The Best Lyrics by Logic That Have Changed My Life
The “lyrical miracle” whose words touch on the brevity of time and the pitfalls of success
When people think of Logic the rapper, I’m sure the first thing that comes to mind is his talent for lyricism. As an artist who constantly pays homage to the legends of hip-hop, his lyrics are evident to show his thorough study of the genre.
Within rap, the way of words is what makes the message behind the art so profound. Rappers, like other writers, are bound to the duty of the particular rearrangement of words in order to make the listeners feel something.
When it comes to Logic himself, he could be repeating the same message, again and again, however, the delivery of his words is what makes the impact felt.
Having been listening to Logic for the last four years, I’ve been blessed to have stumbled upon this man during an interview, and something about him struck me with curiosity. That’s when I found myself on Apple Music, playing his most recent album at the time: The Incredible True Story (2015).
I had never been a constant listener of hip-hop or rap, but ever since discovering Logic, his love for the genre rubbed off on me and I grew to appreciate its beauty. His talent for painting a picture within my mind kept me going back to each and every project he released.
The way of his words and the themes he would discuss within his songs spoke out to me as if he and I were sitting down and having a conversation about the complexity of the world and human beings.
Even when I wasn’t listening to his songs, I would find myself repeating some of my favourite lines from him in my daily life. Until one day I chose to sit down and properly address why some of them had a deep impact on me. As I wrote this article, I, too, discovered what Logic the artist truly meant for me.
By all means, he has far too many deep lyrics to choose from and this select few does not do his entire discography justice. These just happen to be the lyrics I find myself repeating more often than most to help me reflect and refocus.
I’ve added a video with a timestamp to each verse I’ve mentioned, however, in order to fully grasp the essence of the lyrics, do listen to the entire song.
And so, in no particular order, here are some of the five most impactful lyrics I’ve heard from Logic.
1. Buried Alive — Under Pressure
“Tell me how you feel
I feel like the grass is green
And everything I do is unseen
But I know that’s just in my mind
I know everything is just in my mind”
Damn. What a song. This song was my all-time favourite from Logic right until the release of its successor, Heard Em Say.
This verse is the introductory and final verse to a song that depicts Logic’s struggles while staying devoted to his goal of stardom.
These particular lines speak out to me due to their relatability. It describes the irony of being a victim to your insecurities while being equally self-aware of its falsity.
In essence, Buried Alive summarises the concept behind the Under Pressure (2014) album. Logic explains how overwhelmed he had been feeling during the rise to his debut.
It describes the beginning of this journey, however, those who embark on such a course know that even getting to the beginning can feel like a journey in itself.
I think it’s the perfect song that describes how alienating it feels to aspire toward a grand goal. You deeply believe in yourself, and it is this intent that pushes you forward, but there’s an opposite force pushing you back, sometimes feeling all the more overbearing.
2. Dear God — Young Sinatra: Undeniable
“I get up when I’m down, had enough, almost drowned
When shit rough, I get tough and when I’m beaten to the ground
I get up, yeah
I get up, yeah, yeah”
Honestly, this has got to be the verse I repeat to myself the most out of all the songs I listen to.
The lyrics find me in different contexts due to their versatility: from doing a workout, at the face of a challenge, to experiencing a low period in my life.
It serves as a mantra to me that I repeat during different forms of adversity. The lyrics create almost a healing power that resides all over me.
From Young Sinatra: Undeniable (2012), one of his mix-tapes before his debut, Dear God is yet again one of Logic’s most vulnerable songs, describing the struggles he faced before hitting the pinnacle of his career.
The lyrics take on the voice of a believer in a higher power, who questions the complexity of its existence, reminding us of the common dilemma: if God exists then why do bad things happen?
I don’t think any one of us can answer this question in its entirety, but like Logic, I believe in rising above the challenges that befall us to reclaim ourselves and to evolve into a better version of ourselves.
3. Legacy — YSIV
“What will my legacy be?
Who will my enemy be?
In due time as I write this rhyme
I don’t know
Flash before my eyes”
Every single time I listen to this song it has me immobilised in the intensity behind its message. I had always understood the song’s significance, but I never truly felt the weight of it until I witnessed a real-life example of the fictional tale told within the lyrics.
Once a song that warned me of the danger of losing focus on the things that matter most in our lives, I found myself face to face with the reality of it.
I, too, watched someone similar to the lead character from this song, lose their life prematurely in the pursuit of creating a legacy. This loss shook me to my core in many ways I can’t quite explain. However, ever since I processed it, I decided to dedicate my life to self-love instead of glory.
The song in its entirety is invaluable to me, however, this verse has a particular hold on me.
The “flash before my eyes” hits me so much despite its lack of emphasis when rapped in the song. It makes me think of how brief the passing of one moment to the next is, so brief that a decade can pass by but in memory, it feels like a blink of the eye.
Living, as a temporary state of being, is taken for granted more than we’d like to admit.
From his homage album to his old mix-tapes, YSIV (Young Sinatra 4, 2018), listening to Legacy takes me on an ethereal journey with its descending piano riff and echoing background vocals, as if I am an invisible soul watching someone else’s life unfold.
Although told in the third-person perspective, Logic uses the message behind this song to remind himself, as well as others, of the deception that unfolds when trying to better one’s position.
No matter what adversity we face in life, it is the love for those around us, and for ourselves, that makes it truly worthwhile.
4. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind — COADM
“Searchin’ for bliss only led me to searchin’ for hits
Only led me to battle depression
I done learned my lesson ’cause fame never lessen the pain”
It is almost as if the fears he described in Buried Alive came to life, as he uses this track to portray the unspoken reality of achieving one’s dreams, five years since his debut.
Despite its harsh critics, the Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2019) album came in to being as a direct response to the growing pains Logic had been feeling by being a successful rapper.
During the era of this album, Logic was at the height of his struggle with the prominence of online abuse on his social media and the toll this took on his mental health.
The lyrics of this song are a reminder that the pursuit of success never comes to an end, if anything, it becomes something to maintain.
This verse in particular speaks out to me because of the chilling irony it depicts: the search for bliss can lead to depression.
The lyrics allow me to live vicariously through Logic as I live a parallel life to him. I take his warnings literally to prevent myself from making the same mistakes as he did.
It serves as a form of warning to those who are chasing their dreams, and the inevitability of falling into traps as you’re pursuing whatever “success” really is.
5. Heard Em Say — No Pressure
“I’ve been battlin’ with my demons
I’m cowardice when I see ‘em
I’m powerless, I can’t beat ‘em
But deep down, I feel like I need ‘em
Power is freedom, you can lead ’em but can’t feed ‘em
Smilin’ on my face but I’m dyin’ under the surface
What is my purpose? I’m feelin’ worthless
Tell me what worth is
My flaws, I happily greet ‘em
Imperfections, I love ‘em
My enemies, I defeat ‘em
Man, I know somebody gon’ relate to this
If keeping it real is a sin, you better pray for this
’Cause I wanted this shit all my life
’Til I finally got it and realized there’s so much more to life”
Ah, this song… The production; the samples from Manfred Mann’s Earth Band track Lies; the strumming of the guitar…
Every single time I listen to this song it feels like my very first time — and upon writing this sentence I’ve realised that Heard Em Say has got to be my all-time favourite song, ever.
Released in his final studio album, No Pressure (2020), this track feels like the penultimate song to wrap up Logic’s entire discography. Although this is the second-to-last song on the album, the song sets the tone of a bittersweet goodbye.
In this celebratory and summarising track, Logic reflects back on his accomplishments to realise that the meaning of his life wasn’t about becoming a rapper, but it was about being himself.
I can honestly copy and paste the entirety of Verse 4, if not the whole song. This song just gets me. I am the person Bobby is referring to when he says, “This is for the person in the back who always gon’ listen.”
Bobby is simply saying: everything is okay. Life has its difficulties, but there is beauty in this. It’s as though he is surrendering to the flow of the current, and encouraging us to do the same.
We’ve come a long way from the mix-tapes to the debut album, and now to the epitome album that wraps it all up. As Bobby is riding off into the sunset, I know his legacy always lives on within my heart and will be reincarnated in the form of the words I release into the world.
Until Next Time
Using his music and his art, no matter how much criticism and pressure he faced, Logic made the world a better place than when he first found it.
He showed us how to achieve our dreams, but most importantly, how to live our lives.
He showed us that achieving our dreams is a noble pursuit, however, the most important thing is to preserve and protect your true self and your will for life.
Such a message can sound so mundane and repetitive, but when you’re in the right mindset to really hear it — it hits different.
It is a warning that isn’t truly understood unless we experience the same journey of achieving our goals. However, no matter how magical and rewarding it seems like it’s going to feel, it’s not going to save us from the pitfalls of life, as Bobby has shown us.
I for one, am not going to dismiss this message. I get it now, and I’m grateful to have received it.
Dear Bobby, your music has deeply impacted my life. You have played a big part in the woman I have become, and I will never be able to repay you, but maybe that’s not the point. Instead, I will carry on the torch and also use my words to remind people of the importance of spreading love around the world.
Obediently yours…
