Music Review
Oswald Wagenseil, ‘22
December 2018
(Week of December 9th, 2018)
For this review, I will be using the source https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100, to which I will listen to the top 10 songs so far of the week and review them on based on lyrics, singing/rapping, and beats. And at the end, I will calculate the average ranking of that song based on those 3 categories. This list is also in order the way the website lists the songs.
10. “Lucid Dreams” Juice WRLD: Nowadays, this is someone’s goth/emo music to listen to. It is not just me is it? Anyway, this song is all about an ex-girlfriend messing with the singer and leaving him torn up after a break-up. One of the lines is, “I’d do it over again, I didn’t want it to end,” which is neither good or bad. Juice WRLD conveys this message through mediocre lyrics and is okay at rapping/singing in a weird, harmonious beat. Lyrics: 6/10. Singing/Rapping: 7/10. Beat: 7/10. Average: ~ 7/10.
9. “Girls Like You” Maroon 5 Featuring Cardi B: This song is… bad. Adam Levine has a nice singing voice, but it gets on everybody's nerves most of the time. And then there’s Cardi B, who honestly can’t rap for anything on this song whatsoever. She sounds off-beat and raps nonsense that is really basic and boring, like the line “I don't really want a white horse and a carriage, I'm thinkin' more a white Porsches and carats,” which just irritates me. However, the beat is okay compared to the rest of the song. Lyrics: 5/10. Singing/Rapping: 4/10. Beat: 6/10. Average: ~ 5/10.
8. “Drip Too Hard” Lil Baby & Gunna: This song will be an instant classic for those who are a big fan of rap. Lil Baby has the chill, low-vibe voice that will make everyone be put in their relaxed state of mind and Gunna’s rapping is very relaxing and makes anyone unwind wherever they are. The lyrics are not very good, however, as it just talks about the benefits of being rich and the lifestyle to it.. This can be shown in lyrics like, “Doing all these shows, I’ve been on the road, I don't care where I go, long as I get paid” and “Every other night, another dollar gettin' made, Every other night started with a good day, I feel like a child, I got boogers in the face, Diamonds dancin' in the dial like this s**t is a parade” perfectly shows what it’s like lyrically. And finally, the beat is something unique with a combination of trap and drums, that will is very nostalgic and fun. Lyrics: 5/10. Singing/Rapping: 8/10. Beat: 8/10. Average: ~ 7/10.
7. “ZEZE” Kodak Black, Travis Scott, and Offset: Oh my god, what a combination of rappers! This song surely has to be good, right? Well… no. The song does have a very unique beat combining trap and bongo drums, a very good chorus by Travis Scott, but everything else is just… awful. The lyrics are just your typical hip-hop lyrics with no real meaning at them at all. This can include “F**k her on a yacht, dive in a pool (Yeah), She an addict (Addict), addict for the lifestyle and the Patek (Patek)” and “Baby girl you just a fling, that ain't what I mean
Money bustin' out my jeans like I do the scheme,” which just shows how lyrics today in hip-hop are just there and don’t make anything special at all. Also, can we just agree with one thing: KODAK BLACK HAS THE MOST ANNOYING VOICE EVER! His rapping is just typical mumble rap and the voice makes it even worse. Plus, what hurts more is that Offset is very good at rapping but does not show that side to him at all when he’s in this song. Lyrics: 5/10. Singing/Rapping: 7/10. Beat: 7/10. Average: ~ 6/10.
6. “Mo Bamba” Sheck Wes: To kick things off, THIS SONG IS LIT. But we all know that. Anyway, this song has terrible lyrics. Like these lyrics are just basic and boring, such is: “I got hoes, Callin' a young nigga phone (Ring, ring), Where's Ali with the mothafuckin' dope? (Bitch, bitch),I be ballin' like a mothafuckin' pro (Like a, huh, like a, huh).” There aren’t even that many lyrics to this song at all since Sheck Wes just stretches them out as long as he can, something that is unfit for his “rapping.” His flow doesn’t stand out and doesn’t really do anything extraordinary with his rapping skills. The only decent thing is the beat of this song, which isn’t saying much when compared to the lyrics and rapping. Lyrics: 4/10. Singing/Rapping: 5/10. Beat: 6/10. Average: ~ 5/10.
5. “High Hopes” Panic! At the Disco: I knew I recognized this song in a commercial before. The song has very good message and does give out motivational vibes and pumps you up, something I never expected from Panic! At the Disco. The lyrics are pretty good, but I don’t like how most of it is just repeated a lot throughout the song. This can include, “Had to have high, high hopes for a living, Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing, Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision, Always had high, high hopes” and “Mama said don't give up, it's a little complicated, All tied up, no more love and I'd hate to see you waiting.” Brendon Urie is a very good singer in this song and emphasizes the amount of voice he puts into each word he sings and the beat is good, but doesn’t stand out to me that much. Lyrics: 7/10. Singing/Rapping: 9/10. Beat: 7/10. Average: ~ 8/10.
4. “Without Me” Halsey: I could already tell this song was very personal to Halsey. Based on the lyrics, she talks about past relationships she has had in her lifetime, whether romantic or friendships, and how it negatively affects her. This can be best seen in lyrics such as, “I said I'd catch you if you fall (Fall), And if they laugh, then f**k 'em all (All), And then I got you off your knees, Put you right back on your feet, Just so you could take advantage of me” and “Tell me, how's it feel sittin' up there? Feelin' so high, but too far away to hold me, You know I'm the one who put you up there, Name in the sky, does it ever get lonely?” In addition, Halsey sings this with such emotion and sadness that it really does put you in a vibe. A sad one. And finally, the beat is simple yet it can mean so many different feelings when listening to it. Lyrics: 9/10. Singing/Rapping: 9/10. Beat: 9/10. Average: ~9/10.
3. “Happier” Marshmello and Bastille: To me especially, it is really weird that Marshmello just came out of nowhere. One minute, no one has ever heard of him and then the next, he is the most popular DJ ever. But anyway, this song isn’t even interesting at all. In terms of lyrics, they are very generic and carry no real meaning to the song whatsoever. This can include: “Lately, I've been, I've been thinking, I want you to be happier, I want you to be happier” and “Now if we jump together at least we can swim, Far away from the wreck we made.” The singing feels unpleasant throughout the whole song as the singer of Bastille doesn’t put any emotion or reason in his singing at all. And then the beat is just really generic and isn’t fun to listen to at all. Thanks Marshmello! Lyrics: 6/10. Singing/Rapping: 6/10. Beat: 7/10. Average: ~6/10.
2. “thank u, next” Ariana Grande: This song is someone’s motivation after breaking up and trying to move on from someone they had a deep and close bond with. The lyrics she uses are perfect examples of empowering you, like: “I know they say I move on too fast, But this one gon' last, 'Cause her name is Ari, And I'm so good with that (so good with that)” and “I've got so much love (love), Got so much patience (patience), I've learned from the pain (pain), I turned out amazing (turned out amazing).” In the song, Ariana Grande sings pretty well and makes sure to everyone that she is still fine and will never back down. But the beat I feel could be better as it doesn’t really intensify the song as much. Lyrics: 9/10. Singing/Rapping: 8/10. Beat: 7/10. Average: ~8/10.
1. “Sicko Mode” Travis Scott: This song has three beat switches in a rap song, which is weird but also shows uniqueness in Travis Scott’s music style. The three beats used in these songs are on the same level of being pretty good, Travis and Drake both rap pretty well on this song especially with the many beat switches, and the lyrics aren’t basic. However, they don’t stand out as some others do, like “Now it's 4 AM and I'm back up poppin' with the crew, I just landed in, Chase B mix this pop like Jamba Juice, Different colored chains, think my jeweler really sellin' fruits, And they chokin', man, know the crackers wish it was a noose.” Lyrics: 6/10. Singing/Rapping: 8/10. Beat: 8/10. Average: ~ 7/10.