I love artists who not only make great songs but also have visual imagery in their music videos to give a deeper meaning to their lyrics. It is a sign of great artistry to be able to paint a picture in the viewer’s head so they can create their own meanings and messages. Trap Pat does just that and is an artist to look out for. Just watch his incredible song, “Losing My Mind” (Prod. Young Taylor).
The highlight of the song happens in verse 2:
“Then I said damn
He’s my biggest fan
Looked at myself
And I ain’t see a man
I ain’t see a soul
I ain’t feel a thing
Never been a prince
I was born a king
But I am a peasant, cause that’s what I act like Life’s just a movie and I can’t get my act right
Looking out the window
Trying to see myself
Looked in the mirror, saw everyone else
I couldn’t even tell you what that feet like
Cause I swear some days, I can’t even feel life
Running from these demons
Damn they almost got me
I just keep it real, man I hope they copy
Running from the devil
I swear I need help
And then I realized, I was running from myself”
This almost seems like a poem, rather than a rap which makes it that much more beautiful. The dichotomy of facing your demons just to realize it’s yourself is a complex idea that is executed perfectly. The music video emphasizes the creepiness and hallucinations in his mind that displays that he, in fact, is scared of his own mind. He seems to be delusional and lost in the crowd- not being able to even find himself. Then it shows himself running from a man who he stole from. He got into this horrible situation due to his own actions, and repetitive actions. The definition of insanity is repeating the same action and expecting a different result. If you lead a life of crime it will catch up to you, thus being the cause of your own problems.
Not only is Trap Pat is a rapper, he is also a visionary artist and a poet. He is a multifaceted artist that is bound to blow up. He doesn’t have a lot of music out yet but make sure to watch out for him.
Now that you have heard all of these songs, one will notice the blatant copying of the same structure. The worst part is that no one questions it, and these songs turn out to be incredibly popular because it does in fact sell. But we don’t listen to it because of the artistry, we listen because it is catchy. It seems like no one in the music business has originality anymore and the ones who do have been around for a long time and are big enough to get away from their record label’s image. For example, Lady Gaga put out her album Joanne which was released October 21, 2016, and it showed her true talents and didn’t follow the basic format of popular music. She even came out with a documentary entitled, “Five Foot Two” which shows how much strain the industry has put on her. She also has been known to speak publicly about this issue in the past.
Now there is no Illusion. Everyone in music makes it quite obvious that they are there for the money since they almost have no originality. Rap is making a come back and yes those artists do have a level of talent that isn’t so controlled by the record company, but they still have A LOT of control. When was the last time you heard a new record from a pop artist that was original? You probably haven’t. Now we basically see robots of the machine producing the same song over and over again. I miss artists like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Elton John and David Bowie. These artists had real substance and an image that intrigued every listener to not only be a fan of the music but paired it with the illusion of the artist. There is no illusion anymore and I don’t think we will ever see it happen again in our lifetime unless someone wants to change the game like Lady GaGa did, but that would be a lot to hope for.
On January 26th, 2018 the rap group the Migos, composed of rappers Offset, Quavo and Takeoff released their latest album Culture II. This was their latest release after their hit album Culture that featured hit songs like “Bad and Boujee” which was basically a cultural movement in rap that inspired so many other artists, and even created artists. The album Culture was released in 2017 and it certainly lived up to the name. Not only did it have “Bad and Boujee” but it also included songs like “T-Shirt” and the title track “Culture” featuring DJ Khaled.
I always have a problem when artists put out albums as the sequel to their last album. This is because they really have to make it live up to the name. Since they named it Culture II, I was expecting it to be two times as better than their previous release, but it fell short. First of all the album is complete with 24 tracks. That is a lot of tracks for a single release. Also, albums should probably consist of about 12-15 tracks, because it narrows down the best of the best. Having 24 tracks creates a lot of filler, and the listener can’t pick out the best ones. It also grows tiresome listening to an album that is over two hours long.
Although it is long, it is not all bad. One of the stand-out tracks is “Stir Fry” which is now a single with a full music video. Also the verses on “Narcos” is an enjoyable listen. I find it annoying that they labeled one of their songs, “Emoji A Chain” because that phrase is not going to last throughout history. Imagine listening to a song called “Emoji” in the future when they have no idea what it is. If you want to create art that will last, make sure you don’t put terms in there that are only relevant to 2018. “MotorSport” is one of the best songs featuring Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, which is a great track that united the two biggest women in rap. The single “Supastars” really does nothing for the rap group but make them sound like any old rap song on the radio when they are known for creating songs that didn’t sound anything that any artist has done before.
Watch The Migos Latest Music Video for “Stir Fry” here:
In 2018, music has gone from CDs, to purely streaming services. The way artists get money is from how many people are listening to their songs on Spotify or Apple Music. It is really hard to get money this way because of the system. Some musicians might only recoup 15 to 20 percent of the streaming revenue they brought in. On Spotify the average “per stream” payout to rights holders lands somewhere between $0.006 and $0.0084, which is basically no money at all. So how do you get around this while still making a profit? Play the system. Create an album that is the sequel to your hit record, put as many songs on it as possible and rack in the money. It is clear that the Migos only wanted to make money on this album, which is sad since they seemed to work so hard to achieve their status in the rap world so why not come out with a good album that proves everyone wrong?
If you haven’t heard about this issue, it relates to the clothing line H&M putting a hoodie out that says, “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle.” The sweatshirt was modeled by a black model, and not just a model but a child. You can see it here:
There was obviously a lot of outrage over the blatant racism, but at least people are fighting back. Musicians like The Weeknd and G-Eazy cut ties with the brand. H&M has received a lot of hate for this sweater, including Ski Mask the Slump God. He raps in this new song:
The song is kind of repetitive, but I think that is the point. By the repetition of the lines “the coolest monkey in the jungle,” it really shows how racist that phrase is, and pokes fun at H&M for not realizing it first. It also is good to capitalize on a current event that is happening, but that doesn’t mean that this is a good song. I actually think it’s a sorry excuse for music, but anything to make a statement right?
So what do you think the next step for Miley is? Will she continue to do the music that is true to her, or will we see her take a step to the rap and hip-hop direction once again? Recently she just commented on Cardi B’s Instagram post that she wanted to hang out:
I would be excited to see Miley go back to this style again, but would the hip-hop community accept her back?
