Primer & Glossary
Let's Lyric primer and glossary
Let’s Lyric is written by Solomon Adams, a writer and recent grad. Though I am new to this, check out some of my pieces: Inside Glokk40Spaz’s shut-down homecoming show and fakemink wants to save London rap.
This journal/blog/whatever-you-wanna-call-it is designed to be a publication, posting as often as I can. Content will feature lyrical analysis, playlist curations, artist profiles, album reviews, and musical musings.
Playl(yric)ist of the Month
A culmination of monthly tunes that us Lyric Lovers have been hyper-fixating on. This will include songs from artists I write about, songs you suggest in the Chat or comments, or just bops that are popping off that month.
Let’s Lyric Chat
Imagine a TikTok comment section. Now, take that thought and delete all the noise of people from other branches of the algorithm. That is the Let’s Lyric Chat. Here, we will be kikiing, gabbing, goofing, and sharing thoughts on everything music-related. This could range from live reactions to Tiny Desk Concerts to a brain dump for whatever rhythm you’ve been obsessed with all day.
Album Lyric Rankings
Here, I am going to rate albums, Anthony Fantano style. Or in other words, I will critique as I see fit and then cry, “That’s my Opinionnnn!” However, the twist is that I will also be ranking each song on every album I review by their lyrics. I repeat this will not be a ranking of my favorite songs outright, but instead, the best lyrical performances. Whether you agree or disagree with my thoughts, please, please, please let me know yours in the comments or Chat.
Also, I want to get this out of the way now. Each Album Review will be accompanied by two quantitative ratings: an overall rating and a lyrical rating. The overall rating is how much I ultimately enjoyed the album. This rating is quantitative representation of my qualitative reception to an album. Factors that I take into account are originality, musicality, vocal performance, personality, novelty, theme, narrative, authenticity, and more. Lyricism is only but one factor amongst many, so if my lyrical rating differs from my overall rating, do not be alarmed.
In terms of scale, I consider any album that falls within the range of 9.0 to 10.0 to be a classic. This means I can foresee a vast majority, if not all, of the songs on this album to be in my rotation for the rest of my life. Albums that are in this S-tier class for me are Channel Orange, CTRL, Ugh, those feels again, Renaissance, Whole Lotta Red, Graduation, Moreward, CASE STUDY 01, Jaguar II, Painted (Deluxe) etc. Second, ratings from 8.0 to 8.9 are great projects that I probably obsess over for about a year and then dispose the majority of tracks into the abyss, however, there usually are some tracks that taken on their own would have been S-tier. Albums of this ilk include SOS, Songs About Jane, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, The Life of Pablo, Gemini Rights, NEVER ENOUGH, A Great Chaos, Luv 4 Rent, Hot Pink, Love Sick, and Heaux Tales. A rating of 7.0 to 7.9 means you pass. I enjoyed the album a lot, but I will most likely quickly forget the album and needed to be remind a few months, or years even. Naturally, I don’t really remember examples of albums in this category. Finally, anything 6.9 or below means you fail. I may like one or two songs max and everything else is almost instantly disposed of or forgotten.
The lyrical rating is exactly as it sounds, and the scoring system for this rating is essentially identical to that of the overall. However instead it focuses solely on the lyrics and memorability of said lyrics. This rating does not attempt to be totally disjoint from the overall rating. In fact, the overall rating takes the lyrical ranking into consideration. Lyricism goes beyond the physical words on paper. Otherwise, this page would just be a page dedicated to print poetry. Ratings of 9.0 to 10.0 could be standalone literature, prose, or poetry; this is lyricism that reverberates through my mind endlessly. 8.0 to 8.9 is really well-crafted, technical writing, but not necessarily as memorable as 9.0+. Again, 7.0 to 7.9 passes a basic litmus test as being quality lyrical curation. Lastly, 6.9 or below means that ther
Let’s Line-By-Line
This column is my all-encompassing “other” where I dump anything that has been weighing heavy on my mind. As of now, I’ve drafted musings personal to my identities, raw thoughts on pop culture discourse, artist appreciation posts, and other miscellaneous pieces. I don’t want to bound myself to anything specific. However, the priority will always be to appreciate or critique lyricism through a variety of lenses.
Let’s Lyric Glossary
I saw this idea on another SubStack, and shamelessly, I stole it. This glossary will grow as I write more, but I think this is a great starting point. My hope is through writing and discourse, we can collectively develop Let’s-Lyric-specific jargon that will be riddled all throughout this page.
First and foremost, Lyric Lover(s) refers to all of you lovely people. For all the readers, hopefully-subscribed <3, this is how I will reference you all. XOXO
Whenever I say Opium asf, I mean that as ironically as possible. Think Destroy Lonely, Playboi Carti, and Ken Carson — all black clothing, emo, darkness, silver spiky jewelry, Rick Owens, and black nail polish.
A Young White Avatar (or YWA) is a direct reference to Season 4, Episode 3 of the FX show Atlanta. This term refers to a white celebrity that was discovered or put on by a prominent black artist: Dr. Dré had Eminem, Akon had Gaga, Usher’s was Justin Bieber. This is not necessarily a diss nor is it a compliment, just an observation.
*insert Vogue UNSH* If I refer to someone as a Queen, they are a member of the alphabet mafia. Though some exceptions can be made for special allies: Beyoncé because duh, Ariana Grande for being siblings with Frankie Grande, etc, etc.
On this page, there is a holy trinity. You may not agree; hell, I don’t even agree. But, religion is all or nothing. You take the sacred text as is or you aren’t a real follower1. We have the father (Frank Ocean), the son (SZA), and the holy spirit (Ravyn Lenae2). Just to clear the air, Frank Ocean is my favorite artist. Trite, I know. In my humble opinion, SZA is then the son because she is Frank in human form. Frank’s storytelling requires extensive world-building and creativity. SZA brings these quasi-classical realities down to the layman. And Ravyn is all about sensation and feelings. No science or rationality can explain it; it’s just the way her voice colors her songs. The smoke of her emotions fills our lungs, taking us to supernatural highs.
I think that covers all you need for a comprehensive primer. If there are any specific questions, feel free to message me. Enjoy!
Psst! I’m talking to you pseudo-Christians :)
This is a highly controversial pick, particularly controversial amongst my multiple personalities. They can’t settle on who really deserves this title. Were you to ask me circa 2022, I would’ve placed Snoh Aalegra here.