The Logistics of Logic in America
The Name Robert Byrson Hall is not a name that most people know. If you ask people who logic is, most people will be able to tell you he is a talented music artist that has made a name for himself over the past decade. Logic entered the rap game back in 2009 where he would rap about growing up in section 8 housing and living inside an abusive family but now logic has much different meaning in his sounds. Since the release of “America”, which was his first song about political issues, all his sounds have had a certain meaning of resistance to them. Logic now uses his fame and voice to help spread positive messages and bring rise to different issues going on in our country. He uses lyrical artistry when talking about these issues by bringing them up with his creative use of words that often contain double meaning to add layers into the message he is trying to portray. He also used musical artistry to help add emphasize and helps the listener paint a picture in their head of the overall meaning of the song. The tones and pitches of the beat and instruments perfectly match the artists voice and helps set the mood of what the listener is suppose to be feeling. America was the beginning of something more powerful. This song used a combination of musical and lyrical artistry to help enforce the meaning of the song. The meaning of this song was to bring awareness to the issues happening inside out country and that we should come together as one to fight back instead of fighting against each other.
The use of musical artistry in this song is like no other compared to the majority of logic songs. This song was loud, intense and gave off a different vibe compared to the majority of rap songs out there. The first half of this song is rapped in the perspective of America. They rapped about the state of our country and the various issues taking place that they don’t agree with. The meaning of this half of the song is paired nicely with an uplifting and catchy beat that amps up the listener as he is hearing about different problems inside our country. The uplifting and energetic beat that runs through the first half of the song stopped at the end of specific lines to emphasize the lyric’s while only one instrument stayed constant. This made those lines stand apart from the rest as they were highlighted and related most to the meaning of the song. There is a long phase in logic’s first verse where that energetic beat disappears again but this time for five lines. That phrase happened to be relating to trump and revealed Logic’s political views and his feeling towards our president. In that same phrase, it also states what Trump is doing to our country and the affects he has caused. The whole beat entirely disappears as logic ends that phrase by saying “Fuck that”, making it stand out and shows that he doesn’t agree with any of it and relates to the meaning of the song.
The lyrical artistry in this song is also unlike a typical logic song. The use of similes, metaphors and allusion in this song help add stronger meaning to the lyrics and the message of this song. Logic starts off his first verse by repeating the word power in his first two lines. He is referring to Donald Trump when he says “fuck white power” and saying that the black community needs to take a stand and come together to fight against their power for the rights that they deserve. This is essentially the whole meaning and message of the song; they need to stop fighting against each other and fight with each other against the government. Another line that stuck out to me as a power message and meaning is when Black Thought rapped “all this false information, ima unplug”. He is referring to all the false information that is flooding the news and causing to brainwash and influence people believes and views on different thing going on inside out country. The unplug part refers to electronics, more specifically social media. Social media has caused for a lot of issues inside our country.
The second half of this song is rapped in a completely different perspective and also comes with a change in beat and tempo. The perspective of the rappers is now about what it’s like to be in the hood and the life that they know how to live. The beat changes to a much more serious and deeper beat with more bass. As Big Lenbo starts to rap, it gets even more intense as his voice is much deeper. His verse talks about the struggles of growing up black and what life what like for him growing up and how that is caused from the government. Then, the beat changes once again. It becomes verse soft and calming as logic starts to sing about growing up black, you typically don’t have a chance to change your label or a chance at success. By him singing this part, it makes it stand out from the rest of the song and changes the mood to a softer one as he sings about more issues inside our country. Without changing the beat with the different verses, then the whole song would just blur together. By changing the beat when the message and meaning of the lyrics change, it helps the listen know the emotions of the lyrics and help them paint a visual picture in their heads.
In logic’s fourth and longest verse, he starts off by rhyming people with sequel that related to the problems in our country’s politics. He is saying that George Bush didn’t do anything to benefit or help the black community and that Donald Trump is exactly like him. If people keep voting in people who will treat people differently, then nothing will change. People need to come together to get someone in office who will fight for them instead of against them. Also, in this verse, he raps two lines that stood out to me personally. “now, everybody gotta fight for equal rights, cause the richest people in the whole world equal whites”. These lines have a lot of meaning to back up the message of this song. He is referring that the rich white people that are controlling our economy and politics that have cause for unfair decisions that affect that less fortunate. The rest of the people need to make themselves known and help fight together to be treated equally.
Logic used another style of lyrical artistry in this song as he cleverly used samples throughout his song to add double meaning to some lyrics and make them stand out as people have heard them before. The first sample he uses is in his first verse when he says “streets disciple, my raps are trifle…”. This was the beginning of Nas’s verse in the song “Live at the barbeque” by Main Source. Logic then changes the ending of the line by adding allusion of Kirk Cobain. He then continues to rap about how the world is insane, much like how Cobain was. The second sample he uses is in Logic’s second verse when he is rapping about how Kanye West’s political views and how he is supporting someone who is against him. He starts the verse of by saying “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” which was a line that Kanye had said in an interview a couple year’s back. He is dissing Kanye while using his own words against him.
The purpose of this song for logic was to help spread a message of resistance against all the crimes and acts that take place in our country. Instead of fighting with them and starting violence and riots, we should stop fighting against each other and come together as one big group and fight back. Logic talks a lot about the struggles of growing up African American and being treated differently because of that. He talks about if the black community was to be treated fairly and have equal rights, they need to put their difference away and form together as one to have a fighting chance in making a difference. No change will happen if the activities and violence continue. Logic now has a motto of “peace, love and positivity” (Emir) as he tried to spread this message is all his songs now and have expanded his messages to suicide awareness, equal rights and cultural diversity. He believes equal rights for every man, woman, child, race, religion, color, creed and sexual orientation (horowitz). He has become a voice for everyone in some sort of form or another.
With Logic entering this new relm of music that sends a positive message, he has said to gain a sort of a cult following(Levy). His music since that has changed countless lives with the powerful messages his deliveries and the live he has touched by giving people without a voice, a voice. He has expanded his messages into talking about suicide prevention, helping reach a whole new group of people ( Charlotte). Almost all of the music Logic produces these days has some sort of positive message to it that has helped him grow his fame, and a bigger plate form to help spread his messages even further.
Work Cited:
Charlotte Spaeth. (March 16, 2018 Friday). Logic defies logic with his new mixtape Bobby Tarantino II. Campus Press: University of Colorado at Boulder. Retrieved from https://advance-lexis-com.hoover2.mcdaniel.edu:2443/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:5RWF-93C1-JBSN-34T7-00000-00&context=1516831.
Emir Kulluk. (April 29, 2019 Monday). Supermarket: Rapper Logic Creates One Stop Shopping With New Book and Album. The College Voice: Connecticut College. Retrieved from https://advance-lexis-com.hoover2.mcdaniel.edu:2443/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:5W0P-1GW1-DY7P-T1Y6-00000-00&context=1516831.
HOROWITZ, STEVEN I. “LOGICS GREENER PASTURES: After Battling Anxiety, the Rapper Has Found Happiness through Marriage, Therapy and Rhyming for the First Time about Being Biracial.” Billboard, vol. 129, no. 11, May 2017, pp. 25–26. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=122877757&site=ehost-live.
LEVY, L. (2018). LOGIC. Billboard, 130(28), 98–104. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.hoover2.mcdaniel.edu:2443/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=133954719&site=ehost-live
