15 Marvelous Songs That Lead the WAY | Playlist 🎧

6. DaBaby, “Find My Way”

💿 BLAME IT ON BABY • 🏷 Interscope • 📅 2020

On 🎵 “Find My Way” (💿 BLAME IT ON BABY ), 🎙 DaBaby shows off his flow, jam-packed with lyrics. Interestingly, he raps over a backdrop where ‘urban guitar’ leads the charge.  Perhaps a bit ‘un-DaBaby-like,’ “Find My Way” is still anchored by a punchy, trunk-rattling, southern rap beat. What’s not surprising is the fact that he raps about sex.

While DaBaby does veer away from the universal three-letter word temporarily, for the most part, ‘it’s goin’ down.’ He drops a decent chorus, if you’re not totally annoyed or offended by his selfishness and objectification: “I fuck with her to ease my mind, ‘cause I been in my feelings” or “And I’m sittin’ here with the car in park while she ride dick to my song.”

Appears in 🔻:

• Way: 5ive Songs No. 44 (2020)
• Find: 5ive Songs No. 41 (2021)

7. Jennifer Hudson, “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)”

💿 RESPECT (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) • 🏷 Epic • 📅 2021

🏆 EGOT recipient 🎙 Jennifer Hudson excelled in her role as the late, great 🎙 Aretha Franklin in the biopic, 🎦 RESPECT. The anointed, robust-voiced diva doesn’t only bless us with her acting chops, but also, her singing on the 💿 RESPECT (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).  In addition to covering Franklin, she shines on the original, penned in the style of Franklin, 🎵 “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)”.

“Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” was written by 🎼 ✍ Carole King, 🎼 ✍ Jamie Hartman, and Hudson.  🎛 Will.i.am and 🎛 Johnny Goldstein produce the gospel-infused, neo-/retro-soul record.  With thoughtful lyrics and an old-school backdrop, Hudson has elite material to work with.  Do you know what she possesses that is elite? That voice, and as you’d expected, she sounds angelic, nuanced, and soulful on “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home).”  It begins with a dramatic, free intro, something that Aretha was known for, and comes directly from the black church/gospel music.  Soon enough, “Here I Am” settles in with more flow, and J Hud delivers the goods. Upping the ante are backing choral vocals – gotta love a supporting gospel choir! Hudson slays.

Appears in 🔻:

• Awesome Songs: July 2021

8. Liam Payne, “Both Ways”

💿 LP1 • 🏷 Capitol • 🗓 2019

🎙 Liam Payne fell way short with his debut solo album, 💿 LP1 . Making matters worse, he was totally tone-deaf on the song 🎵 “Both Ways”, giving cis-hetero men – particularly cis-hetero white men – a bad name.  How so? Fetishizing bisexuality, even if there are hints that he didn’t initiate the sexual experience. Expectedly, he was slammed by numerous people, including Buzz Feed, Teen Vogue, and NME.

“Both Ways” is the most polarizing song from LP1. Liam’s girlfriend is portrayed as bi, hence, why “she like it both ways.” The problem is rather than respecting her sexuality, it devolves into a trashy threesome, portrayed with cringy, problematic, totally unsexy references.  Regardless of the perpetrator, Payne clearly wants to get freaky with his girlfriend and her girlfriend:

“Lovin’ the way that she’s turning you on

Switching the lanes like a Bugatti Sport

Nothing but luck that she got me involved, yeah

Flipping that body, go head, I go tails

Sharing that body like it’s our last meal

One and a two and a three, that’s for real.”

Sharing that body like it’s our last meal… really? Disgusting! Payne probably didn’t have bad intentions when releasing “Both Ways,” but his attempt to be edgy and risqué fell flat.  Yes, people partake of threesomes, but we didn’t need a bad song about it from an artist who doesn’t seem to fit the bill as a participant.  The good news? Payne is still a handsome guy who can 🎵 “Strip That Down” anytime he wants to – FACTS 😍!

Appears in 🔻:

• 11 of the Absolute Worst Songs of 2019
• 12 Interesting Songs That Reference Bisexuality
• Liam Payne, “Both Ways”: Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 17 (2021)
• 13 Unapologetic, Controversial Tunes

9. St. Vincent, “Pay Your Way in Pain”

💿 Daddy’s Home • 🏷 Loma Vista • 📅 2021

Annie Clark, aka 🏆 Grammy-winning singer/songwriter 🎙 St. Vincent, dropped her first new album of the 20s with 💿 Daddy’s Home.  Leading the charge is single, and opener, 🎵 “Pay Your Way in Pain”.  As always, Clark never fails to disappoint. “Pay Your Way in Pain” was written by Clark and 🎼✍ Jack Antonoff.  Both musicians produce a unique-sounding record.

“Pay Your Way in Pain” commences with sort of this cabaret sound – throwback in quality. Soon enough, it transforms into this adventurous joint with a blend of funk and electronic cues.  This quirky number is alternative through and through. If nothing else, St. Vincent delivers an ear-catching record that doesn’t conform in any way, shape, or fashion.  I love the playful ways that she uses her voice here. The songwriting is also intriguing, telling a compelling story, characteristic of the artist’s music of the past. Specifically, the character seems to be facing plenty of pain as the adversity is through the roof from lack of money, being judged, and becoming homeless – it’s a lot! “Pay Your Way in Pain” is quirky as albeit and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Appears in 🔻:

• Pay: 5ive Songs No. 22 (2021)
• Awesome Songs: March 2021
• 40 Best Songs of 2021 (So Far)
• Best Songs of 2021: 50-36
• P Songs: No Rhyme or Reason, Vol. 2

10. Queens of the Stone Age, “The Way You Used to Do”

💿 Villains • 🏷 Matador • 📅 2017

“But it doesn’t matter now / Just come and love me how / Like the way you used to do.” 🎙 Queens of the Stone Age dropped an ambitious, energetic single with 🎵 “The Way You Used to Do”, which appears on their 2017 album, 💿 Villains.  “The Way You Used to Do” is produced by revered English producer, Mark Ronson. An unlikely ‘marriage’ between 🎙 Josh Homme and Ronson, “Way” is ultimately a refreshing record. It combines the grit of rock music and the fun, groove of vintage pop and soul. Distorted guitars depict the utmost devilishness, yet it’s radiant if ungodly ear candy to the listener’s ear.

From the jump, “The Way You Used to Do” sounds venomous 🐍.  The first thing that stands out is the grittiness of the guitars.  The distortion is amplified to the n^th degree, depicting utmost devilishness. Adding to the diabolical tone is the groove, intact with the gift of syncopation. The lyrics match the darkness of the music, at least to some extent despite the fact that love is a theme.  In the first verse, Homme sings, “When I first met her, she was seventeen / …Jump like an arsonist to a perfect match / Burned alive.” He masterfully compares his love to a person with a bad reputation – an arsonist.  In the first pre-chorus, he goes on to assert the power of that love, following up in the chorus (excerpted at the top). In the second verse, he continues to speak about the power of love, asking, “Is love mental disease or lucky fever dream?” He goes on to say, “Gave birth to monsters who will terrorize normalcy.” This is about forming a family, and Homme exaggerates.  Are his children or all children monsters? Even if they are normal, doesn’t ‘normal’ change with each generation?  Once more, the chorus seems to shrug off any introspection about evil. What a damn song!

Appears in 🔻:

• 100 Best Songs of 2017

11-12. Lil Uzi Vert, “Come This Way”/ “Trap This Way (This Way)”

💿 Eternal Atake – LUV vs. The World 2 • 🏷 Atlantic • 📅 2020 

Guess what folks? We’ve got a two-for-one from 🏆 Grammy-nominated rapper, 🎙 Lil Uzi Vert! First, on 🎵 “Come This Way,” Lil Uzi Vert changes his vocal inflections throughout. He does it so much that you may think there are multiple rappers on the track.  What doesn’t change is his confidence, specifically, his abilities to ‘steal your girl’ (not the first time he’s mentioned it on 💿 Eternal Atake or LUV vs. The World 2).  Give him credit for the druggy lyric, “Yeah, she in my kitchen, whip it up like Benihana” – then again, maybe not, 😂.

On the second WAY cut that appears on Eternal Atake or LUV vs. The World 2, 🎵 “Trap This Way (This Way),” Lil Uzi’s main focus is throwing his money at strippers.  Yes, you read correctly – that’s about the size of it.  Ultimately, “That girl not mine so I’m still alone / Said she’s DTF for tickets to the show / Yeah, I have it my way when I’m on the road.” Classy AF, right? Even though it’s incredibly shallow, “Trap This Way” is at least shallowly catchy. Ah, the silver lining!

Appears in 🔻:

• Way: 5ive Songs no. 44 (2020)

13. Gerald Levert, “Is This the Way to Heaven”

💿 In My Songs • 🏷 Atlantic • 🗓 2007

I really miss 🎙 Gerald Levert.  Sadly, Levert passed away at the age of 40 in 2006.  He wouldn’t see his final studio album, 💿 In My Songs, be released.  In My Songs was one of Levert’s finest albums of his career, filled with some stellar, grown-folks R&B gems.  One of the best is the album’s closer, 🎵 “Is This the Way to Heaven”. Gerald Levert isn’t exploring mortality or the afterlife – he’s exploring S-E-X.

This slow jam is all about seduction, and Gerald is struggling to control himself.  From the onset, he asserts, “I know, I know / You’re trying to save yourself, baby.” Yes, but ultimately, the temptation is too much.  For what it’s worth, Gerald doesn’t seem to care, justifying, “I’m not wrong / For stopping by, for staying tonight.” Woo! It gets steamier with the “kissin’, huggin’” Levert encourages, leading to the horny chorus:

“Caught up

Can’t think, feelings so deep

Tell me, babe

Is this the way to heaven?

And you’re next to me

Wouldn’t you be strong ‘cause I’m so weak

Tell me, babe

Is this the way to heaven?”

Heavenly feelings through hellish intentions, it seems! Of course, this nameless lady, who’s been strong through some of “Is This the Way to Heaven” starts to concede to pleasure, with Levert asserting, “Maybe we should say prayer or two.” Perhaps, considering they’re about to ‘make it do.’ 🎵 “Is This the Way to Heaven” is all about sex (aka heaven in this song) and if you’re not titillated and turned on, well, something’s wrong!

Appears in 🔻:

• Gerald Levert, “Is This the Way to Heaven”: After Dark 🕛 🌃 41 (2022)

14. Alec Benjamin, “The Way You Felt”

💿 (Un)Commentary • 🏷 Elektra • 📅 2022

“The way you felt in my arms, our chemistry was sacred.” Man, those are some personal, poetic, and heartfelt lyrics 🎙 Alec Benjamin! In 🎵 “The Way You Felt”, an early single from his 2022 album, 💿 (Un)Commentary, Benjamin does an exceptional job of capturing the plight of love, particularly unrequited love and missing the experience of being in love itself (“I can take rejection / But you gave the impression / That this was the inception of something real”).

As usual, Benjamin checks off the boxes expected of him.  The songwriting is a big attraction, and he and his team (🎼✍ Lenno, 🎼✍ Sir Nolan, and 🎼✍ RØMANS) pass with flying colors.  There are some more ‘detailed’ lyrics, something you don’t always find in pop (“Is your heart just preconditioned for brevity / I don’t mean to accuse you of refusing longevity”).  The chorus is a bit wordier than many, but filled with colorful lyrics and personality:

“The way you felt in my arms, our chemistry was sacred

Oh, I fell for your charm, I was so infatuated

But you left me in the dark and my heart completely vacant

Now I don’t know-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh.”

Also, the production, courtesy of 🎛 Lenno and 🎛 Sir Nolan, works perfectly.  There’s nothing too flashy, but again, it fits the artist, particularly those gorgeous, boyish vocals.  Add his one-of-a-kind instrument to check off the list. 

15. Alicia Keys, “Perfect Way to Die”

💿 Alicia • 🏷 RCA • 🗓 2020

🎵 “Perfect Way to Die” (💿 Alicia) captures the racial inequality and police brutality that has dominated the headlines. On this piano/string ballad, 🎙 Alicia Keys tugs at the heartstrings as she depicts incidents where innocent black lives were lost.  “Simple walk to the corner store,” she sings on the first verse, continuing, “Mama never thought she would be gettin’ a call from the coroner / Said her son’s been gunned down.”

The second verse is similar, this time with a girl being the victim – the martyr if you will.  Of course, the centerpiece is the chorus, where “the perfect way to die” comes into play.  There is no perfect way to die, but in a sense, it seems Keys is trying to find the positive that can come from such tragedy, including necessary change.  “Perfect Way to Die” is upsetting, but it’s an upsetting, woke song that needed to happen.

Appears in 🔻:

• Deadly Songs Unlikely to Leave You Literally Dead (Vol. 2)
• DEATH: 5ive Songs No. 51 (2020)
• Perfect 💯: 5ive Songs No. 74 (2020)
• Don’t Let the Perfection of These Perfect Songs Overwhelm U!