11 Deadly Songs Unlikely to Leave You Literally Dead (Vol. 1) | Playlist 🎧

“11 Deadly Songs Unlikely to Leave You Literally Dead (Vol. 1)” features music courtesy of Panic! At the Disco, Rich the Kid, and Sam Hunt among others.

Listening to the majority of the songs on this playlist won’t send you to your grave… most of them at least. “11 Deadly Songs Unlikely to Leave You Literally Dead (Vol. 1)” features 11 songs that have some form of the word ‘dead’ in their song title.  While it’s a morbid word in any form, in many cases, the meaning isn’t literal on this particular playlist. “11 Deadly Songs Unlikely to Leave You Literally Dead (Vol. 1)” features music courtesy of Panic! At the Disco, Rich the Kid, and Sam Hunt among others.

1. Rich the Kid, “Dead Friends”

The World is Yours • Interscope • 2018

Rich the Kid closes out his debut album, The World is Yours, with “Dead Friends”, which is fueled by rap beef – the juiciest type of beef in my eyes! Supposedly, “Dead Friends” takes shots at Lil Uzi Vert.

The hook is ferocious – ice cold:

“You little n***as
My check bigger
Can’t flex, n***a
Can’t bet witcha
Teach you how to be a boss, top dropped off
Motherfuck the fame, I done came to the vault
All them dead friends
You a middleman
You a little man
Your money getting shorter
My bitch from ‘cross the water
Teach you how to count it, all about it, better boss up.”

Essentially, he plays the I’m better than you game, which features boasts involving money, but also references foreign girls. The second verse contains two particularly distinct moments. One references his wrist (“My wrist too cold with Moncler”), while the second seems most pertinent to Lil Uzi Vert (“Come to Rich forever, be a star”).

2. Sam Hunt, “Downtown’s Dead”

Downtown’s Dead – Single • MCA Nashville • Release: 5.18.18

“Everywhere I go looks like the place to be / I see people that I know and I feel like there’s no one here but me.” After releasing two singles in 2017 (“Drinkin’ Too Much” and “Body Like a Back Road”), Grammy-nominated country singer Sam Hunt returned in 2018 with single, “Downtown’s Dead”. “Downtown’s Dead” is styled in the contemporary country vein, incorporating an expanded palette of sounds and styles.  Even so, “Downtown’s Dead” is relatively tame in its experiments, even though it’s NOT overtly ‘country.’  Thematically, the big picture finds Hunt is lost without her.  On the chorus, he asserts “Friday night it might as well be just another / Tuesday night without you.”  That occurs after he sings the titular lyric, attaching identity to it: “Downtown’s dead without you.” Cleverly, the lyrics reference things associated with nightlife, city life, and illustrating the desire for a more personal as opposed to generic connection.

3. Kali Uchis, “Dead to Me”

Isolation • Virgin • 2018

“But if there’s one thing that I know / Is that you ain’t a friend to me, uh oh / So don’t come for me unless I send for you / Know you’re dead to me.” After denouncing the ‘tyranny’ of “Tyrant” on her debut album, Isolation, Columbian-American R&B artist Kali Uchis has no issues proclaiming ‘she’s done’ on “Dead to Me.” Although the record is set in a minor key, and she’s clearly pissed off, “Dead to Me” is actually quite enjoyable and fun.

“You’re dead to me
You’re obsessed, just let go
You’re dead to me
I’m not somebody you know
You’re dead to me
Could you just leave me alone?
You’re dead to me.”

4. Jay Rock, “King’s Dead”

Ft. Kendrick Lamar, Future & James Blake

Black Panther the Album Music from and Inspired By • Interscope • 2018

Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future, and James Blake join forces for hard-nosed banger “King’s Dead”, the second single from Black Panther the Album Music from and Inspired By.  From the start, the beat is trunk-rattling. Kendrick Lamar drops a ferocious hook.  Jay Rock gets ‘first blood’ with the first verse, matching the toughness of the backdrop. Future follows, with a variation on the hook, assisted by Kendrick Lamar.  He’s a perfect fit – this sounds like his elite, outlandish hooks.

“Fuck his baby mama tryna sneak diss
I took her to my penthouse, then I freaked it
I haven’t made my mind up, should I keep it?
I got big dog status, it ain’t no secret.”

The bridge, mostly performed by Future, is bizarre, including the famous lyric, “Slob on [me] knob.” Later, James Blake initiates the second part of the song, in all his enigmatic, electronic excellence.  Lamar then proceeds to go H.A.M. on the second verse of the song.  The beat and overall sound remains hard-hitting.

“Red light, green light, red light, green light...
Fast cars, fast money, fast life, fast broads
Egotistic, goin’ ballistic, why God?”

5. Freddie Gibbs, “Death Row”

Ft. 03 Greedo

Freddie • ESGN / EMPIRE • 2018

A little bit of everything goes down on “Death Row,” the third track from Freddie, the 2018 mixtape by rapper Freddie Gibbs.  “Death Row” refers to Death Row Records, while also alluding to violence, illegal activities, sex – you name it, Gibbs probably covers it.  Also worth noting, California rapper 03 Greedo assists on second verse.

“Take a bag, bust a lick, and run a check ho, a check ho
Bet them VV’s in my neck glow
I just might go throw a Rollie on my next ho
Beat the pussy in the studio like Death Row, Death Row...”

6. alt-J, “Deadcrush”

Relaxer • Atlantic • 2017

“Deadcrush” is by far the most contemporary-sounding record of Relaxer, the third studio album by alt-J.  Here, it sounds as if the alternative band is trying to incorporate hip-hop sensibilities – in the most alternative way possible.  Perhaps odder than the sound is the subject matter – literally, dead crushes! The dead crushes are photographer Lee Miller and, taking it even further back, Anne Boleyn.  A verse is dedicated to each, describing how their historical suitor felt about them.  In regard to Miller, Alt-J states, “Man Ray went cray cray over you.” In regard to Boleyn, well, “Henry Tudor left you lifeless.”

7. Chris Stapleton, “Death Row”

From a Room: Volume 1 • Mercury • 2017

True to its title, “Death Row” opens forebodingly, set in a minor key and taking nearly 50 seconds to establish itself.  Once Chris Stapleton enters, he’s filled with fire, flaunting the power of his instrument.  Honestly, there’s a lot of hell – fire and brimstone – on this particular vocal.  Nothing wrong with some devilishness.  Even with the hellishness conveyed, more intriguing is how subtlety intensifies the effect more so than loud dynamics or lots of instruments.  Great way to close From a Room: Volume 1.

8. 21 Savage, “Dead People”

Issa Album • Epic • 2017

Nearly 20 years after the arrival of the Academy Award-nominated film The Sixth Sense, Haley Joel Osment’s line remains iconic – “I see dead people”.  The same thing happens to deadpan rapper 21 Savage on “Dead People,” one of the deeper cuts on his 2017 album, Issa Album (what a title).  According to 21, “I been drinkin’ syrup seein’ demons / Gotta keep it on me, n***as schemin’ / Right pocket full of dead people / I been hangin’ with the dead people.”  Say what? The “dead people” that 21 Savage sees are on all the money he has. See, told you most of the songs on this list won’t leave you literally dead.

9. Panic! At the Disco, “Death of a Bachelor”

Death of a Bachelor • Fueled by Ramen • 2016 

“The death of a bachelor / O-o-oh! Letting the water fall / The death of a bachelor / O-o-oh! Seems so fitting for / Happily ever after, woo / How could I ask for more? / A lifetime of laughter / At the expense of the death of a bachelor.” “Death of a Bachelor” is undoubtedly the crown jewel of Panic! At the Disco’s fifth studio album of the same title.  Brendon Urie channels his inner Frank Sinatra, blending alternative, easy listening, and R&B into something truly beautiful and awe-inspiring.  The only death that occurs here is the end of being single and becoming a married man.  Notably, Urie has been married to Sarah Orzechowski since 2013.

10. Sufjan Stevens, “Death with Dignity”

Carrie & Lowell • Asthmatic Kitty • 2015

From the start of Carrie & Lowell, it is obvious that singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens has returned to more folk-oriented music.  “Death with Dignity” is best characterized by its subtlety and restraint, something that couldn’t be said of the lushly orchestrated Age of Adz from 2010.  Despite being less elaborately arranged, “Death With Dignity” has a similar effect to that bombastic effort thanks to the weight of its songwriting.  The most chilling, notable lyric of “Death with Dignity” appears near the end as Stevens sings, “I forgive you, mother, I can hear you / And I long to be near you.”  Carrie & Lowell deals with Stevens’ relationship with his mother and coping with her death.

11. Guttural Secrete, “Deadened Prior to Coitus”

Nourishing the Spoil • Brutal Bands • 2013 

“Tender muscle tissue accedes lank syringe / Potent serum introduced to blood stream / Cadaver function becomes sterile / Your motionless body becomes a canvas for lunacy.” Yeah – this just might be the song on this playlist that will leave you dead. Guttural Secrete – what a name.  The death metal band covers some sketchy stuff musically, evidenced by “Deadened Prior to Coitus.”  Essentially, that song title suggests necrophilia. The lyrics are totally raw – disgusting to the nth degree.

“Subtle taste of shit, taste bud enticing...
Accommodates belly full of hot piss
Saliva thin coats starving rectum, below average lubricant
Will suffice...
Hand ran gently through hair, ‘You're doing just fine honey...’
Stink tunnel flooded with seminal bliss...
Her loves knows no bounds when she has no say...”

Gross, gross, GROSS! You can also check out this disturbing track on Absolutely Filthy Death Metal Songs, Vol. 1.

Photo Credit: Asthmatic Kitty, Atlantic, Brutal Bands, EMPIRE, Epic, ESGN, Fueled by Ramen, Interscope, MCA Nashville, Mercury, Virgin