Wale x The Matrimony – Passion Post #6

My next passion post will feature on of my favorite artists, Wale. Coming off his latest album-The Album About Nothing, Wale digs deep and gives listeners a deeper perception of his thoughts, feelings and emotions. To help him with this, he brought Jerry Seinfield along to co-sign and commentate on the album.

This song is entitled, “The Matrimony” and has to do with the Wale’s perception on finally settling down and getting married.  Getting Usher to sing the melodious hook, “The Matrimony” actually gets people who are single, ready to mingle and settle down to actually start thinking about the next step.

 

Lyrics:

[Hook – Usher:]
If there’s a question of my heart, you’ve got it
It don’t belong to anyone but you
If there’s a question of my love, you’ve got it
Baby, don’t worry, I’ve got plans for you, yeah
Baby, I’ve been making plans of love
Baby, I’ve been making plans for you, yeah
Baby, I’ve been making plans
Baby, I’ve been making plans for you

 

[Wale:]
My sincerest apologies, I mean it
I’ll admit it, all being pathetic
I’m in my late 20s still never been to a wedding
Guess the idea of that lobby empty do not sit with me well
It’s not your fault they try to get me, cause I’ma need to sail
Cause I’m selfish and I need you to myself
Tryna see you afloat but don’t wanna see you on sale
Cause I failed and see you bout to cry
Cause when I enter they city they leave without they pride
I’m sorry, and you starin’ at my comments
Fearin’ it’s gone always be you sharin’ me with all them
Wrong, how dare I say ignore them?
Preparing for that day, I leave you here and switch you for them
It’s hard, you know temptation and all
Out here tryna see if my relationship’s strong
Get a place in the charts or runaway from your heart
Gave this music my all, nothing is sacred no more
I’m wrong
But I’m promisin’ you better though
And your friends sayin’ let him go
And we ain’t gettin’ any younger
I can give up now but I can promise you forever though

Analyzing the Song:
Usher opens the hook telling his girl not to worry, he has love for her regardless because it “doesn’t belong to anyone but her”. He is making plans and reassuring her that he is always going to be there for her.
Wale opens up his first verse apologizing, most likely in the context to his significant other. Wale is famous and with the fame comes many other things such as other girls being attracted, money, shows and more priorities.  He tell us that in his whole life, he still has not been to a wedding even though he is 30 (29 when the song was made).
With the fame described above, Wale is emphasizing that if he ever does settle down into a serious relationship, there will be a lot of temptation.  With the fame, he recognizes that handling his music career and attending to all of his girls’ need will be difficult (this is what he means when he says get a place in the charts or runaway from your heart). 
Because he has already put everything in his power toward his music-the thing that was considered sacred to him, he says that “nothing is sacred no more“.
He is wrong because his girl is sacred to him as well.
Personal Reflection / Thoughts:
I thought it was a great idea to get Jerry Seinfeld to commentate throughout the whole album, especially with this song. He explained that getting married was sort of like getting on a roller coaster and used metaphors and imagery to help illustrate his statement to listeners. The background vocals complimented the roller coaster track fx and made the intro stellar.
Even though I am still very young and in no way shape or form thinking about being married anytime soon,  I was able to emphasize with Wale on his perspective concerning marriage. Listening to his interviews and music, Wale has gone through a lot concerning relationships and family issues (had a miscarriage before).
In this song, I feel that Wale was finally able to express himself and convey his attitude on why he has not finally settled down. In tradition, people look down on you when you are not married by the age of 30. Because Wale is nearly approaching that age, it makes sense he released this song when he did.
I know that Wale will find his path, hopefully I’ll hear that he finally settles down by the age of 35. I have listened to his music for so long and heard his speeches and interviews to determine out that he is not truly happy. You can tell that he is missing something so significant in his life that he needs. That is why I think Wale’s message was so important to listeners-and to himself as well.
The Video to The Matrimony is below

3 thoughts on “Wale x The Matrimony – Passion Post #6”

  1. Thank you! I have since then fixed it and advise that you check the rest of my posts!

  2. This is a very good analysis of a song that I never really put much thought into. You did an excellent job analyzing it and bringing a different light to this song. You break it down into really good points and do a good analysis. Nice!

  3. I have listened to rap occasionally over the years and have never really payed much attention to the lyrics as I used to just listen for the beat. However, your analysis of the song proved to me that there is actually some meaning behind the words that are being said. As I read through the lyrics of the song, I understood the things you said in your analysis and I agree with what you are saying. This is definitely an interesting topic to choose for your passion blog, but I have to say I’m interested to see if other lyrics in rap also have deeper meanings like this one. I never had really thought of some raps having deeper meaning through their lyrics but you have shown me that they do. I agree with your analysis of the song and believe you have accurately portrayed the mood and message the song is trying to deliver. It was also nice to see your own personal opinion and interpretation put into the analysis too. The blog post was very good overall but I would recommend proofreading. There were a few grammatical mistakes, that were very minor, that didn’t detract too much from the flow of the post. For example, you used the word emphasize when i believe you meant to say empathize. Aside from these minor things, the blog was very nice. I look forward to seeing what you will analyze next and keep up the good work!

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