't put a K in front of that though, when I MC "- Eminem
3 of my favorite artists in the same cypher? Yes, yes and yes. And yes again.
Joe Budden discussing the problem with rap and where he fits in (not watching the throne but sabotaging it). Royce being irreverent and creating an instant trending topic. (Just as funny was when Rihanna tweeted "Hi Royce") Eminem being overly creative. The second line is about verb tenses.
Can I live – Jay Z
"At the time it never bothered me, at the bar
Getting my thug on properly, my squad and me
Lack of respect for authority, laughing hard
Happy to be escaping poverty, however brief
I know this game got valleys and peaks,
expectation
For dips, for precipitation we stack chips, hardly
The youth I used to be, soon to see a mill'in
No more Big Willie, my game has grown: prefer you call me William "
"Forgetting all I ever knew, convenient amnesia
'I suggest you call my lawyer, I know the procedure'
Lock my body, can't trap my mind
Easily, explain why we adapt to crime
I'd rather die enormous than live dormant, that's how we on it
Live at the main event, I bet a trip to Maui on it "
The first verse of Can I live is one of my favorite verses ever. It's a verse about maturation. It starts off with Jay-z talking about his issues now, then transitions to the things he did at a more immature point of his life and progresses to the more mature point he is currently. The line where he says he only wants to gamble at the craps tables where you have to gamble a thousand or more to prevent the people with less money (and more to lose because of it) from gambling with him is genius.
The irony is that the things that he's saying now are things that the younger people in his "profession" would want to know. The problem is that they probably wouldn’t listen to the advice that he gave anyway because they’re young
Dance (Remix)-Big Sean and Nicki Minaj
"Wobble-dy wobble-dy wa wobble wobble "
There is nothing particularly redeemable about the fact I like this song. I tried finding a particularly witty lyric, or something that would make this acceptable. With rap music, generally lyrics are the only thing that matter to me. Nope. What do I like about the song? It's not deep at all. I like the Nicki Minaj "Michael Kors" line. I like the fresh prince reference in the video. I like the fact that the video begins with the word ass in different languages. I like the fact that there's a censored sign every time he curses or says an inappropriate word. It also has a great beat that samples "Can't Touch This" by Mc Hammer.
But really, it’s a fun song that isn't like the other 90% of music on my iPod and puts me in a better mood by listening to it. I'm not a dancer, but it makes me Dance. And really that's the point right?
Mercy -Kanye West, Pusha T, Big Sean, 2 Chainz
"I work them long nights, long nights to get a pay day (Huh!)"
Another fun video. Secret. Watch at 0:29-0:36. One of the best dance sequences in a video period. Still being silly.
Help I'm alive-Metric
"Help, I'm alive, my heart keeps beating like a hammer
Hard to be soft, tough to be tender"
Hey! You're not a rap song. What are you doing here Are you lost? I love the song, especially in its acoustic version. Love the beat love the lyrics. Also used heavily when I gave my oral argument.
Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots
“Breathing
is the hardest thing to do.
with all I've said and
All that's dead for you,
You lied - good bye”
I always assumed that the "all these things you said to me" were lies she told him. Then I read that the "all these things you said to me" was a summary of things she said to him. So was he lying. Was it intentionally able to go both ways. What do I get out of it? "You lied. Good bye."
Free Bird - Lynrd Skynyrd
"If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?
For I must be travelling on, now,
'Cause there's too many places I've got to see.
But, if I stayed here with you, girl,
Things just couldn't be the same.
'Cause I'm as free as a bird now,
And this bird you can not change.
Lord knows, I can't change. "
One of the highlights of guitar hero was the solo for this song. Also a song that I played in the mornings in spring semester.
About a girl - Nirvana
"I'll take advantage while
You hang me out to dry
But I can't see you every night
No I can't see you every night, free "
In the 1st semester of law school, the term law school widow was a running joke. By the second semester it was a reality for many of us. "I can't see you every night…."
Rigamortis
“And this is rigamortis and it's gorgeous when you die”
Sometimes the impact of a song isn’t within the lyrics but more the delivery of them, the flow. Kendrick keeps it quick but still pretty calm and mellow.
Shiny Suit Theory - Jay Electronica Jay-Z
“In this manila envelope the results of my insanity
Quack said I crossed the line between real life and fantasy
Can it be the same one on covers with Warren Buffet
Was ducking the undercovers, was warring with motherfuckers?Went from warring to Warren, undercovers to covers “ – Jay-Z
Another look at me then vs now line. Sounds familiar?
“I pack up all my sins and I wear them to the show
And let 'em go, let 'em go, let 'em go, let 'em go” - Jay Electronica
The Announcement
"We choose to go to the moon
We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things
Not because they are easy, but because they are hard
Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills " - JFK
Who starts a song with a JFK speech? Someone with massive confidence. Someone who has enough boldness to say "Get it? Forget It." Even if you don't understand we'll move on. The JFK speech also serves as a good reason I went to law school. Not because it's easy, but because it is hard and it serves to measure the best of my energy and skills.
Exhibit C - Jay Electronica
“I used to get dizzy spells, and hear a little ring
The voice of a angel telling me my name
Telling me that one day I'mma be a great mane
Transforming with the Megatron Don spittin out flames
Eatin' wack rappers alive, shittin' out chains “
I really like that last line. There's only but so many ways you can say that you're better than everyone else. Again, it's another song that discusses maturity. Jay begins by discussing what he used to be. Then he hears a voice telling him he'd be a great man (interesting that he describes himself as a great man, not as a great rapper). Then he proceeds to say why he was skeptical and then why he accepted the voice. Another more creative than it needed to be line was "So now I'm back spittin that "he could pass a polygraph" He could have said spitting the truth. But again sometimes its best to be creative.
Doomsday - Nero
No lyrics. It's a dubstep song. Still love it though. 1st heard it from the borderlands trailer.
So Appalled - Kanye West, Swizz Beats, Jay-Z, Pusha T, Cyhi the Prynce
“Paranoid mind, I'm still under the watchful
Eye of the law, aspire for more” - Pusha
Love this line. A drug dealer discussing being watched by the law. Or maybe not. Oh, the paranoia of illegal activity, worrying about getting caught and the consequences. Even while being aware that it makes his paranoid, he still aspires for more. The illegally gained money only will make him watched more.
"If God had a iPod, I'd be on his playlist"- Cyhi
Speaking of cocky, Cyhi doesn't lack for confidence in this line.
Mr. Nice Watch - J-Cole
"No more mr nice guy, hello mr nice watch"
Been there. Doing that
Black Lip Bastard - Ab-Soul
“I told niggas, caught, wrecked, and then I towed niggas
Fold niggas like clothes and drawers nigga
Homie chose to go toe-to-toe, I had to break his leg
Like a cliche to rock a show, is that over your head?
Niggas stretchin' the truth like they choose to do yoga instead
Either that or that or they depressed, eatin' yogurt in bed”
Sometimes songs are just creative. I really like the first lines of the song. Period.
