Whether its the poem-like structure of Kendrick Lamar, or the relatable love song lyrics and culture references from Jon Bellion, what makes music so influential to society?
Maybe its the way lyrics are placed within a song? Maybe the repetition of chorus lines? Or maybe the a deep, speaker pounding bass? With the rapidly changing styles of music, the real answer may never be discovered, but we can definitely pinpoint attributes in many mainstream songs that make them so widely-popular.
Lets take a look at what seems to be the most popular rap song right now, Kendrick Lamar's, "Humble".
What makes everyone so fond of this song? Is it simply because its from the great Kendrick? Or does it really have what it takes to be considered one of the best songs of the year?
Personally, the man is a legend. He uses intelligence and a true skillset to develop his surprisingly meaningful rhymes. Over and over again he continues to prove to everyone that he is one of the all time greats. He doesn't consistently rap about the surprisingly typical use of drugs, sex, and alcohol. Don't take this fully out of context, he does rap about that, but never has that been the meaning behind his music. Everyone wondered how'd he follow up, "Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City" or "To Pimp a Butterfly", but he never seizes to amaze his audience.
Back to the song. "Humble" is a song used to challenge listeners and other rappers to become humbled by his lyrics. Within the first lyrics in the music video, he exclaims "Wicked or weakness? You gotta see this." In this, Kendrick brings to mind religious imagery, calling out for his peers to gather around him, similar to the style a preacher uses, while dressed like a pope. This suggests him as a religious idol among his peers, which in this case can be assumed as the hip-hop community.
Verse after verse, Kendrick refers to times as a kid in his poverty-stricken house hold. He speaks of "syrup sandwiches and crime allowances," which is references to the low-cost food he had to eat as a kid in his neighborhood, and the drug money given to him by uncles, who happened to be involved with the Compton Crips. After these references, in the same verse, he speaks of "downin' D'USSE...tastes like Kool-Aid for the analysts." D'USSE is a high-end French liquor, and is compared to Kool-Aid, a low cost drink mix. In this lyric he speaks of how the expensive and luxurious celebrity lifestyle started to make him forget his roots, thus challenging rappers to become HUMBLE to their own experiences.
Switching genres, we turn to the music of rapidly growing artist, Jon Bellion. Within the last year or so, society sees his name more and more frequently throughout mainstream media. There's many reasons behind that, but personally I believe the true responsibility for this comes from his ability to bring groups of people together to understand his purpose and vibe along to his wonderful lyrics. As a personal fan of all his music, and as someone who has seen him in concert three times in nine months, I can wholeheartedly vouch for his character as an artist and his ability to bring people together.
He has a song called, "Maybe IDK," that was released last year in his album, "The Human Condition." We're gonna take a look at this song and the way it speaks to its audience.
In the very first verse, Bellion says a series of statements he doesn't have answers to, such as "I wonder why I can't run that fast in my dreams," "I wonder why I feel so short when I know my money's tall." To know the purpose of these statements you need to continue to listen to the pre-chorus, where he leads into explaining the meaning behind the song. He sings,
"Although I guess if I knew tomorrow, I guess I wouldn't need faith. I guess if I never fell, I guess I wouldn't need grace. I guess if I knew his plans, I guess he wouldn't be God. So maybe I don't know...But maybe that's okay."
These lyrics personally spoke the loudest to me. It proves to the listeners that although they don't have answers to all their own questions, its not a bad thing. It conveys the message of the whole song, meaning that sometimes you really never know the outcome of anything, but if you have faith, that's perfectly okay.
Everyone Jon Bellion show I've been to has been nearly identical in the set list, but still seems to bring the same effect to everyone. I see the same group of friends that I inadvertently seem to meet up with at every concert, because we all appreciate his music. This experience explains my whole purpose behind this article. It shows how influential and moving each individual artist can be. Jon Bellion has a speech at every show where he preaches the purpose of equality within his music. He asks, "When you look up at this stage does it look like we give a f*** what your skin color is?!" Obviously, everyone replies "NO!" He continues this with an explanation of how music is for anyone, and that it brings everyone together.
"God has given us an incredible gift, its called music. It brings people together and make you realize it doesn't matter where you come from or what you look like." This quote is the reason I chose to wrote this article. It proves the point that music is liked by everyone, and that no matter your skin color, ethnicity, or background, no one is exempt from participating in it.
There's examples in all forms of music in which people are brought together by a lyric, a whole song, or even just the beat of the song. No matter the factor of interest, there is always other who agree with your opinions and share the same experiences as you. People are meant to express themselves through the music they listen to, or by even writing their own lyrics. For that reason alone, I can honestly say that music will never die.
