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“11 Songs Where the Paranoia is Real” features music from artists including Black Sabbath, Kanye West, Post Malone, and Radiohead.

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Ah paranoia, defined by Merriam-Webster as (1) “Mental illness characterized by systemized delusions of persecution or grandeur usually without hallucinations” or (2) “A tendency on the part of an individual or group toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others.” There have been numerous songs written about paranoia, which Mental Health American asserts “…Occurs in many mental disorders but is most often present in psychotic disorders.” Among artists with music that appears on the “11 Songs Where the Paranoia is Real” are Black Sabbath, Kanye West, Post Malone, and Radiohead.

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1. Post Malone, “Paranoid”

Beerbongs & Bentleys • Republic • 2018

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“Tell me why I can’t get no relief / Wonderin’ when they’ll come for me / A paranoid man makes paranoid plans.” “Paranoid” fitting commences beerbongs & bentleys, the highly-anticipated sophomore album by pop-rapper Post Malone.  Naturally, “Paranoid” conveys paranoia– who would’ve ever expected that? Despite his paranoia (“Can’t trust a soul, I’m like Snowden”), Post Malone is in full-on, exuberant melodic mode, while the record is set in good ole C major.  The record’s best attribute is the hook (excerpted above), something that characterizes the album as a whole.

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2.Young Dolph, “Paranoid”

N****s Get Shot Everyday • Paper Route Empire • 2018

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“Paranoid” serves as the fourth song on the 2018 Young Dolph EP, N****s Get Shot Everyday. Some album title there.  So, the question is, why is the rapper experiencing paranoia? The answer lies in the hook, right out of the horse’s mouth:

“Sold a lot of dope, I do it for the dope boys (for reals)

The feds in the hood, this sh*t got me paranoid (whoa).”

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3. Alice Cooper, “Paranoiac Personality”

Paranormal • earMUSIC • 2017

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“Everybody’s got something hiding in the back of their mind… / Everybody’s got tangled wired tight as they can wind / And all of them trying to strangle me.” Can you say paranoia?  Rock veteran Alice Cooper is no stranger to dark subject matter.  In other words, “Paranoiac Personality” is a perfect fit given his artistic sensibilities.  On the chorus, he sums up his paranoia:

“I’m smelling a conspiracy

Telling lies about me constantly

They follow me, I see them there, don’t they know

That feeds my paranoiac personality.”

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4. Dave East, “Paranoia”

Ft. Jeezy

Paranoia: A True Story • Def Jam • 2017

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Paranoia: A True Story gets off to roaring start.  Fittingly, the best song of the album, “Paranoia,” kicks things off.  A truly souped-up banger, Dave East is assisted by one of the hardest G’s of them all, Jeezy. The production work is malicious AF, setting up a rich, if dark backdrop for East and Jeezy to paint their gritty rhymes.  The hook paints the paranoia:

“Paranoia gettin’ the best of me

I don’t want nobody next to me

Don’t talk unless you got a check for me

I don’t see nobody ahead of me.”

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5. Tame Impala, “Love / Paranoia”

Currents • Interscope • 2015

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“Love/Paranoia” serves as the penultimate song from Currents, the 2015 album by Tame Impala (Kevin Parker). “Love/Paranoia” marks something of a conflicted new direction, as the paranoiareferenced within the title is clearly expressed.   “And suddenly I’m the phony one / The only one with a problem,” Parker sings on the third verse, “True love is bringing it out of me / The worst in me, and I know now.”

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6. Ty Dolla $ign, “Paranoid”

Ft. B.o.B

Beach House (EP) • Atlantic • 2014

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“Paranoid,” featuring B.o.B, serves as a highlight from Beach House (EP).  “Both b*tches drive Range Rovers,” sings urban contemporary artist Ty Dolla $ign on the first verse.

“None of my b**ches can stay over

Both of my b**ches look good as f**k

Your b**ch look like a boogie wolf.”

Later, Ty is truly paranoid because he believes his two girlfriends may be “tryna set [him] up.”  Even more dramatic, on the bridge, Ty keeps it ‘100’: “I’m f**kin’ around with two b**ches / But I never made them hoes my missus.”

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7. French Montana, “Paranoid”

Ft. Young Cash

Excuse My French • Bad Boy / Interscope • 2013

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“I saw one of the guys shootin’ on the corner… / He shot the whole van up, and I’m like damn…” On “Paranoid,”rapper French Montana is paranoid about enemies, as well as being shot.  Choppers are a mainstay on his 2013 debut album, Excuse My French. Young Cash expounds upon the paranoia on the hook:

“I be so paranoid

I hear these n***as tryin’ to f**k with me

Real shit, I know I got enemies

I can’t let them n***as enter me…”

French Montana is also concerned with flashing his money and newfound success: “And I made a mill in 30 minutes…” or “I hit a lick, I’m worth a couple of million.”

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8. Jonas Brothers, “Paranoid”

Lines, Vines and Trying Times • Hollywood • 2009

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“I make the most of all this stress / I try to live without regrets / But I’m about to break a sweat / I’m freaking out.” Sure, the Jonas Brothers could be corny and schmaltzy back in the day, but they capture paranoia perfectly on “Paranoid,” the second song from their 2009 album, Lines, Vines and Trying Times.  “That’s why my ex is still an ex,” Nick Jonas sings on the second verse, continuing, “I never a trust a word she says / I’m running all the background checks / And she’s freakin’ out.”

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The bros admit to paranoia on the chorus.

“Just might be paranoid
I’m avoiding the lines ‘cause they just might split
Can someone stop the noise?
I don’t know what it is, but I just don’t fit
I’m paranoid
Yeah!”

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9. Kanye West, “Paranoid”

Ft. Mr. Hudson

808s & Heartbreaks • Roc-A-Fella • 2008

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On “Paranoid,” Kanye West urges a paranoid girl “don’t worry ‘bout it.” In his eyes, “You worry ‘bout the wrong things, the wrong things.” Essentially, his cure for her paranoia is HIM.  That’s certainly not shocking given the ego of West.

“I could make you come, I could make you go

I could make you high, I can make you fly

Make you touch the sky, hey, maybe so.”

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10. Radiohead, “Paranoid Android”

OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017 • XL Recordings • 1997/2017

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“What’s that? (I may be paranoid, but not an android).” Among the highlights of Radiohead’s classic album OK Computer– reissued as OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017 in 2017 – is “Paranoid Android.” On “Paranoid Android,” Thom Yorke depicts a person who seems to have his share of mental issues encompassing insanity, paranoia, and violence.

“Please, could you stop the noise?

I’m trying to get some rest

From all the unborn chicken voices in my head.”

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11. Black Sabbath, “Paranoid”

Paranoid • Warner Bros. • 1970

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“Finished with my woman / ‘Cause she couldn’t help me with my mind / People think I’m insane / Because I am frowning all the time.”  Telling lyrics to say the least.  Throughout the metal classic “Paranoid,” the title track from the 1970 Black Sabbath album, legendary frontman Ozzy Osbourne does a magnificent job singing about paranoia.

“Make a joke and I will sigh

And you will laugh and I will cry

Happiness, I cannot feel

And love, to me, is so unreal.”

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Photo Credits: Republic, Paper Route Empire, earMUSIC, Def Jam, Interscope, Atlantic, Bad Boy, Hollywood, Roc-A-Fella, XL Recordings, Warner Bros., Pixabay

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