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“11 Songs That Key in on The End” includes music courtesy of Chris Brown, Cole Swindell, Ice Nine Kills, Lil Baby, and Taylor Swift among others.

Every story has an ending, right? Right, or at least supposedly.  This playlist is focused – totally keyed-in – on the end [cues up dramatic, hella scary music].  Yep.  Guess what word that each of the songs appearing on this list must feature in their respective title? ‘End’ of course – what else could it be? Enough small talk! 11 Songs that Key in on The End features musical contributions courtesy of Chris Brown (“High End”), Cole Swindell (“Break Up in the End”), Ice Nine Kills (“IT is the End”), Lil Baby (“Deep End”) and Taylor Swift (“End Game”) among others.

Photo Credits: 300 Entertainment, Astralwerks, Big Machine, Capitol, Fearless, Lauv, Mack Avenue, Motown, Pexels, Pixabay, Quality Control Music, RCA, Virgin, Warner Music Nashville

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1. Lil Baby, “Deep End”

Drip Harder • Quality Control Music / 300 Entertainment / Motown / Capitol • 2018

“I don’t know who gassed you n*ggas up, go get a refill… / Lil homie thuggin’, he can’t even swim, he in the deep end.” It’s safe to say that Atlanta rapper Lil Baby had a breakout year in 2018 – understatement.  The biggest hit for the rapper came courtesy of the Drake-assisted “Yes Indeed,” which appeared on his debut studio album, Harder Than Ever.  That, of course, wasn’t the sole offering from Lil Baby, who also released a joint-mixtape with Gunna (Drip Harder) as well as a solo mixtape (Street Gossip).  The aforementioned lyrical excerpt – the chorus to be exact – hails from “Deep End,” a solo cut from Drip Harder.

“Go and ask about me in the streets, they heard of me / If she find out I been creepin’, she gon’ murder me.” For the most part, “Deep End” checks off the boxes of a hard flexing, come-up track. Throughout the verses, Lil Baby balls, brags, hustles hard, threatens haters, and references matters of the heart.  The chorus sums up things – Lil Baby’s got the drip, while the hater’s can’t even come close to achieving his status.

2. Ice Nine Kills, “IT is the End”

Ft. JR Wasilewski and Buddy Schaub (Less Than Jake) & Will Salazar (Fenix TX)

The Silver Scream • Fearless • 2018

“Catch me at the big top / Buried underground / You know I’m not clowning around. / Even with a smile / From ear to fucking ear.” The horror is legit on “IT is the End,” which serves as the concluding cut from The Silver Scream. The Silver Scream, released in 2018, marks the fifth studio album from metalcore collective Ice Nine Kills.  The majority of the album is steeped in horror, featuring songs such as opener “The American Nightmare,” “Stabbing in the Dark” and among the most colorful, “Merry Axe-Mas.” “IT is the End” obviously finds its inspiration from IT, specifically the infamous Pennywise.

“Oh, Georgie / You can trust me sweet child / Step right this way…” Uh oh! The record begins with an intro, which sets the tone of this chilling number.  Towards the end of the intro, the confirmation of IT is loud and clear – “IT’s nothing to fear / When I feast on your flesh / You’ll see that we all float down… / HERE!” Ice Nine Kills proceed to deliver frightening, twisted lyrics, such as “You know what makes me smile? / Devoured juveniles / Their innards tangled in my twisted grin / Chuckled so hard I choked.” “IT is the End” indeed!

3. Macy Gray, “When It Ends”

Ruby • Mack Avenue • 2018

“And I can’t fake it / You can’t take it / So we live with what it is / And when it ends / You say my name…” For the hella distinct-voiced R&B singer/songwriter Macy Gray, she delivers a relatively familiar storyline and topic on “When it Ends,” which appears on her quietly-issued 2018 LP, Ruby.  Gray sings about a dysfunctional relationship, one where neither party can seem to get over the other. This is obvious from the start when Gray sings, “And there you go again, walkin’ out again / Here we go again.” On the second verse, Gray checks her ex’s IG, jealous because she still wants and loves him.

Of course, all of it comes to head on the chorus, where Gray asserts:

“You say my name

When you tell about the best you ever had

You say my name

When you tell about the best you ever had

I’m forever in your brain

I’m the memory that you won’t forget

You say my name

When you tell about the best you’ve ever had.”

4. Lykke Li, “deep end”

So sad so sexy • RCA • 2018

Following a four-year hiatus, alternative singer/songwriter Lykke Li returned in 2018 with her fourth studio album, so sad so sexy.  At 34 minutes, she keeps things short and sweet. The crème de la crème follows with “deep end,” an instant hit that screams ‘pop’ as opposed to ‘alt.’  Produced by T-Minus, Malay, and Jeff Bhasker, it’s not surprising how hip, slick, and thoroughly modern the record sounds.

Beyond the killer, minor-key, the Swedish singer successfully performs this well-written number, characterized most by the feisty, infectious chorus.

“Swimming pool, swimming pool

Swimming pool, swimming pool

Indigo, deep blue, deep blue

Oh, baby I know where you’ve been

I know where you been, in the deep end.”

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5. Lauv, “The Story Never Ends”

I met you when I was 18. • Lauv • 2018

“But go ahead and give me all the blame / Twist my words and set them to flame, woah.”

Rising pop singer/sogwriter Lauv (Ari Leff) had some superb moments on his 2018 playlist-album, I met you when I was 18.. On the piano ballad “The Story Never Ends,” as aforementioned, Leff is annoyed and upset that his ex fails to take any responsibility for the end of the relationship.

Ultimately, she blames him for everything, poetically delivered on the bridge:

“That’s who you are

Crash the car

And blame the road.”

6. Cole Swindell, “Break Up in the End”

All of It • Warner Music Nashville • 2018

Georgia country singer/songwriter Cole Swindell delivered a beautiful single in advance of his third studio album (All of It) with “Break Up in the End”.  Acoustic guitar, bass drum thud serves as the primary accompaniment during the first verse.

On the first verse, Swindell sings:

“I still walk in that bar a little drunk

I still ask you what you’re drinking, what’s your name

I still kiss you by the shuffleboard, last call at 2am

Even though we break up in the end.”

It doesn’t take much to figure out where he’s going. If the verses don’t do the trick, the chorus surely does.

“Even if I knew you’d be the one that got away

I’d still go back and get you

Even if I knew you’d be my best and worst mistake

Oh, I’d still make it with you

Over and over, again and again

Even though we break up in the end.”

7. Florence + The Machine, “The End of Love”

High as Hope • Virgin • 2018

“We were reaching in the dark / That summer in New York / And it was so far to fall / But it didn’t hurt at all / And let it wash away, wash away.” “The End of Love” serves as the penultimate number on High as Hope, the fourth studio album by Florence + The Machine.  On “The End of Love,” the pace slackens (fittingly), showing off Florence Welch’s gorgeous pipes.  The ‘breakup’ being sung about here was bound to happen eventually on the LP. That said, “The End of Love” clearly transcends romantic love.  Also, worth noting, the vocal harmonies are chilling.

“We were a family pulled from the flood

You tore the floorboards up

And let the river rush in

Not wash away, wash away.”

8. EDEN, “start//end”

Vertigo • Astralwerks • 2018

“Is this burning, right? Am I living bridges? / Can we build our past, right? / Learning through future solecism.” “start//end”, the third track from EDEN’s (Jonathon Ng) full-length debut album, vertigo, is intriguing from the start, commencing with lovely, lush, robust strings. There’s a distinct, expressiveness about EDEN vocally, that draws the listener in.  He’s authentic, emotional, and passionate. Following a dramatic verse, the pre-chorus (aforementioned) signals a shift within the record.

Unstable, it’s intriguing, unpredictability piques interest, continuing through the chorus, where the identity establishes itself.

“(I’ve missed times) It’s played out

(Been disconnected) I’ve moved on

(I stressed time) Get fucked up

(Forgetting timing) My new draw.”

The electronic vibe and a sense of stability and groove establish themselves on the bridge and successive chorus. Finally, the second verse arrives, with the clear identity of the record established, intact with lush strings and electronic backdrop.  “start//end” is the centerpiece of Vertigo, period.

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9. Chris Brown, “High End”

Ft. Future & Young Thug

Heartbreak on a Full Moon • RCA • 2017

On “High End”, from the tremendously overstuffed Heartbreak on a Full Moon, Chris Brown continues his trend of narrow-minded records, utterly devoid of substance.  Sure, occasional flexing never hurt anybody, but Brown, assisted by Future and Young Thug, has definitely ‘played it out.’ Future raps the first verse, with predictable rhymes– cliché to the nth degree.  He raps about a Porsche SUV (the Cayenne), Balenciaga, Richard Mille, and Tesla among others. Brown follows suit on the second verse, pop-rapping about “everything high end.”

He also throws in a marvelous line about women:

“All of you n*ggas my little homies

Here’s knowledge for you

Stop tryna wife a thot bitch…”

Brown is cocky, overconfident, and true to himself…for the worst, sigh. Following a dumb interlude by Future, Young Thug adds to the to the trip, including references to drugs (molly) and of course, material things (a mink and a Jaguar).

10. Taylor Swift, “End Game”

Ft. Ed Sheeran & Future

Reputation • Big Machine • 2017

“I wanna be your end game / I wanna be your first string / I wanna be your A-Team / I wanna be your end game, end game.” In the context of Reputation (and arguably, her career), “End Game” marked a ‘change of pace’ for Taylor Swift. Collaborating with pal Ed Sheeran isn’t far-fetched but bringing Future into the fold is quite surprising.

Future drops his bars on the first verse:

“You’re so dope, don’t overdose

I’m so stoked, I need a toast

We do the most, I’m in the Ghost like I’m whippin’ a boat

I got a reputation, girl that don’t precede me.”

Beyond featuring the Atlanta rapper, the gimmickry is amped up to the nth degree, particularly at the onset.  Once things settle in, “End Game” sounds a bit more stable and respectable.  Still, with the pop-rapping from Ed Sheeran (“Knew her when I was young, reconnected when were little bit older / Both sprung, I got issues and chips on both of my shoulders”), “End Game” is a bit flimsy. There’s charm and personality as well though.

11. Boyz II Men, “End of the Road”

Cooleyhighharmony • Motown • 1991

“Although we’ve come to the end of the road / Still I can’t let go / It’s unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you.” Ah, we end this playlist with a record that’s quickly approaching its 30^th anniversary – can you believe it? Boyz II Men owned contemporary R&B in 1991 with the prize of their debut album (Cooleyhighharmony), “End of the Road.” Honestly, you just don’t hear such authentic, soulfully-infused ballads like this 1991 classic anymore. The vocals are high-flying, and the harmonies – celestial to say the least. The Grammys definitely took notice, awarding the R&B group Best R&B Performance by a Duo/Group with Vocal in 1992 for this transcendent gem.

Photo Credits: 300 Entertainment, Astralwerks, Big Machine, Capitol, Fearless, Lauv, Mack Avenue, Motown, Pixabay, Quality Control Music, RCA, Virgin, Warner Music Nashville

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