Letter 💌 🇦🇧🇨| 5ive Songs

1. Bruce Springsteen, “Letter to You”

💿 Letter to You • 🏷 Bruce Springsteen • 🗓 2020

Previous Rank: 🆕

🎵 “Letter to You” appears as the second track off of 💿 Letter to You, the 20^th studio album by rock icon, 🎙 Bruce Springsteen – THE BOSS baby! “Letter to You” kicks off with an unapologetic rock intro; there’s definitely some spunk! The production (Springsteen and 🎙 Ron Aniello) is great overall. The musicianship exhibited from start to finish is awesome, including strong vocals by Bruce, who doesn’t miss a beat in his early 70s. As always, the songwriting is solid. It’s relatively simple but ultimately telling and thoughtful. The chorus is strong, highlighting the titular lyrics four times (“In my letter to you”). An instrumental follows the chorus bringing contrast and a great opportunity for the band to flex.

“In my letter to you
I took all my fears and doubts
In my letter to you
All the hard things I found out
In my letter to you
All that I found true
And I sent it in my letter to you.”

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2. Rod Wave, “Letter from Houston”

💿 Pray 4 Love • 🏷 Alamo • 🗓 2020 

“Wonder do you miss me when I’m busy on the road? / Wonder do you hear me? I’m in Houston all alone / And I’m thinking ‘bout you…” Floridian rapper/singer 🎙 Rod Wave has quickly seen his star ascend, period. The 21-year-old musician has managed to release two albums, beginning with 💿 Ghetto Gospel (2019) and 💿 Pray 4 Love (2020).  Pray 4 Love ignited the Billboard 200 throughout 2020 and serves as the source of the ‘letter’ song, 🎵 “Letter from Houston.” “Letter from Houston” features a total of eight songwriters and four producers: 🎙 TnTXD, 🎙 Tahj Money, 🎙 London Blue, and 🎙 Karltin Bankz.

“Letter,” notably, is comprised of just three sections: intro, verse, and closing chorus.  Matters of the heart have deeply affected the young man as he asserts, “I wrote this song for you, so you should pay attention,” going on to say he was, “Reminiscing about us fighting, fucking, and chilling.” Yup, we got it Rod, loud and clear.  Towards the end of the verse, he says, “A lot of hoes want your position, but they tripping / You been with me since the beginning and that’s the way I’ma end it.” Fair enough!

3. Why Don’t We, “8 Letters”

💿 8 Letters • 🏷 Signature / Atlantic • 🗓 2018 

“If all it is, is eight letters / Why is it so hard to say?” It’s not too hard to figure out that 🎵 “8 Letters” stands for the phrase, “I Love you.” “8 Letters” is a sleek, mid-tempo, ballad by boy band, 🎙 Why Don’t We, from their 2018 album, 💿 8 Letters. “8 Letters” features production comprised of piano and cooler synths idiomatic of electro-pop. Drum programming adds some punch as well, anchoring at times and thoughtfully resting at others. 🎙 Jonah Marais kicks things off incredibly smoothly on the first verse singing, “I’ve been hurt so I don’t trust / Now here we are, staring at the ceiling.”  🎙 Daniel Seavey takes a similar approach on the second verse.

🎙 Zach Herron provides contrast on the pre-chorus, packing a bit more punch leading into the chorus. 🎙 Jack Avery begins the chorus with poise, before ascending on the second half.  🎙 Corbyn Besson ‘brings it on home’ on the final two lines with incredible falsetto.  Avery delivers the bridge before Besson takes the bulk of the final chorus and outro.  All in all, a “8 Letters” is great start to 8 Letters for Why Don’t We.

4. 21 Savage, “Letter 2 My Momma”

💿 I am > I was • 🏷 Epic • 🗓 2018 

🎵 “Letter 2 My Momma” appears as the penultimate record on 💿 I am > I was, the 2018 album by Grammy-winning rapper 🎙 21 Savage.  Notably, “Letter 2 My Momma” ranks among the most thoughtful songs on the album.  As the title suggests, 21 Savage is indeed rapping to his mom. What exactly does he tell Momma? Well, he discusses the hard times and how she was there for him throughout the adversities and tribulations.

“Had to write a letter to my ma dukes (Ma dukes)
I know you proud of me, but I’m proud, too (I’m proud, too)
You the only woman I’d give some vows to (On God)
I’m still your baby even though I got a child, too (Straight up).” 

“Letter 2 My Momma” was produced by 🎙 Kid Hazel.

5. The Brothers Johnson, “Strawberry Letter 23”

💿 Right on Time • 🏷 A&M • 🗓 1977

🎵 “Strawberry Letter 23” is a soul gem attributed to the funk/soul group, 🎙 The Brothers Johnson.  Even though The Brothers Johnson deserve all the credit in the world for making “Strawberry Letter 23” a hit, believe it or not, they didn’t originally record it. GO FIGURE! So, who did write and originally record “Strawberry Letter 23?” That would be singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist 🎙 Shuggie Otis.  He first wrote and recorded it in 1971, six years before The Bros. Johnson version would become the ‘definitive’ version, produced by the legendary 🎙 Quincy Jones.  Yep, sort of that 🎙 Dolly Parton / 🎙 Whitney Houston 🎵 “I Will Always Love You” dynamic going on here.

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