A large part of Hip-Hop’s unique and novel appeal is that it provides us a 180 flip from conventional approaches to music. Hip-Hop ditched harmony and melody to a large extent, in favor of rhythm – subdivisions of time – as a means with which to create sonic meaning. Essentially artists no longer relied on harmony and melody to guide their vocal performance; but rhythm and time. This allowed for lyrics to flourish and rap emerged as the most lyrical approach thus far in the cannon of Black music. One of the great artists in the rap tradition, Lauryn Hill, exemplified her understanding of repetition as a means play with time in her music in a way that allows us participation it creating what the song means to us. Through repetition, Lauryn uses the hook in a literal way: it is a loop, a transition in time which allows us to both reflect on past – via the verse – and project towards future content. Through this the listener becomes hooked into the process of creating meaning, personalizing it for each ear, each soul. In “Lost Ones” by Lauryn Hill, the narrator meditates on a play on words: “Lost ones” in the title, which I would argue is a biblical/spiritual reference, and also the phrase “you just lost one” as she juxtaposes the subject (“Lost Ones”) with her thoughts with regards to parties which she feels has wronged her. Through the first verse Lauryn addresses what seems to be a personal rival (possibly former close friend or love interest?) who essentially was unfaithful to Lauryn. She personalizes herself in the verse with references to herself specifically and other details about Brooklyn. However Lauryn also calls on the source of repetition in advance of the hook; accessing religious references in order to set up a moment of contemplation via repetition. She calls on the line “You might win some, but you just lost one” allowing us to capitalize on the images of personal betrayal and religious references. Through this repetition we are able to begin to draw the lines between the breadcrumbs she’s left us and travel back through time using reflection and pick up additional personal meanings. She uses the hook between two more verses, drawing on more vague references, speaking in riddle using themes of wisdom and experience in the second verse, and universal laws and God itself in the third verse. She ties all of these themes of growth back to creation of our own meaning, describing all of the traps set for her in her personal, social, and spiritual realities using the same line “You might win some but you just lost one”. In doing this she allows people who can relate to her themes struggle - personal betrayal, temptation, feelings of repression/suppression, desperation and salvation – to join into the unifying call against whomever their defeated enemy may be, “You might win some but you just lost one”. A call for all the Lost Ones. Lost Ones - Lauryn Hill
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October 2018
Matt BruceViva DSM!! |