Blackpink – Go
6 days ago
Friday, January 29, 2010
Re: "Forever"
I had something else in mind to write today, but I just watched 8 Mile last night, so I feel the need to say more about this. Drake's rise to fame was fairly unique: although usually it goes get signed, record a huge hit, make it big, Drake was discovered by Lil Wayne and recorded a few songs with him before even being signed! And that's what "Forever" is about: making your own fame and the respect you get for it. It's a bit easier to talk about this kind of thing now that they're on top, but it's getting to that point and remembering how they got there. Marshall Mathers sure as hell remembers "establishing a name as he goes." And as long as those guys are on top, you can be sure "rap will never be the same as before."
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Yes.
ReplyDelete"Forever" offers four perspectives on fame.
Drake's hungry, ambitious, on the classic come-up.
Kanye's already on top; he muses on fame's varied consequences.
Wayne mixes Kanye's primo status with Drake's hunger, adding a dash of his own insanity just for kicks.
And Eminem... he paints a strange, compelling picture (as usual with his great verses). The other three use fame as the target of their verses; Eminem treats his verse as the means for (re)attaining his fame.
Hard to describe, but... listen to Eminem's verse. It's almost completely devoted to the *process* of rapping. That's all he cares about. The other three seem to at least have an understanding that they're famous (or about to be). They have self-consciousness. Like the Joker's chilling turn in "The Dark Knight", Eminem is elemental. He is a force of nature. His goal isn't fame. He's more concerned with murdering the next verse.