- Love Yourz
- From Da Bottom
- Alright
- Till I Collapse
- Pay for It
- One Man Can Change the World
- All of the Lights
- HYFR
- Shabba
- Swimming Pools
Love Yourz by J Cole
There are not many songs on 2014 Forest Hills Drive that I do not like but Love Yourz became one of my favorites. J Cole describes himself as when he was younger and struggling. He claims that no matter how bad or good you have it, there are always people that have it better and others that have it worse. His message is that the only way you will be happy is if you love what you have. I love this song because it reminds me to be humble and appreciate what I have instead of focusing on what this or that person has that I do not.
From Da Bottom by Meek Mill
My all time favorite movie is the original Rocky because it was about a no name boxer, Rocky Balboa, who gets the opportunity to go against the greatest at the time, Apollo Creed. While at first it seems like Apollo is being a great guy by giving him this chance, my dad compared it to Kobe Bryant picking a random high school basketball player and offering him to play one-on-one: the high schooler doesn’t stand a chance. In the newest Rocky movie, Creed, the song From Da Bottom by Meek Mill was on the soundtrack and I loved it because it shared a similar ideology as the movie.
Alright by Kendrick Lamar
In Kendrick’s album To Pimp a Butterfly, he describes the struggles that he goes through in tracks such as u. While I love most of the songs on TPAB, I chose this one as my favorite because it is a reminder that no matter what I am going through I’m going to be alright. It has an upbeat rhythm to it and always gets me in a good mood. It let’s me know that I have to look forward and focus on the future instead of dwelling in the past.
Till I collapse by Eminem, Nate Dogg
This is one of the songs on my old pump up playlists when I played soccer and basketball. At a young age, it was instilled in my brain that in anything I do, whoever wants it more may not always win but will never be disappointed in their results. In this song it states that I will not give up until my body literally gives out and I can no longer physically give any more. As I leave the sports I grew up with this song stays with me because I will always give everything I have until I can no longer in anything I do.
Pay for It by Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Chantal
This song is featured in a beats commercial with Cam Newton (before he became a star) where he goes through the thoughts of being told he’s not good enough. He states “Give up, that’s what they want you to do. Stop that’s what they want you to do. You’re not the best? That’s what say. C’mon let’s be great” and then the song plays. I feel as though through my life, while I have not underachieved, I have been put on sports teams below where I believe I should be. This song reminds me that I can let my haters get to me or I can go out and prove them wrong
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One Man Can Change the World by Big Sean
I love this song because of the message it sends. Big Sean proclaims that you should go out there and be the best you can. He makes the states that he wants you to make it by yourself and for you to be successful in life. At the end of the first verse, he says that success will come to you but slow down and enjoy the journey. He relates back to before he made it and used to dream about what life was like when he becomes rich and famous
All of the Lights by Kanye and like 10 other people
I’m not sure exactly why I like this song. There’s a gatorade commercial where it shows a bunch of different teams singing different lines of the chorus. In my opinion I think gatorade puts out the best commercials. After seeing the commercial I just fell in love with the song. Sorry this explanation is so short but I’m not really sure why I like it but it would definitely go on my mixtape
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Commercial:
HYFR by Drake and Lil Wayne
When I was in 8th and 9th grade, my sister, Sabrina, would drive me to school everyday. We would listen to her music on the way to school which was predominantly rap from 2000 to 2014-15. When we would get to school she would always make sure this would be the last song we listen to before getting out. This song has become “our song” and whenever she is home and we drive somewhere we always listen to it.
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Shabba by A$VP Ferg, A$VP Rocky
When I was a freshman, for JV golf matches, we had to ride in the van with Coach Kossuth along with the rest of the team because none of us could drive. At the time, Connor Delany still played golf and we would always listen to this song on the way to matches. Similar to HYFR with my sister, this sort of became the song of the EA JV golf team and we ended up getting everyone else to listen to it on the way to matches. Also Rocky is my favorite rapper that doesn’t rap about anything meaningful so I figured I had to put a song by him on here.
Swimming Pools (Drank) - Extended by Kendrick Lamar
While at first this song seems like it has a wrong message but upon a closer look this is not true. The chorus seems like he is getting peer pressured into drinking a ton which is true but in the verses he states that he was overly influenced by his friends. He didn’t think he would give in but he does and this marks a time where he makes a profound change in his life. At this point still in Compton he realizes that hip hop is his way out and he needs to focus on that.
I love your paragraph for All of the Lights! It seems like even though you had trouble identifying the appeal of the song, I think it's cool you acknowledge that sometimes something just touches you without you really knowing why. It seems to me like sometimes music can express things with more complexity than simply words, and that's captured in the fact that you put a song on your mixtape without really knowing why.
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