For my first passion post, I will talk about some of the prevailing thoughts, ideas and themes that I express in my music. If you do not know, I express myself through rap and I go by the stage name Young Vic.

The song that I will talk about is called “Tribulations” where myself and other colleagues talk about our personal tribulations and the tribulations of the world. Here is a verse from the song where I will break it down explicitly for everyone to understand.

A

[Lemme start, Lemme go..
Bout to kill this beat and flow..
Looking back to just where I am
No Aloe Balcc but I am the man]

B
[I’m seeing trials no court in session,
People hustling due to recession,
Life changes need some adaptations..
And people dying due to pigmentation..]

C
[There’s a saying, ignorance is bliss
Can’t say racism don’t exist..
RIP Freddie Gray.. I hope and pray his soul will stay]

D
[It’s a shame that death makes us see
Image in perspective of the country
I’m talking about this cause noone will
and I try to keep it real, not worried about a deal..]

E
[Its a crisis in the middle East
Beheading hostages we seem weak..
And we facing tribulations everyday..
It all gets better is what they say..]

F
[Cause I don’t know you, or your story
Take your trials turn them to glory..
Shiny days after the dark and stormy..
We will win, I see Victory!”]

Lyric Breakdown

A – I open the verse anxious as I am ready to deliver my message to my listeners. As I look back through everything I have been through and the way I have matured with my raps, I feel like the man (direct reference to the Aloe Blacc song, “The Man”).

B- When someone is in court for a crime they committed, they are on trial. I use wordplay to define trials as a struggle or a hardship that many people are going through, not to be confused with being in court.

The economy is on the rise again, but it has not fully recovered since it crashed. Because of the recession, I am making a point that people are “hustling” as in doing anything in their power to provide for themselves and their families. Ex: Working extra shifts, picking up another job or selling drugs.

People dying to pigmentation can also be referred to many events, especially the shooting in South Carolina that happened very recently. This was a hate crime where supremacy placed a part in killing so many innocent people.

C- Ignorance is bliss refers to if you do not know anything about something, you will not worry about it. I counter this by saying that you cannot say you are ignorant about racism in this day in age because I believe that it is so profound to the non-innocent minds. I then reference Freddie Gray as a source of kaios that reminds many Americans what race is in this day in age.

D- A lot of people never know what they have until it is gone or when a situation has escalated to a new level. In this case, death has allowed Americans to stand up and counter race and police brutality.

I then go on to say, I will always keep it real no matter what. Many artists prefer not to talk about controversial subjects to maintain their reputation or to avoid slander. I am not looking for a record deal or to make a surplus of music from this, therefore I will not be intimidated in the messages that I convey.

E- This a reference to ISIS, the wars and the violence that is going on in the Middle East. I then go on to say “beheading hostages, we seem weak” as in ISIS has the Western world on their knees. They are organized and have produced a general atmosphere of fear to prevent any resistance.

Even though we face tribulations, I tell my listeners that it all gets better no matter what. Just know you have it better than someone else in the world.

F- Every person has their own story, their own problems and their own tribulations that they are going through. I use imagery to help illustrate to my readers that shiny days are still to come even thought you may be walking in a storm at the moment.  In the end, we will prevail through all of our problems. Before I come to a close, I tell my listeners that victory is definitely ours.

You can watch/listen to the live performance of “Tribulations”