For all of the incoming college freshman, there’s a myriad of musical tastes to cultivate, and I hope you explore as many as you can because what music you listen to can be formative to your college experience. That’s why I want to talk about Chance the Rapper.
Whether or not you like his music personally or believe rap has poetic propensity, “Same Drugs” is a beautifully written song that touches on so many topics that shouldn’t be overlooked, especially for those soon heading off to college.
Independent of any deeper reading, the song stands on its beautiful musicality, a muffled piano and soft vocals that just sound familiar. But the whole song bursts open when we recognize that the whole thing is an allegory for Peter Pan.
Through this, Chance shows us a realization of the human proclivity to both lose touch with personal growth and be rutted in the memories of our youth. So don’t get teary-eyed picturing yourself as Wendy flying off to Neverland quite yet.
At its surface the song would be criticized for being somewhat repetitious; this is because pop music gives repetition a bad rap (bad pun very much intended).
Pop music uses repetition poorly just to fill space. Good music puts repeated musical themes to work as audible alliteration, used in a way that adds value. If you listen to bad pop you can hear how melodies are copied, pasted and varied only by audio filters; it’s lazy. On the other hand, while Chance repeats lyrics there is never not a variation that emboldens the phrase and supplements emotional value.
So yes, Chance talks about drugs, not in the sense of the substance but in the sense of the interests that bring us closer to people. For some, the drugs Chance is talking about are music, movies, books or whatever piques your interest.
And Chance puts all of the focus, not on the 'drugs' but the incredible relationships that burst from exploring these interests.
So, don't think Chance is referencing the peace pipe from Peter Pan or something. When Wendy returns home from Neverland and is promised Peter Pan will return, he does, but as Chance says “window closed, Wendy got old… …a shadow of what I once was," it's because neither of them want the same 'drugs' they used to.
College is the time in our lives that we explore all of the things that interest us and grow into well-rounded individuals by developing all of these new interests and exploring all of the ways each of us can fully express ourselves. It is a time to learn and bond over the things we enjoy; Chance is saying not to do drugs kids, but rather explore what makes you feel alive.
So, incoming college freshman, don't get caught up in the drama you may remember from high school. It's in the past. There's so much out there, and there's so much waiting for you and your freshman year and who you can be, so be open to all of it, and also "don't forget the happy thoughts."
