Mountain | 3BOPS

1. DJ Khaled, “Holy Mountain”

Ft. Buju Banton, Sizzla, Mavado & 070 Shake

💿 Father of Asahd • 🏷 Epic • 📅 2019

“We the Best Music / DJ Khaled!” 🎙 DJ Khaled dropped 💿 Father of Asahd in 2019. Thankfully, compared to the album preceding it (💿 Grateful), he didn’t find it necessary to give listeners 90 minutes of music.  Still, with a couple of exceptions, such as the 🏆Grammy-winning “Higher” and the song at hand, 🎵 “Holy Mountain,” Father of Asahd is more compilation than a polished, cohesive album.

“Holy Mountain” commences Father of Asahd with a bang, period.  There’s lots to like or at a minimum, appreciate about the opener.  First and foremost, the production is epic, co-produced by 🎛 Major Seven.  Secondly, the Jamaican, reggae influence is ‘novel,’ but ultimately, endearing.  The featured artists on “Holy Mountain” are 🎙 Buju Banton (particularly notable given his legal troubles), 🎙 Sizzla, 🎙 Mavado, and rising star, 🎙 070 Shake.  070 Shake sounds particularly strong on the chorus, while the sample of 🎵 “One Spliff a Day” (🎙 Billy Boyo) is like the ‘cherry on top.’

Also appears on 🔽:

🔗 🎧 13 Holy Songs That Are Holy in Name Only

2. Father John Misty, “So I’m Growing Old on Magic Mountain”

💿 Pure Comedy • 🏷 Sub Pop • 📅 2017

“So the longer I stay here / The longer there’s no future / So I’m growing old on magic mountain…” 🏆 Grammy-winning alternative musician 🎙 Father John Misty (Josh Tillman) delivers a demanding but exceptional album with 💿 Pure Comedy (2017).  Tillman ranks among the most gifted songwriters in modern times, able to blend the serious, the humorous, and the satirical seamlessly.  He definitely works his magic on Pure Comedy, including the lengthy, 10-minute-long penultimate number, 🎵 “So I’m Growing Old on Magic Mountain.”

“As if it’s any time but the present / So for now, every young thing in my path / I’ll hold their face so long inside my hands.” Essentially, “So I’m Growing Old on Magic Mountain” finds Father John Misty desiring to hold onto youth as long as possible, evidenced by the aforementioned lyrical excerpt from the second verse. He knows its impractical, but he’s clinging onto it as long as he can.  Later, on the third verse, he sings: “These days the years thin till I can’t remember / Just what it feels like to be young forever.”

Also appears on 🔽:

🔗 🎧 13 Songs Where the Magic is Legit

3. Usher, “Moving Mountains”

💿 Here I Stand • 🏷 LaFace • 📅 2008

“‘Cause we will never be the same, ooh / I’ve been standing in gas and you have been the flame.” Woo! In 2008, 🏆 Grammy winning contemporary R&B artist 🎙 Usher had a herculean task on his hands: releasing the follow-up to his diamond certified masterpiece, 💿 Confessions.  It’s understandable why he waited years before daring to drop 💿 Here I Stand, a solid album but not the classic of the preceding LP.  Still, Here I Stand has a number of gems including the soaring, sleekly produced ballad, 🎵 “Moving Mountains.”

Collaborating with the formidable songwriting team 🎼✍ 🎛 Christopher “Tricky” Stewart, 🎼✍ Kuk Harrell, and 🎼✍ 🎛 Terius “The-Dream” Nash (Trick and The-Dream also produce), Usher has a dramatic and engaging material to work with.  Vocally, he sounds elite – honestly, he’s never sounded better.  He sells “Moving Mountains” incredibly.  The melody is tuneful and rhythmic, suiting his artistic strengths perfectly.  Conceptually/thematically, Usher imparts a tale where his girl ultimately stays with him after he cheated yet she’s incredibly angry and things are B-A-D.  Essentially, while Usher feels like he’s “moving mountains” to atone for his mistakes, it’s not sufficient.  That said, he knows he brought it on himself.

“I know sorries, just wouldn’t do it
Her heart is obliterated
I’m trying to get through
But it’s like moving mountains
It’s like moving mountains
But I keep climbing and hoping things would change
And the sky turns gray
And the water from the rain washes progress away
It’s like moving mountains
It’s like moving mountains.”