Let's Talk About Music

Let's talk about music, that is, music as it relates to me. This will be what I listen to, what I enjoy in a song, and things about music that I despise. Now that you know what you're into, let's begin.

I don't listen to any particular genre except rap. Anything outside of that is pretty varied, and strictly on a per-song basis. My tastes are changing constantly. Currently, I'm getting my feet (ears?) wet with Art of Dying. I love me some Eminem, which some of you readers might notice. His flow is amazing and his wordplay always manages to get me to stop, roll it back a bit, and listen one more time. Besides Em, I also listen to Jay-Z, Lupe Fiasco, and a little bit of Kendrick Lamar. If you've never heard of Lupe, he's a great, clever rapper who likes to talk about all manner of social issues, from Middle Eastern child militias to bizzare gun laws to the negative and positive connotation that children adopt regarding the word "bitch". He's a great breath of fresh air if you're like me and you're sick of Lil Wayne and Kanye.

Let's talk about that for a sec. I love rap, but I hate rappers. Kanye, Wayne, A$AP Whatever the hell, they all annoy me to no end. I totally understand why most people who don't like rap feel that way; if they're going off of the most popular, all they'll see is trash. It's truly tragic, considering how many other rappers that are amazing and unknown. As examples, we have Dan Bull and Shizzy VI. These two are rappers who are most prevalent on YouTube, and both are criminally unheard of. Dan does geeky nerd raps about video games, but he also has a large repertoire of political raps about things that he think are important. Shizzy, a former nerd/geek/otaku rapper in his own right, is now trying to put that behind him in favor of his real music. I can't do him justice, but I can suggest you listen to 2 Sons and Torro, if you want something serious and joking, respectively.

Straying away from rap, I listen to mostly soundtracks from RWBY and Metal Gear Rising. If you've never seen RWBY or played MGR, I can't reccomend them enough. Excellent show/game, equally excellent soundtrack. They help me fulfil my silly childhood dreams of being a hero, of doing something worth doing. As a kid, and even now, I've wanted to be able to do something amazing that not everyone else can do. Songs like "I May Fall" (RWBY) and "Collective Consciousness" (MGR) reawaken that same sort of feeling, and "Die" (RWBY) and "I Am My Own Master Now" (MGR) both elicit particular emotions that not all music can touch.

I think that's the point of music, part of it, at least. In order for a song to be good, in my eyes, it has to do one of three things: 1) Tell a story that I can easily see and make sense of, 2) Deliver a message that I can relate to and that can make me feel something, or 3) Talk about something I can't possibly understand or empathize with, but make me do that anyway.

The Die by Lupe Fiasco (not to be confused with the aforementioned RWBY song) does the first one in spades. It paints the story of Michael Young History, who feels that he runs the streets. He angers a gang leader known only as The Game, who concocts a plot to kill Michael. Michael's friend, who remains nameless, spends the duration reassuring Michael that there's nothing to be afraid of. It can then be inferred that Mike's friend betrays him and is ultimately the reason that The Game is able to kill Michael. This song is actually a small part of a much larger story that takes place over the course of the entire album. That said, I didn't learn of this secret storyline until last year or so, which was at least six years after I originally heard it. The album is called The Cool, if you're interested in learning more about Michael's story.

Legacy by Eminem is a song that I relate to, albeit slightly less intensely. This song talks about his life, how he went from an awkward, talentless, bullied, unloved little white boy in Detroit to one of the greatest rappers of all time. Each of the three verses is a different point in his young life. The first is when he was a child, with little money and even fewer friends. Then, in the next verse, he discovers that there's more to life than the grey and the pain he's been experiencing. The final verse shows him finally discovering his talent, and enjoying slme aspects of life.

Finally, we have another Eminem song simply called "Kim". This one is a bit disturbing. It tells the story of how his wife, appropriately called Kim, cheated on him and drove him over the edge. It ends up with him slitting her throat and dumping her body with the help of their daughter in another song ('97 Bonnie and Clyde). Obviously, neither he nor myself had ever killed a cheating ex, but I truly understood his anger. It was odd, because there is no way that ai could have understood him, but I did. It was amazing, and that's why "Kim" remains one of my favorite songs ever.

Hope you guys give the songs a look, particularly Shizzy. He calls himself a rap Demigod, and that's totally on the money. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and share your musical thoughts in the comments. Also, don't be afraid to drop suggestions for things I can talk about. Until next time, friends, farewell.