Author: Amanda London

Ciara / Fatman Scoop / Missy Elliot

July 22, 2021

 by Amanda London · Published July 22, 2021

“Lose Control” by Missy Elliott (ft. Ciara and Fatman Scoop)

Missy Elliot’s “Lose Control” is a dance song, a fact you’ve probably gathered even if you’re familiar with this track considering the title and artists involved. Ciara explained it as being about “how music makes you...

Chamillionaire / Krayzie Bone

July 22, 2021

 by Amanda London · Published July 22, 2021

“Ridin'” by Chamillionaire (ft. Krayzie Bone)

Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’” is actually based on the concept of law enforcement possessing a desire to lock the vocalist(s). And they want to do so by catching him in the act of “riding dirty”, i.e. carrying...

Thin Lizzy

July 21, 2021

 by Amanda London · Published July 21, 2021

“The Boys Are Back in Town” by Thin Lizzy

As described, Thin Lizzy were actually a group of hard guys themselves, perhaps even being akin to modern-day rappers in terms of how they rolled, though being Irish and this being some time back. ...

50 Cent / The Game

July 21, 2021

 by Amanda London · Published July 21, 2021 · Last modified April 21, 2023

“Hate It or Love It” by The Game (ft. 50 Cent)

The Game’s “Hate It or Love It” is a come-up song which the vocalist(s) also uses to illustrate how his ways and actions have been influenced by the streets. And the track takes sort of...

The Black Eyed Peas

July 21, 2021

 by Amanda London · Published July 21, 2021

“Hey Mama” by Black Eyed Peas

Sometimes it can be challenging to do an in-depth, individualized analysis of songs such as these, since they are so omnipresent in the music industry. For example, there probably isn’t a pop artist in...

Jay-Z

July 20, 2021

 by Amanda London · Published July 20, 2021

“99 Problems” by Jay-Z

Back in the day when “99 Problems” came out, Jigga may have indeed been dealing with “99 problems”, but a b–ch damn sure wasn’t one of them. And whereas that may sound like a misogynistic statement, the...

The Black Eyed Peas

July 20, 2021

 by Amanda London · Published July 20, 2021

“Don’t Phunk With My Heart” by Black Eyed Peas

It only takes a little bit of imagination, which we will leave up to the reader, to modify the title of this song (“Don’t Phunk With My Heart”) to get a better idea of...

Pharrell Williams / Snoop Dogg

July 20, 2021

 by Amanda London · Published July 20, 2021

“Drop It Like It’s Hot” by Snoop Dogg (ft. Pharrell Williams)

“Drop it like it’s hot” is one of those ubiquitous-sounding hip-hop phrases which arguably has a number of applications. But it actually originated as a term encouraging female dancers, most modernly put, to twerk.  And such...

MGMT

July 19, 2021

 by Amanda London · Published July 19, 2021

“Little Dark Age” by MGMT

Behind all of the, shall we say primarily “dark” metaphors which highlight the lyrics of MGMT’s “Little Dark Age”, lie a fundamental, easy-to-understand premise. And that is an individual basically making an attempt to hide...

Glen Campbell

July 19, 2021

 by Amanda London · Published July 19, 2021

“By the Time I Get to Phoenix” by Glen Campbell

As love songs often tend to go, this one (“By the Time I Get to Phoenix”) was inspired by a real-life romance which its writer, Jimmy Webb, was involved in. However, unlike the song, in...