City | 5ive Songs

In the 51^st edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that are associated with the CITY in some form or fashion.

Welcome to 5ive Songs, where we keep things short and sweet – no extra calories or needless fluff! There’s a theme/topic, five songs, and a short blurb.  Yes, it’s a playlist, but it’s a miniature playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume.  On the 51^st edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that are associated with the CITY in some form or fashion.  Okay, let’s get into it!

1. Fivio Foreign, Kanye West & Alicia Keys, “City of Gods”

🎵 “City of Gods” • 🏷 RichFish, LLC / Columbia • 🗓 2022

“New York City, please go easy on me tonight / New York City, please go easy on this heart of mine.” Woo! 🎙 Alicia Keys is the first voice heard on the 2022 rap banger, 🎵 “City of Gods”.  In addition to Keys, the talents of rappers 🎙 Fivio Foreign and 🎙 Kanye West are in play.  Fivio Foreign is responsible for two of the three verses, following this brief, introductory chorus by Keys.  Following Fivio’s first verse (“Pop as the king of New York, now I’m the nigga in charge / Only the drillers, the city is ours”), Keys unveils the complete version of the chorus: “‘Cause I’m losing my lover to the arms of another / New York City, please go easy on me.”

Fivio Foreign’s second verse is longer than the first. His flow is electric, idiomatic of the drill style.  He characterizes his city, calling it “the city of money and violence,” and asserts how things go down.  Woo! Among his most memorable lines is when he states, “This is the town of the big drip (Big drip), smooth talk (Smooth talk) / Milly rock (Milly Rock), Shmoney Dance (Shmoney Dance), Woo Walk (Woo).” Mr. Wests enters the mix in the third verse, which references “a Sunday Service in Brooklyn,” and asserts his attendance “with the drillers that come with the night,’ as well as embodying Frank Sinatra (“I feel like Sinatra in these streets, me and Drizzy, we at peace”).  Well, glad the beef with Drake is squashed, I guess.  Basically, West flexes.  All of this is over a hard-nosed drill beat and numerous producers.  Worth noting, that “City of Gods” does sample 🎙 The Chainsmokers’ 🎵 “New York City”.  Also, worth noting, Keys unveiled her own  🎵 “City of Gods (Part II)”. All told, Fivio Foreign, Kanye West, and Alicia Keys dropped a surefire rap banger with 🎵 “City of Gods” in February 2022.

Appears in 🔻:

• Fivio Foreign, Kanye West & Alicia Keys, “City of Gods”: Rap BNGRZ 🔥 22 (2022)

2. Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone, “City of Stars”

💿 La La Land (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) • 🏷 Interscope • 📅 2016 

“City of stars / Are you shining just for me? / City of stars / There’s so much that I can’t see.” 🎵 “City of Stars” doesn’t need much (if any) explanation.  Simply put, this is the centerpiece of the 🏆 Academy-Award-winning film, 🎦 La La Land.

“City of Stars” is the 🎼 ✍ Justin Hurwitz song that drew the most accolades.  It is simple, yet hypnotic and moving at the same time. 🎙 Ryan Gosling (Sebastian) and 🎙 Emma Stone (Mia), deliver a magical performance.

Appears in 🔻:

• 15 Songs That Reference Stars

3. Mansionair, “Violet City”

💿 Shadowboxer • 🏷 Glassnote • 📅 2019

“Wide awake in this violet city / Where it washes over me / It hurts to say that I want you with me / Just draped across my frame.” Sigh, 🎵 “Violet City” is a sleek record that arrives as the seventh track on 💿 Shadowboxer, the debut album by 🏆 Grammy-nominated Australian trio, 🎙 Mansionair (🎙 Lachlan Bostock, 🎙 Alex Nicholls, and 🎙 Jack Froggatt). Mansionair first caught my eye courtesy of the ODESZA record, 🎵 “Line of Sight”. On “Violet City,” the Aussie collective ‘tickles my fancy’ once more – in a purple sort of way!

What makes “Violet City” so flipping awesome?  The vocals are lovely, particularly their commanding nature and the pureness of the falsetto.  Additionally, the production is epic, characterized by rhythmic intensity, carried by the beat and a barrage of synthetic sounds.  The lyrics aren’t too shabby either, even as it’s easy to get lost in the vibe Mansionair has assembled.  The chorus is sweet as well:

“Ooh, I can’t help myself, the moment that I let it go

Is when I find I’m in control, in control

Ooh, I need something else, the moment that I let it go

Is when I find I’m in control, I’m in control.”

Appears in 🔻:

• 14 Songs Characterized by Colors
• 30-Day Song Challenge 🎶: The Complete Playlist
• Purple: 3BOPS No. 60 (2021)
• 11 Songs That are Purple Through & Through

4. Jack Harlow, “Face of My City” (Ft. Lil Baby)

💿 Thats What They All Say • 🏷 Generation Now / Atlantic • 📅 2020

“I’m the face of my city / Cosigned by Diddy / Hard liquor, I’m shitty / Hotel with some biddy…” “Face of My City” appears as the second track off of 💿 Thats What They All Say, the debut studio album by Louisville, Kentucky-bred rapper, 🎙 Jack Harlow. “Face of My City” features one of the hottest rappers of 2020, 🎙 Lil Baby, who absolutely eats up the track.  Where Jack is a bit more nonchalant, Lil Baby contrasts with more bite.

As for the production of “Face of My City” – 🎛 Cubeatz and 🎛 Sonny Digital – it’s respectable.  That said, a bit more development wouldn’t have hurt for this banger – maybe some malicious brass or another instrumental line to fill things out. Nonetheless, “Face of My City” is an inoffensive banger, if ultimately not particularly profound. 

Appears in 🔻:

• 13 F Songs Selected with No Rhyme or Reason

5. twenty one pilots, “Leave the City”

💿 Trench • 🏷 Fueled by Ramen • 📅 2018

“Last year, I need change of pace / Couldn’t take the pace of change / Moving hastily,” Tyler Joseph sings, continuing, “But this year, though I’m far from home / In Trench, I’m not alone / These faces facin’ me.”  Woo! In 2018, 🏆 Grammy winning alternative duo 🎙 Twenty One Pilots (Joseph and 🎙 Josh Dun) released their fifth studio album, 💿 Trench. The highly conceptual album concludes with the song, 🎵 “Leave the City,” a strong closing statement.

How so, you ask? Well in the midst of the concept of Trench, “Leave the City” represents overcoming the adversity of ‘Dema’ (trust me or read up on the background of the album – your choice).  Also, “Leave the City” seems to be about overcoming mental health issues, something Joseph has been incredibly transparent about throughout his career. Also, it could be a reflection on the end of life – eventually that is.  On the bridge, Tyler sings, “In time, I will leave the city / For now, I will stay alive.”

Appears in 🔻:

• Leave: 5ive Songs No. 27 (2021)

City: 5ive Songs No. 51 (2022) [📷: Atlantic, Brent Faulkner, Clovis Cheminot, Fueled by Ramen, Generation Now, Interscope, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pixabay]