Bandit | 3BOPS

On the 68^th edition of 3BOPS (2021), we select three awesome songs that are associated with a BANDIT in some form or fashion.

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n 3BOPS, we are totally dedicated to keeping things L-I-T-E! Similar to 5ive Songs, there’s a topic and a short blurb, only with THREE songs instead of FIVE.  Yes, it’s a playlist, but it’s a miniature playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume.  On the 68^th edition of 3BOPS (2021), we select three awesome songs that are associated with a BANDIT in some form or fashion.

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1. Kings of Leon, “The Bandit”

💿 When You See Yourself • 🏷 RCA • 🗓 2021

“Chiseled their names in stone / Heavy the load you tow / And the red horse is always close / And the fire don’t burn below.”  2021 marked the return of 🏆 Grammy-winning rock collective 🎙 Kings of Leon, with the release of their eighth studio album, 💿 When You See Yourself. KOL released two singles simultaneously, including 🎵 “The Bandit”.

With “The Bandit,” Kings of Leon gives us just the right amount of song to work with, running north of four minutes. Rhythmic guitar lines kick off the record energetically. Soon enough, we get the full complement of instruments, before 🎙 Caleb Followill begins singing (drums, bass).  As always, on the second track from When You See Yourself, he serves up expressive, commanding, and powerful vocals. He remains gritty and nuanced, cutting right through the production. He has a nice melody to work with on the verses, while the chorus is memorable.  Ultimately, “The Bandit” is well-rounded.  Caleb is on-point, the band sounds ‘rock’ solid, and the writing is appealing.

Also Appears On 🔽:
🔗 🎧 Awesome Songs That Tickled My Fancy: January 2021

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2. Juice WRLD, “Bandit”

Ft. YoungBoy Never Broke Again

🎵 “Bandit” • 🏷 Grade A Productions / Interscope • 📅 2019

“It’s funny, the shit I put on this song ain’t gon’ sound nothing like the shit we was just doin’…” Okay 🎙 Juice WRLD – whatever you say.  The late melodic rapper had a big year in 2019, dropping his final no. 1 album, 💿 Death Race for Love, prior to his untimely death. On 🎵 “Bandit” was released prior to his death, he collaborated with fellow rapper, 🎙 YoungBoy Never Broke Again, for the assist.

Following the intro, Juice drops a sick chorus that isn’t deep, but entertaining and catchy:

“I don’t need no molly to be savage, uh
When I’m on that molly, I feel savage, uh, uh
She the definition of a bad bitch
Stole her, I’m the definition of a bandit.”

He goes on to drop the first verse against excellent production work by 🎛 Nick Mira, exhibiting a sick flow.  The bars are druggy, referencing use of Percocet, smoking skunk, mollies, and codeine.  While savage himself, she’s savage too if you believe his characterization: “Bad bitch from the woods, I think she a hunter / She a killer and an eater, she a Jeffrey Dahmer.” Later, YoungBoy Never Broke Again enters, rapping slightly offbeat but brings intensity, nonetheless. He’s also “The definition of a bandit / Took your heart from out his hands and still ain’t saying shit,” as well as getting dirty. Ultimately, “Bandit” is entertaining. 

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3. Twenty One Pilots, “Bandito”

💿 Trench • 🏷 Fueled by Ramen • 📅 2018

“I could take the high road / But I know I’m goin’ low / I’m a ban – I’m a bandito.” That’s what 🎙 Tyler Joseph of 🎙 Twenty One Pilots accepts on 🎵 “Bandito.” “Bandito” is a five-and-a-half-minute gem from 💿 Trench, the under-appreciated fifth studio album by the 🏆 Grammy-winning duo.  Oh, and just to clarify, bandito is “an outlaw, especially of Mexican extraction or origin” according to Merriam-Webster.

“In City, I feel my spirit is contained
Like neon inside the glass, they form my brain
But I recently discovered it’s a heatless fire
Like nicknames they give themselves to un-inspire.”

Interesting! “Bandito” seems to find Joseph – ‘Clancy’ in the ambitious conceptual narrative of Trench – accept being ‘savage’ in order to attain freedom… or something like that.  At the same time, Genius annotators discovered a cool anagram within the highlight – “Sahlo Folina” (All Ohio fans).  Makes sense as both Joseph and 🎙 Josh Dun are from Columbus, Ohio.  Also, Sahlo is Somali (“enable”) while Folina means creativity.  That fits the freedom aspect more than the Ohio fans anagram, that’s for sure!

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Bandit: 3BOPS No. 68 (2021) [📷: Brent Faulkner, Fueled By Ramen, Grade A Productions, Interscope, lilartsy on Pexels, The Musical Hype, RCA, Wilson Blanco from Pixabay]

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