This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.
As a lifelong fan and listener of rap music, I am constantly updating my playlist with the latest beats from my favorite artists. I took special interest in the March release of “King” by Meek Mill, as I took an immediate liking for the beats contained in the song [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYuwFNvIj5A] and decided to explore the music and lyrics further.
I was on my way to the gym one day and was listening to the same music I had downloaded two months earlier from Spinrilla, a free music app that allows one to download mixtapes for free. So, in search of some new songs from artists whom I recognized, I started browsing on the app and found a listing of this song. My initial reaction was that the beat was nice and the lyrics were solid and interesting, so I added it my playlist and chose to further listen and analyze this song.
As a way of introducing this song to new, or even current, listeners, one must know that this artist has compared himself to basketball star Lebron James (“King James”) as far back as 2013 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEhDxWV4Q2g]. In proclaiming himself the “King” of the rap game with this song, he again makes a reference to James when he compares his comeback from a dispute with fellow rapper Drake to the basketball star’s comeback from down 3-1 in last year’s NBA Finals.
This rap version of “King” is from a new collage mixtape called RGB, representing the colors of red, green and blue. It was created by Ethika, an underwear manufacturer, to promote their products using a “mixing” of several well-known rap and hip-hop artists. [http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/ethika-rgb-mixtape-new-mixtape.116916.html]
In starting this analysis, I tried to understand three features of this music: text, rhythm and form. I would like to hear from my blog readers for their feedback on these features along with other questions I will pose later.
Text
When you’re listening to a song, do you tend to pay attention to the lyrics or do you only listen to the music for the beat? Some people tend not to care if the artist was singing or rapping lyrics to the level of any well-known poet, or if they just threw in a couple of words that rhymed together. On the other hand, there are many others who pay very close attention to the lyrics of an artist’s song. I think the lyrics to a song are actually important, as the songs that are produced should be a personal expression or about something that they have experienced. Don’t get me wrong, the beat or music is just as important; the beat should complement the setting and also the lyrics for the mood that the artist is trying to set. I sometimes listen to music with a message or purpose but the beat may not be the best. Other times I might listen to music just for the beat and not really care about the lyrics.
Meek Mill’s song “King” to me is lyrical. In the song he talks about how people tried to “bury” him (meaning kill him). He is also talking about people switching sides on him and betraying him. For this song, in particular, I couldn’t fully understand what he was saying, so I looked up the lyrics to the song. [https://dancehallhiphop.com/2017/03/02/meek-mill-king-lyrics/].
In recent years there has been something of a new trend in rap music called “mumble rap.” This form of rap in one in which the artists are intentionally sacrificing pronunciation clarity in favor of indecipherable lyrics. In some parts of “King”, Meek Mill does just that; another rapper known for this form is Young Thug, known as an originator of the form when he came out with “Stoner” in 2013 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-0kZ_jeIHI]. In such songs, you can barely understand most of what the artist is saying and are left with just the beat sounds that are created by the sounds of their mouth. Personally, I do have an interest in understanding the lyrics because I am interested in what the artist has to say and how he expresses himself. I hope the current popularity of “mumble rap” turns out to be just a current fad created by the new generation of artists looking to be the next “big thing,” and that the importance of understood lyrics returns.
Rhythm
As with all musical genres, the rhythm is one of its distinct markers and can also be called “a flow.” Without the right flow, the song wouldn’t be as good as it should be. It wouldn’t catch the listener’s ear and make them want to continue listening to the song. People who care about the flow don’t really mind the lyrics. The flow of a song needs to be present in a rap song but that may not mean that is where the song starts. Finding the song’s rhythm is so very important because it will give you the direction throughout the writing process while helping one keep an open mind on what you are trying to create. Switching rhythms is also important; the more rhythms you create for the song the better. With the variety of rhythms you have, you can change it up between verses and keep the listener interested in the music. The goal is not to be predictable so that it keeps the listener’s attention to the music. In “King”, Mill Meek keeps the listener interested with different flows that are not repetitive either. If you listen closely, you can detect the different changes in the beat. The first three verses of the song are pretty much the same, but the fourth and fifth verses contain some extra sounds that add to the beat of the song.
Form
The form of a song shows the structure and helps the listener better relate themselves to what the artist wants to say. Rap music, the form utilized by Meek Mill in “King” is a vocal style of popular music that is created by vocalists who combine culture in their work. The rhythmic speech, beat patterns poetry and singing expresses the artist’s thoughts, experiences and emotions.
Meek Mill talks about the struggles growing up in the urban stretches of Philadelphia. In the beginning of “King” he says, “We come from the motherfu**g dirt, you can’t bury me, ni**a.” This is a reflection of his childhood growing up in tough neighborhoods with only one parent, after his father died in a gun fight. Meek Mill fashions his words around his upbringing to say that he came from nothing and that it is harder to kill someone who came from the streets.
As a reader of this blog, I invite you to listen to this song (use the link provided in the first paragraph) and give me your feedback to any or all of the following questions:
- What is your take away from this song compared to other music you have listened to recently?
- When it comes to rap music in general, which is more important to you: the beat or the lyrics? Or are they equally important? Why?
Submitted by: Marc Combs
This is an additional placeholder post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post.
This is an additional placeholder post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post.
Site Title 