Monthly Archives: February 2016

Passion Blog

Kanye West ft. Chance the Rapper and Kirk Franklin – Ultralight Beam

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Todays track is the introduction track for Kanye West’s recently released album – The Life of Pablo. If you are not a Kanye West fan or just not into rap, I recommended this album especially because it did not feel like it was strictly rap. Kanye’s production and vocals were all over the place, making it a must listen for a listener of any genre.

After anticipating this album for three years, when it finally came out I listened to it completely back to back at least five times. After listening, the two standout tracks included Ultralight Beam as well as Waves ft. Chris Brown.

This song has to be the most “religious” song Kanye put out since Jesus Walks.

Without further or due,  please let me introduce you to this “Ultralight Beam.”

Sidenote: In the beginning, you can hear a sample of a little girl praying. Check her out here: (Pretty adorable right?)

Sidenote 2: This post will be actually pretty long, but the fact is I feel that this song is very POWERFUL. If you don’t read the whole post, please at least watch the performance all the way at the bottom.

#PressPlay #WeDontWantNoDevilsInThisHouse #NatNat #Blessed #ImBlessed #girl #PrettyGirl #Blessed #Smile #allsmiles #TeamNatalie

A video posted by Natalie Is Great✨ (@sheisnatalie) on

Lyrics: ((feat. Chance The Rapper, Kelly Price, Kirk Franklin & The-Dream)

[Kanye West & The-Dream:]
I’m tryna keep my faith
We on an ultralight beam
We on an ultralight beam
This is a God dream
This is a God dream
This is everything
This is everything
Deliver us serenity
Deliver us peace
Deliver us loving
We know we need it
You know we need it
You know we need it
That’s why we need you now, oh, I
Pray for Paris
Pray for the parents
This is a God dream
This is a God dream
This is a God dream
We on an ultralight beam
We on an ultralight beam
This is a God dream
This is a God dream
This is everything
Everything (Thing, thing, thing)

[Kelly Price (Choir):]
So why send depression not blessings?
Why, oh why’d you do me wrong? (More)
You persecute the weak
Because it makes you feel so strong
(To save) Don’t have much strength to fight
So I look to the light
(Lord) To make these wrongs turn right
Head up high, I look to the light
Hey, cause I know that you’ll make everything alright
And I know that you’ll take good care of your child
Oh, no longer am afraid of the night
Cause I, I look to the light

[Chance The Rapper:]
When they come for you, I will shield your name
I will field their questions, I will feel your pain
They don’t know, they don’t
They don’t know, they don’t know
Foot on the Devil’s neck ’til it drifted Pangaea
I’m moving all my family from Chatham to Zambia
Treat the demons just like Pam
I mean I f–k with your friends, but damn, Gina
I been this way since Arthur was anteater
Now they wanna hit me with the woo wap the bam
Tryna snap photos of familia
My daughter look just like Sia, you can’t see her
You can feel the lyrics, the spirit coming in braille
Tubman of the underground, come and follow the trail
I made Sunday Candy, I’m never going to hell
I met Kanye West, I’m never going to fail
He said let’s do a good ass job with Chance three
I hear you gotta sell it to snatch the Grammy
Let’s make it so free and the bars so hard
That there ain’t one gosh darn part you can’t tweet
This is my part, nobody else speak
This is my part, nobody else speak
This little light of mine
Glory be to God, yeah
I’mma make sure that they go where they can’t go
If they don’t wanna ride I’mma still give them raincoats
Know what God said when he made the first rainbow
Just throw this at the end if I’m too late for the intro
Ugh, I’m just having fun with it
You know that a nigga was lost
I laugh in my head
Cause I bet that my ex looking back like a pillar of salt
Ugh, cause they’ll flip the script on your ass like Wesley and Spike
You cannot mess with the light
Look at lil Chano from 79th

(Hook)

[Kirk Franklin & Choir:]
Father, this prayer is for everyone that feels they’re not good enough.
This prayer’s for everybody that feels like they’re too messed up.
For everyone that feels they’ve said “I’m sorry” too many times.
You can never go too far when you can’t come back home again. That’s why I need…
Faith, more, safe, war
Lyrics and Personal Interpretation:
Prior and post album release, West’s twitter was ablaze with tweets concerning the album, rants and conversations (which also helped with the album promo). Along with this, he provided the meaning of the Ultra Light Beam he was referring to.

“Ultralight Beam” is the positive vibe and energy that you get from being successful and providing prosperity to the individuals around you.  It also refers to Kanye’s faith in God. This track is pretty religious considering Kirk Franklin is on the track and it even ends with a prayer.

Kanye opens out his verse with the Dream with a mellow organ by asking for deliverance and guidance from God. He is also prompting his fans to Pray for Paris.

Now, Kelly Price comes in and her solo was amazing!! I felt that she sounded even better during her live performance. Back the religious reference, Kelly asking questions from God. Questioning him why is her life so hard and why can’t he make her situation much easier. She eventually confirms that it is God she is referring to. As she does not have the strength to fight all her battles, she looks up to go to deliver he in her times of trouble. With her faith in the Lord, she know that he will protect her and at the end of the day, everything will be alright.

Now, enter Chance the Rapper who I felt was HIGHLY underrated prior to this record (Been a fan since ACIDRAP). After everyone heard his verse, the internet was ablaze with the fire that he spit. Aside from that, he added even more to the powerful message that was already given.  Chance opens up by saying when the come for you, I will defend your name. Back with the religious reference, he is claiming that he will defend the name of the Lord when nonbelievers come to destroy his faith that he has in him. Then Chance states that he will move his family from Chantham to Zambia. Chance grew up in Chantam which is a neighborhood in the south side of Chicago, while Zambia is a country in Africa. He wants to move there because Zambia was considered one of the most peaceful countries in the world whereas Chicago is known for its prominent gun crime. Now the next line is a reference to the 90’s sitcom Martin. Pam was Gina’s friend who Martin would always ignore and Gina was Martin’s significant other. When she would cause trouble for him, he would respond with, DAMN GINA! Now, everyone should get this one. He goes on to say that he has been this way since Arthur was anteater. The picture below will be very self explanatory:

Chance begins to wind down by giving us some information about the music industry. Usually, albums that are sold  are only eligible to win a grammy. So if he releases a free mixtape, no matter how good it is, it will be ineligible to win the award. This all goes to say that Chance wants the Academy to change the rules a little bit.  Another interesting side note: Chance says “Gosh Darn” instead of “God Damn” so that he can avoid using the Lord’s name in vain. With the verse and platform that Kanye gave him, he feels that this is his time to shine and show the world that he should be respected even more as a recording artist and closes that statement by giving glory to God, because he feels that he has brought him all the way there. As he closes the next line is a direct reference to Noah’s ark. Chance stated that he will make sure that they will go where they cant go and if they don’t wanna ride he will still give them raincoats. In the Bible the story of Noah is pretty well known where God flooded the Earth. Chance said that if they dont want to ride with him, he’ll still provide protection when the wrath comes. Chance finally closes by saying that by having fun, he was lost which again looks like a reference to the well-know Christian Hymn “Amazing Grace.” With the birth of his daughter, Chance gave up smoking and drug use so that he can be closer to God. In fact, Chance was a very avid Acid user, to the point he was dependent on it to create music. Hence, the name of his critically acclaimed mixtape:

Kirk Franklin closes with a prayer. Many people were in uproar for Franklin  working with Kanye West because Franklin is a gospel singer and Kanye is a recording artist who has a high level of profanity in his music. Check out what he had to say about it.

Kanye is not me. I am not him. He is my brother I am proud to do life with. No sprints, but Marathons; like most of us are on. Before one song was released, I was crucified because my brother asked me to take a picture. Again "no Kanye, you're not good enough"? No. That is a dangerous message I believe we send to the world when our posture is they have to meet certain requirements before they are worthy to kiss the ring. It says people are not redeemable, forgivable or candidates for grace. That my friend is religious. I will not turn my back on my brother. I will love him, prayerfully grow with him. However long he'll have me, and however long the race takes. To a lot of my Christian family, I'm sorry he's not good enough, Christian enough, or running at your pace…and as I read some of your comments, neither am I. That won't stop me from running. Pray we win.

A photo posted by Kirk Franklin (@kirkfranklin) on

“Ultralight Beam” is a very powerful song and I love doing my passion posts because I am passionate about the music and the meaning an artist is trying to convey. While doing this, I learned a lot about Kanye, Kirk and especially Chance. Next time that you listen to a song, please take a second look at the lyrics because a song is only powerful if you can interpret it.

Watch the “Ultralight Beam” performance on SNL below:

Click this link here!

Link to mp3

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Young Vic – Dreams (Passion Post #4)

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I know that you guys know that I rap and I think it is time for me to do a lyrical analysis on another one of my songs. While I need to formal introduction I might as well tell you the story of how I got into rap in the first place.

Basically, during my freshman year of high school I wanted to find an activity that was productive and kept me occupied at the same time. One day I heard the radio and thought to myself, “If they can do it, I can do it and add some meaning to it as well.” Eventually, I started rapping people liked it and it went off from there. Like I said, I just love music.

Dreams is a song that I wrote that talks about my mentality on life and who I eventually plan to be one day. It also speaks about how I plan to make these dreams a reality through the journey that it will take.

IMG_3855

Lyrics:

Hook:  Got some, got some dreams x4

 (First and only verse) I got dreams, some big and some small, no matter what they are I promise i’ll achieve em all. Supporting the fam and  becoming someone in life.. sometimes I think I want left and then i’m headed to the right man its a fight.. sometimes I have an inner conflict, a voice within my head telling me i’m not the s–t.. Sometimes i’m vulnerable, believing the stupid myths.. but realities comes, I take it and then I will not quit.. I flip the script.. At the end day, I have a solid foundation.. foundation so strong, that we believe God got us from satan, foundation so strong I play my fantasy with Peyton.. foundation so strong I can overcome any temptations.. i’m steady waiting.. like I said, Im writing all my goals praying they all get bigger.. I see the picture.. man I just figured.. life is a game and im playing it like billiards hoping one day Im balling out.. like the wizards.

I think I rap too much the about the world and not my life.. I want my fans to hear my thoughts, my emotion and advice.. i’m a born sinner but the world so damn cold.. But if something aint working switch it up before you’re old..

Lyrical Analysis and Interpretation: 

I open up the verse by saying I have dreams (I mean who doesn’t), this song was also inspired with a quote from Wale which said, “Life without dreaming is a life without a meaning.” I feel that if you do not have goals and are not working towards them each day, what is your purpose in life?

I then go on saying that I want to take care of my family (which I am sure that everyone wants to do as well). Then, I eventually get more personal by saying “I want left then I am heading to the right.” I feel that sometimes, I may bite more that I can actually chew and take too many things on at the same time. This is also a tangent that things may not always go as planed. Which is okay, because life still goes one.

I get even more personal by saying that “Sometimes I have an inner conflict, a voice in my head telling me im not the s–t” I feel that sometimes when I make a great accomplishment, I am fighting myself  by becoming the biggest pessimist. Personal Example: [ I graduated as the valedictorian of my class, but in my eyes I never seen  it as a big or a huge accomplishment, due to the area and the school district that I was in was not exceptional and up to par with the rest of the state.] I don’t know how it happens sometimes, but I feel that when things get hard I start to think that I was not cut out for it in the first place or if I succeed it was not through all my willpower.

Whenever I find myself at that pit, I always climb back up. Thats why I am always happy and cheerful all the time, because life is too short to throw a pity party every time. This is where reality finally hits me and then I feel that I can do anything. I feel that I can do anything because of the foundation that I have; I compare this foundation to faith in a religion, the strength to avoid temptations and using Peyton Manning in fantasy football (He even went on to win the Super bowl)!

I end the verse by saying I know all of my goals and I can see myself attaining all of them one day. That’s the “bigger picture” that I can see. I then compare life like a game, because I feel that anything can happen; but it depends on how well you can handle certain things and the practice/training that you have already had. I end on this tangent by comparing life, to a game of billiards. Like the game of life, I hope that I can “ball out” like the Washington Wizards. 

I end the song by explaining this song was one of my personal records. I feel that I rap a lot about the world that we live in, but somehow people do not understand the real young vic. I end with a double entendre by comparing myself to J. Cole by saying I am a “born sinner” (as he has had an influence on my music) and claiming that the world is cold (sounds like Cole and is reference to his sophomore album, Born Sinner).

Please give “Dreams” a listen below (Produced by Scoop Deville):

Passion Blog

J. Cole x Love Yourz (Passion Post #3)

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Today, I will analyze a song that has a great message for not only me, but for everyone that will be reading this blog. The song entitled- Love Yourz is the 12th track on J. Cole’s 3rd studio album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive. Personally, this is one of my favorite albums because of Cole’s ethic, passion. message and delivery. I was glad when this album went platinum, because this album was a resemblance of Cole’s growing maturity from making radio records to more conceptual music. (And the fact that he did little to no promo for this album).

Love yours
Love yours

[Hook:]
No such thing as a life that’s better than yours
No such thing as a life that’s better than yours
No such thing as a life that’s better than yours
No such thing, no such thing

Heart beatin’ fast, let a ni–a know that he alive
Fake ni–as mad, snakes
Snakes in the grass let a ni–a know that he arrive
Don’t be sleepin’ on your level cause its beauty in the struggle ni–a
Goes for all y’all
It’s beauty in the struggle ni–a
(Let me explain)
It’s beauty in the struggle , ugliness in the success
Hear my words or listen to my signal of distress
I grew up in the city and though some times we had less
Compared to some of my ni–as down the block man we were blessed
And life can’t be no fairytale, no once upon a time
But I be God damned if a ni–a don’t be tryin’
So tell me mama please why you be drinking all the time?
Does all the pain he brought you still linger in your mind?
Cause pain still lingers on mine
On the road to riches listen this is what you’ll find
The good news is ni–a you came a long way
The bad news is ni–a you went the wrong way
Think being broke was better

[Hook]

For what’s money without happiness?
Or hard times without the people you love
Though I’m not sure what’s ’bout to happen next
I asked for strength from the Lord up above
Cause I’ve been strong so far
But I can feel my grip loosening
Quick, do something before you lose it for good
Get it back and use it for good
And touch the people how you did like before
I’m tired of living with demons cause they always inviting more
Think being broke was better
Now I don’t mean that phrase with no disrespect
To all my ni–as out there living in debt
Cashing minimal checks
Turn on the TV see a ni–a Rolex
And fantasize about a life with no stress
I mean this shit sincerely
And that’s a ni–a who was once in your shoes
Living with nothin’ to lose
I hope one day you hear me
Always gon’ be a bigger house somewhere, but ni–a feel me
Long as the people in that motherfuc–r love you dearly
Always gon’ be a whip that’s better than the the one you got
Always gon’ be some clothes that’s fresher than the ones you rock
Always gon’ be a bi–h that’s badder out there on the tours
But you ain’t never gon’ be happy till you love yours

(Hook)

Interpretation and Personal Reflection

Cole opens up, by telling us, if you have nothing else to be thankful for, just be thankful that you are alive. No matter what you are going through, there are people out there who had the essential gift of life taken away from them in a matter of seconds. Now, Cole brings up an idea-that there is beauty in a struggle. At first, I was wondered, what is  this man talking about? But with time I saw his point. You have to take into account Cole has seen both sides of the story-success and the struggle that he has went through to get to where he is today. (Side note: Cole would stand outside everyday at Roc-a-fella records demanding that he get a meeting with Jay-Z). Now, growing up Cole didn’t have much and life at home was not always cherries and blossoms, but by comparing himself to the other people that lived in his neighborhood he always had something to be thankful for.  He goes off this tangent by referencing his mother and the relationship that she had with a man at that time. (2014 Forest Hills Drive is the address of the house that Cole live in while growing up). Eventually after the relationship began to turn sour, money went south and eventually lead to the house being foreclosed. (Don’t worry Cole bought it back when he got rich).

To reminisce on his life, Cole makes a statement that being broke is better and then asks two questions: What’s money without happiness and hard times with the people you love. Now, Cole goes into another tangent where you really have to understand Cole in order to get what he is saying. Remember in the introduction when I said that this was one of my favorite albums because it was a reflection of Cole’s mentality- he felt that he was losing his grip because he was criticized on the content of his last two albums (aka radio hits).  Again, Cole emphasizes that he feels that being broke was better. Still, I am confused but you really have to think about it. When you are broke, life is simpler, you enjoy the little things that life give you even though everything may not be pretty. But like Jay-Z said, with more money comes more problems. Because of this, it seems that Cole is seeing the other side that fame has to bring, He continues by explaining, (because he does not want to offend the people that are broke or struggling). He reiterates that he is a man that has seen both sides- being rich and being poor. Cole closes by making comparisons and claiming that no matter what you have, there will be someone out there that has it better. He is trying to get the message that happiness comes from the within; if you are not happy with what you have, you will always search for something that you claim to be better.

I am a firm believer that there is beauty in a struggle. Being a college student, I realized that the good things in life do not come easy. Sort of reminds me of my summer bridge experience (but that is a story for another day).

I love this song because I am glad that Cole gave me this message to spread to people who will never hear this song. I feel that in life, I do not want to make a ton of money, I just want to be comfortable and live my life with a happy family. Because what is money if you dont have anyone else to enjoy it with, what is happiness if you are always searching for the next big thing? If that mentality is adopted, you will find yourself in a never ending loop. So to all my fellow bloggers. Love Yourz. 

Listen to Love Yourz Below