If you didn’t know by now (lol I’ve made it pretty obvious) I am a big fan of the music art form. So I have decided to put my English Literature degree and love for music to use, and provide you guys with this page. Now, Kwame’s Quotes will be a selection of some of my favourite lines/bars from artists, in which I analyse and give my interpretation of what I think the artist is trying to say.
‘I know if I’m generous at heart, I don’t need recognition
The way I’m rewarded, well, that’s God’s decision
I know you know that line’s for Compton School District
Just give it to the kids, don’t gossip ’bout how it’s distributed’
– Kendrick Lamar, Mamma.
Kendrick accepts that the fate of how he is perceived isn’t in his own hands, but rather, that it’s in God’s. All he can do is be genuine and giving with his character, and hope that God accepts and ‘rewards’ him for it. But at the same time, he acknowledges that life doesn’t make it that cut and dry, and that for most people, money is the most tangible form of a ‘reward.’ With that being the case, the powers of the industry that he is in, take percentages of his ‘rewards’ for themselves, while it is being ‘distributed.’ He ends this by still telling us, his audience, not to ‘gossip’ able the unfairness of it, in order for later generations of kids from his area, ‘Compton School District,’ not to be discouraged from being ‘generous at heart’ too. This encompasses the sentiment behind a lot of Kendrick Lamar’s music. The idea that, yes, a lot of things are corrupt and messed up, but all he can do while he’s here, is inspire. Simultaneously, encouraging his listeners to do the same.
‘I’m sure we’re taller in another dimension
You say we’re small and not worth the mention
You’re tired of movin’, your body’s achin’
We could vacay, there’s places to go
Clearly this isn’t all that there is
Can’t take what’s been given
But we’re so okay here
We’re doing fine
Primal and naked
You dream of walls that hold us in prison
It’s just a skull, at least that’s what they call it
And we’re free to roam.’
– Frank Ocean, White Ferrari.
Frank could be speaking from the perspective of an oppressed people, either artists or black people, being talked down to and undervalued in the structures that they exist in. At first I thought it was just black people, however the use of ‘dimension’ changed my mind. This is because dimensions can be used as another term for measurement. So Frank could be saying that in terms of wealth, black people/artists/black artists may be ‘small and not worth the mention.’ But when you measure their impact on the world from an artistic perspective, they have contributed more, and are ‘taller’ than what they are currently valued as. And by these oppressors dreaming of ‘walls that hold us in prison,’ it could be literal, and references the disproportion rate that black people are incarcerated in western societies. However, it could also be metaphorical, in terms of putting mental obstacles, ‘a skull,’ in the way of the oppressed people, to stop them from being creative and succeeding; effectively making them boxed in. A contrasting take from this could also be that Frank is talking directly to other black artists, and telling them that in their pursuit of riches, they are essentially dreaming of/working towards solidifying the capitalist structures that black people have to fight in the first place. Either way, in the closing line he urges whoever he may be addressing to ‘roam’ their own ‘prison’ (minds) and test the boundaries of their thoughts, as they are ‘free’ to do.
‘I wonder if the world gon’ see us as just niggas
They treat lyrics like I hold trigger, like I make difference
Then downplay what I’m given, like I’m no different.’
– Isaiah Rashad, Tranquility.
Here, Isaiah is commentating on the hypocritical nature of those that criticise black hip hop artists. Because in one breath, they are argued as being a leading cause in gun violence, and knife-crime. This can be seen with talks in the UK about banning drill music for insighting violence. But in the next breath, they are all bracketed together as insignificant artists, that don’t have talent and make the same sounding music. This ties in with the rest of the song, in which Isaiah constantly raps about contradictions or juxtaposing opinions, and prompts his audience to make up their own mind on everything being presented to them, by asking in the hook, ‘What are you believing?’
‘My angel this is wonderful
Thanks for letting me bless you.’
– J Holiday, Bed.
I’m not gonna lie, there isn’t anything lyrically challenging here. I just think it’s outrageously funny how this guy can sleep with his girl and then thank HER for letting HIM bless HER with sex. Do you understand how funny it is to think or even say during sex, ‘wow, this sure is great. Thank you for letting me, allow you, to have such a great time’?? Wild concept. That level of ego and hubris probably explains why he only has two songs that you can remember… But I digress.
‘Lately, I’ve been staring in the mirror
Very slowly picking me apart
Trying to tell myself I have no reason
With your heart.’
– Stevie Wonder, Lately.
The overall song follows someone who has grown suspicious of their partner cheating on them. However, as you should know, Stevie Wonder himself is blind. This makes the emotions that he conveys so overwhelmingly sad, as he is physically dragging himself to ‘stare’ in the mirror to imagine what he looks like, in order to find flaws that his partner won’t like. The psychological anguish of feeling inadequate in yourself, while still having to trust someone wholly, is amplified here and through-out the song, as he uses his other senses to try and subdue the insecure thoughts that he feels. These include smelling them ‘far more frequently wearing perfume’ and in their sleep, hearing them ‘vaguely whisper someones name.’ These senses and feelings are what, until this point, he has used to navigate through life, and now they are alerting him that his partner is cheating. What would you do in that circumstance? Well, Stevie turns to the things that usually don’t give people access to his feelings, his eyes, in order to hide this. But even here, his eyes betray him once again, as in the chorus he sings, ‘Because what I really feel, my eyes won’t let me hide, Cos they always start to cry.’ And that ladies and gentleman is why this is my favourite song of all-time.
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