Man/Men | 5ive Songs

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On this edition of 5ive Songs, we select five songs that are associated with a MAN or MEN in some kind or some form.

On 5ive Songs, we (I) keep things short and sweet – no extra calories or needless fluff. There’s a topic, five songs, and a short blurb that doesn’t exceed a paragraph. Yes, it’s a playlist, but it’s a miniature playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume. On this edition of 5ive Songs, we select five songs that are associated with a MAN or MEN in some kind or some form.

1. Juice WRLD, “Man of the Year”

💿 Legends Never Die • 🏷 Interscope • 📅 2020

“MAN of the year, still got problems / Lookin’ in the mirror, you look awful / Talkin’ to myself, do it too often / JK, Juice WRLD, you’re so awesome.” Even though 🎙 Juice WRLD is no longer with us, his music and his spirit live on, particularly with his 2020 posthumous album, 💿 Legends Never Die. 🎵 “Man of the Year” appears late on the album, the 21^st track to be precise. It falls under the umbrella of hip-hop, albeit via pop-punk. Not every artist could pull this particular sound off, but honestly, it’s not the least bit surprising it works for Juice.

“Let’s raise our hands, let’s sing and dance
I know I’m here to save you, I know I’m here to save you
Let’s raise our hands and sing and dance
I know my lyrics saved you, I know I helped your breakthrough.”

2. Joji, “Your Man”

💿 Nectar • 🏷 88rising / 12Tone Music • 📅 2020

Question: “Have you ever loved? Would you go again?” The groovy 🎵 “Your Man” is a surprising conclusion to 💿 Nectar. For a bit more context, Nectar serves as the sophomore album by alternative R&B artist, 🎙 Joji. Adding more context, love plagues the singer throughout the album. Here on the electronic-driven “Your Man” (produced epically by 🎙 Jim-E Stack), however, the artist seems to be in a much happier place. This includes a record that’s set in a major as opposed to minor.

The chorus continues as follows:

“Don’t be down when it’s over, baby, yeah
I’ll be your man, oh man.”

3. 21 Savage & Metro Boomin, “Many Men”

💿 Savage Mode II • 🏷 Epic • 📅 2020

“When there’s smoke, we pull our stickies and they call the PD / Many men wanna kill me, dawg, I feel like 50…” If parts of 🎵 “Many Men” sounds familiar, that’s because this 🎙 21 Savage & 🎙 Metro Boomin song samples the 🎙 50 Cent standout from his 💿 Get Rich or Die Tryin’ days (2003). Like the original, 21 Savage brings the heat, remaining edgy as he has throughout his 2020 album, 💿 Savage Mode II. Notably, Savage’s flow is quicker at times here, providing some contrast to much of the LP. That said, “Many Men” is very much in the wheelhouse of southern hip-hop, trap, and ATL sound (regardless if 21 was born overseas). Worth noting, 🏆 Academy Award winner actor 🎙 Morgan Freeman, who’s appeared throughout Savage Mode II, appears once more on the outro of “Many Men.”

4. Taylor Swift, “The Man”

💿 lover • 🏷 Taylor Swift • 📅 2019

“I’d be a fearless leader / I’d be an alpha type / When everyone believes ya / What’s that like?” Contextually, on her 2019 album, 💿 Lover, 🎙 Taylor Swift follows the slower title track with the quicker, personality laden, 🎵 “The Man.” She approaches the song from the perspective of ‘the man’ quite effectively. Naturally, this approach allows her to highlight the issue of gender inequality, even if it’s packaged as a commercial, hella fun pop song. “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can,” she sings on the chorus, continuing, “Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man.”

5. Logic, “Man I Is”

💿 No Pressure • 🏷 Def Jam • 📅 2020

The smooth 🎵 “Man I Is” keeps the momentum rolling in the context of 💿 No Pressure, the final studio album by 🏆 Grammy-nominated rapper, 🎙 Logic. “Man I Is” finds him accepting the man that he is an has become, plain and simple. He acknowledges and admits the hardships and things that he’s done in the past. “I ain’t perfect, I got problems, I got issues like People magazine,” he asserts on the second verse. Don’t we all have our imperfections, Logic?