Mainstream music has run into a trap in recent years. Anyone can tell you that I enjoy listening to quality pop music, but I still can’t help but ask this question: Why do I feel less connected to mainstream hip-hop music than I do to a James Taylor song? The answer is that the lyrical content of some of this mainstream music is beyond my reality. I can’t connect with the glitz and glamor of the artist lifestyle. A good example of the connection is found in one of Kanye West’s new songs called “Runaway.” While I can’t say that he sent a girl a picture of my man-berries (as the song explains), I can totally connect with the larger meaning of the song. He’s essentially saying, “Girl, I’m a jerk. If you stay with me, you’ll only hurt yourself, so you should probably go to the hills.” That makes sense to me and that’s why I’ll still be listening to Kanye years later. Yes, he talks about living the high life, but he can also bring his songs back to the land where the rest of us live. He lets us live the fantasy and the reality of his lyrics at the same time. On the other hand, you can get too much fantasy from many artists. Maybe that’s his role in music. Maybe they just want to give people something to dream about in regards to living the party life and having lots of money. But the still-present problem remains: as much as any of us think the songs are catchy, none of them connect with us emotionally. If artists want to make a lasting mark on society, they’ll need to release singles that make that personal connection.
Empathy. You need your audience to sympathize with your point for your point to matter at all. When I hear a new hit single talking about being “in the club,” it doesn’t feel personal. It’s just hearing me about how amazing someone else’s life is. There is no room for me to fit. I am trying to push a circle into a square hole. Yes, there is satisfaction in fulfilling the fantasy by listening to lyrics that involve glamor and the good life, but we need something that brings us back to reality. We need words that make us look at our own lives and help us navigate through our own problems.
So if you are an artist, write some lyrics that ordinary people can understand. Think of something inspiring. Don’t keep trying to impress everyone with your status, instead wear your status forever. Some new pop stars sit around complaining about poverty in the world (because it’s the best thing to do), but that same artist will spend thousands of dollars making sure their supply of high-quality mineral water never runs out. Hypocrisy like that destroys credibility and character. Write lyrics that inspire communities to get over it, not become part of the problem. He doesn’t stop the fantasy, but knows how to pull us back and force us to look at ourselves in the mirror of our own existences.
P.S.
Turn off the radio and go find some good music. Excellent examples are The Roots, Bon Iver, My Morning Jacket, Mos Def, Foxy Shazam, OK Go, Common and Talib Kweli. Don’t let the radio dictate the quality of what you hear. Explore the music. Is awesome.