By Zionne Soule
Feeling is the language of the soul, and music is soul food; it finds you at the right time when you need it. While coincidences may be unplanned, they’re a wink from the universe, and this piece found you for a reason, because music is a school you intentionally educate yourself through; a course where you’re forever a student. As we unpack these recommended records, layered with lessons, we hope and believe they nudge your mind in ways you never expected, because music is the king of all professions.
“Music is a spiritual thing; you don’t play with music.” – Fela Anikulapo Kuti, 1982.
J. COLE – LOVE YOURZ
Intentional words from a wise man who has passed through the fire and alchemized pain from a conscious and introspective vibration. He dropped this thought-provoking track off his debut Forest Hills Drive album, released in December 2014.
The theme of the song centres on self-love and happiness, not attaching your innate worth to the material and focusing on who you are after you’ve reached certain heights, highlighting beauty in the struggle, not just the destination. While aiming for greatness is good, don’t lose your inner spark in the process of chasing external validation and materialism. Contentment should be a constant because there’ll always be something better. If you keep chasing the external to feel something, you create a bottomless void in the process because Internal value repels external validation. A reflective question to ask yourself: Who am I when no one is looking? Who am I without the societal pressure?
KENDRICK LAMAR – ALRIGHT
A protest anthem produced by Pharrell Williams (who was also on the chorus) and Sounwave, released in March 2015 from the To Pimp A Butterfly album that won a Grammy for the Best Rap Album category in 2016. The trumpets used on the intro and other parts of the song gave listeners the Section 80’s jazzy feel. Artists are divine messengers, and Kung Fu Kenny delivered hope and resilience with this piece, transcending pain to power and overcoming everlasting mayhem through unity and trusting the most high; even when he was seeking temporal happiness through drugs, women and money. He transmuted his anger and channelled it into the music, fighting the power, as Public Enemy did in 1990. You could feel the grit in his voice when he grabbed that mic.
This song was used in the Black Lives Matter protest in 2015 because of the extrajudicial killings that happened at the time. Pain and suffering triggered this music, which is reflected in the lyrics. On the 2015 BET Awards, he performed the song on top of a police car, cementing the song’s aim at wailing against police brutality and declaring hate for po po.
COLDPLAY – FIX YOU
This song was written by Chris Martin (co-founder of the band) for his then-wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, to help ease her pain for the loss of her dad, who passed away in 2002. One of the songs from their X&Y album, released in 2005, fused with soulful instrumentals, this heartfelt ballad speaks on the pain of irreplaceable loss of a loved one and the endless grief that accompanies it, stuck in a dilemma. The singer attempts to fix the broken part of that person that needs comfort, assuring her light will come eventually, even if the pain doesn’t go away completely.
2PAC SHAKUR – CHANGES
The game changed with this timeless piece originally recorded in 1992 and posthumously released in 1998, two years after his untimely death from the Greatest Hits album. It features striking samples of piano riffs and chorus from American rock band Bruce Hornsby and The Range’s The Way It Is released in 1986, and Strafe’s drum loop from Set It Off released in 1990.
With Makaveli lamenting from the heart, he’s asking those gut-challenging questions; describing the cycle of drug violence, police brutality, systemic racism and poverty in the black community. He touches on the divide-and-conquer method used by these power players to make people fight each other, turning the world into a big boxing ring. He also cited Huey Percy Newton’s “fight back” theme used as the central message on the Black Panthers’ Ten-Point program.
He encourages healing, love, peace and unity amongst ourselves as a method of resistance to make the chess players powerless. He also advocated for healthy eating, cutting down processed food that inflames the gut.
J. COLE – EVERYBODY DIES
This song was released in December 2016, featured in the Eyez documentary, and includes samples from Minnie Riperton’s “Inside My Love” (1975), “Theme From The Planets” by Dexter Wansel (1976), and Tupac’s “Me Against The World” (1995).
He was taking a jab at sponsored rappers selected by the white man to push a negative narrative, highlighting that hip hop isn’t what it used to be. He referred to these shallow artists as “Pitchfork” rappers, probably because Kanye West once mentioned them alongside The New York Times and Rolling Stone as white publications that shouldn’t review black music.
Who cares about the white man’s rating, though? Those days are long gone!
He advocates for lyrical originality, which should be a reflection of one’s experiences, not superficial artistry with fabricated stories. Back in the day, gangsters were trying to be rappers, now it’s the other way round, where these new school mumble rappers yapping about drugs they never did nor pushed. He affirms that hard work pays if you play your part consistently because the outcome is inevitable, just like death.
KIRKO BANGZ FEAT AUGUST ALSINA – RICH
This autotuned piece, released in July 2014, defines wealth from a perspective of someone who has lived a life of constant struggle, viewing wealth as a way out of pain and troubles; aiming for financial stability and wanting more of the luxurious lifestyle that the regular 9-5 can’t afford. Kirko needs to be noticed by fellow rappers when he flaunts his expensive lifestyle, which makes him feel included and gives him confidence amidst his peers. He expresses displeasure in himself for not aiming high and giving in to his vices. It also reflects on wealth as emotional security and a case of survival, where wealth is seen as a pedestal for healing and happiness.
ED SHEERAN – SUPERMARKET FLOWERS
This emotional ballad describes grief in a relatable form which was a song off his Divide album released in 2017 and was dedicated to his late grandmother who was ill when he was recording the album and died while he was in the studio. He described her as one who possessed an angelic persona, affirming that God will celebrate her celestial return. He reminisces on those beautiful heartfelt memories, describing simple priceless moments engraved in his heart; attempting to hold his horses on the outside while meticulously breaking on the inside.
SHAWN MENDES – IN MY BLOOD
Beginning with the acoustic guitar accompanied by his tender voice, he’s expressive about vulnerability, feeling empty on the inside, wailing from the heart and seeking help where he describes his overwhelming and anxious state eating him up, hoping on external vices for temporal happiness, which is never enough and eventually fades away. While acknowledging his mental troubles, he adopts resilience, viewing these feelings as a phase. This relatable mental health-themed song, released in March 2018 from his self-titled album Shawn Mendes, catalyses listeners dealing with internal struggles, encouraging them to speak up when they need help.
MEEK MILL – DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES
The intro track from his debut album of the same name (Dreams and Nightmares) released in 2012, speaks on his ambition and begins with a reflective tone, reflecting on those days he hoped for what he currently has, aiming for what he wanted regardless of the obstacles. He ascended from trauma and survival. The song is divided into two parts, which is confirmed by the instrumental switch and Meek’s gritty, aggressive aura portraying his nightmares and expressing his emotional scars even after achieving his dreams; highlighting how he attracts envy, not forgetting what his trauma taught him, where he came from and how to fight back against his enemies.
DRAKE – HEADLINES
A quiet confession wrapped in beautiful melodies, he paints a picture of knowing his worth and confidence in dominating the music industry, while struggling with insecurity underneath. This describes the overwhelming state of others celebrating him and the loneliness that approaches after achieving a milestone, describing the emotional isolation from being in the headlines beyond the glamour and aesthetics, not knowing who’s real and who’s fake. One of the songs from the Take Care album, released in 2011, this record sounds both triumphant and introspective.
Music is a universal language, and that’s evident from these soulfully relatable records, irrespective of how it’s delivered or who the vessel is. Being able to alchemize one’s experiences using the creative power of the pen, they say, is mightier than the sword; but when you see it from another perspective, the WORD is the SWORD used to intellectually pierce your mind and spark thoughts that challenge your conventional perspective. Artists are messengers navigating you to the research path, teaching you with their knowledge and experiences, so you remain strapped and think like a warrior even when you’re at peace.
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