Go… | 5ive Songs

1. The Kid LAROI, “Go”

Ft. Juice WRLD

F*CK LOVE • Columbia • 2020

F*CK LOVE, the debut commercial mixtape by 17-year old Australian rapper The Kid LAROI debuted in the top-10 of the Billboard 200.  Among its biggest attractions is “Go” featuring Juice WRLD. He may be young, but The Kid doesn’t depict childish happenings.  He focuses on the issues that plague many a man’s brain – girls. “You fuck up my brain, you don’t know no better, yeah / Wish I knew you better, shit, but I don’t know no better,” he raps melodically on the first verse, filled with swagger and serving up a syrupy delivery.

Setting him and Juice WRLD up for success is sleek production by 24Degrees, Omer Fedi, Nick Mira, and Tito.  Juice WRLD, the perfect collaborator, is melodic in his own right. They join forces on the final chorus of this surefire gem.

2. Billie Eilish, “All the good girls GO to hell”

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? • Darkroom / Interscope • 2019

“All the good girls go to Hell / ‘Cause even God herself has enemies / And once the water starts to rise / And Heaven’s out of sight / She’ll want the devil on her team.” Grammy-winning  teen alternative pop artist Billie Eilish makes a bold statement with the minor-key “All the Good Girls Go to Hell,” a highlight from her magnificent debut album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?.

Eilish delivers a low key vocal (as expected), yet also packs a punch at the same time.  Specifically, what makes the record intriguing are the eyebrow-raising religious references.  In addition to the ‘God’s enemies’ lyric, she also references Peter (“Peter’s on vacation, an open invitation”) and Lucifer (“My Lucifer is lonely / There’s nothing left to save now / My god is gonna owe me / There’s nothing left to save now”).

3. Lewis Capaldi, “Before You Go”

Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent (Deluxe) • Universal Music • 2019

Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent marked the debut album by Scottish musician Lewis Capaldi, who sings like an angel. The deluxe edition of the album adds three additional songs, including crown jewel, “Before You Go.”  “Before You Go” references a difficult subject: suicide. The lyrics are poetic and reflective throughout.

Of course, the chorus is the crème de la crème: “So, before you go / Was there something I could’ve said, / To make your heart beat better? / If only I’d have known you had a storm to weather…” Capaldi wishes he could’ve prevented the devastating event, a feeling that many people feel when someone they know and loved commits suicide.

4. Doja Cat, “Go to Town”

Amala • Kemosabe / RCA • 2018

“Go to town with it / And she shave it all off, Charlie Brown with it / … He ain’t ever caught a whiff … / This incredible, this shit edible / It’s like cannibal, kiss my genital.” Rapper/singer Doja Cat is unapologetic as albeit on the filthy, hyper-sexual “Go to Town”. “Go to Town” serves as a highlight from her 2018 debut album, Amala.

The record features sleek, modern production work that makes it quite ear catching.  Most of all, of course, it’s explicit and risqué – NO CAP. On the first verse (excerpted above), she raps about shaving her private parts and encouraging her man to enjoy them. Later, on the second, she obviously disguises ‘dirty pictures’: “He text me an eggplant, I text him a peanut.” Yep…

5. Ben Platt, “Grow as We Go”

Sing to Me Instead • Atlantic • 2019 

“You can ebb and I can flow / And we’ll take it slow / And grow as we go / Grow as we go.” Ben Platt blesses the listeners with his radiant tone on “Grow as We Go” from his debut album, Sing to Me Instead; dude can sing his butt off! On “Grow,” he’s accompanied by a relatively simple backdrop for most of the song – acoustic guitars, panned respectively to the right and the left.

That’s really all he needs, as his voice is the focal point.  In addition to the core production, there are warm, harmonized backing vocals, and occasional moments where the production grows a bit more robust.  Ultimately, the result is a thoughtfully penned, sincere record.