Nail 💅 | 3 to 5 BOPS

Nail 💅: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 47 (2023), features musical BOPS courtesy of Jack Harlow, Jelly Roll, Lorde, Saint Levant, and Todrick Hall.

Ah, you know what time it is! It’s 3 to 5 BOPS time – WOO! On 3 to 5 BOPS, it’s all about brevity and sweetness… for the most part! There’s a theme/topic, 3, 4, or 5 songs, and a blurb – two paragraphs or less.  3 to 5 BOPS, hence, is a mini playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume. In the 47th edition of 3 to 5 BOPS (2023), we select songs that are associated with NAIL 💅 in some form or fashion. The BOPS arrive courtesy of 🎙 Jack Harlow, 🎙 Jelly Roll, 🎙 Lorde, 🎙 Saint Levant, and 🎙 Todrick Hall. Okay, let’s get into it!

via GIPHY

1. Saint Levant, “Nails” 

🎵 “Nails” • 🏷 2048 • 🗓 2023 

“Listen, to keep it a hundred, the only thing stressing me out in this life is a Visa.” WOO! If you haven’t yet joined the 🎙 Saint Levant (Marwan Abdelhamid) train, you are totally missing out! Incredibly handsome, Abdelhamid is much more than a pretty face. As stated previously when reviewing various singles and his debut EP, 💿 From Gaza, With Love, one of the things that makes him so special is his diverse background – Palestinian, French, Algerian, and Serbian – and the fact that he raps in multiple languages: English, French, and Arabic. Once again, Abdelhamid has come through big with his three-minute single, 🎵 “Nails”. 

As always, the focal point of a Saint Levant single is, Saint Levant.  Marwan has a swagger about him – a cool vibe – that endears him to the listeners.  On “Nails” he raps with incredible agility and ease. He also brings energy, whether rapping in English (most of the time) or Arabic. Where do the nails come into play? During the chorus, which is varied throughout: “But they used to hate on my nails / How insecure (How insecure) / How sad are you (How sad are you) / How immature.” Are the nails important? To an extent. Per Rolling Stone, Abdelhamid admits to painting his nails as a teen in The Middle East. The bigger takeaway is about how being different earned Abdelhamid ridicule.  At this point, he’s the sugar honey iced tea, but that wasn’t always the case: “When you see your woman go double-tap on my photos / When I was a kid I remember I wore what I wanted / They used to make fun of my clothes / But look at right now, I just smile when I see them cuz I know their girlfriends at all of my shows.” Now that is a mic drop moment right there! 🎵 “Nails” = another triumph for Saint Levant thanks to his approach, personality, and light house-tinged production (🎛 Ames Ward) that is a vibe in its own right.

via GIPHY

2. Jelly Roll, “Nail Me”  

💿 Whitsitt Chapel • 🏷 Bailee & Buddy Management, Inc. / This is Hit, Inc. • 📅 2023 

According to rapper turned country singer, 🎙 Jelly Roll (Jason DeFord), he’s made his share of mistakes on 🎵 “Nail Me,” the fifth track from 💿 Whitsitt Chapel, released in June 2023. “Never been a stranger to nights in the county jail / Been there a time or two, ain’t proud of it myself,” he sings in the first verse, adding, “But I won’t hide behind a thousand lies / At least I know who I am.” In the second verse, an expressive Jelly Roll criticizes judgmental, ‘holier-than-thou’ folks: “How’s it feel up there, holier-than-thou / To live without a care, perfect in and out?” Basically, even though Jelly Roll is an admittedly flawed individual, he understands who he is, errors he’s made, and isn’t judgmental like others of a higher status or seemingly more refined. Of “Nail Me,” he told Apple Music that most of country radio embraced, but a small percentage didn’t, instead judging him, hence why he “gave them [the judgmental skeptics] a song.” The best moment on this brief joint, unsurprisingly, is the chorus:  

“Nail me to the cross outside

Of your ivory tower where you sit so high
On that horse you rode as I stand here alone
So heave me with the stones you cast
Your shadow looks back while you stare through glass
You don’t think I know I’m a jester before your throne.”  

3. Lorde, “Stoned at the Nail Salon”  

💿 Solar Power • 🏷 Universal Music New Zealand Limited • 📅 2021  

 “I love this life that I have / … But I wonder sometimes what I’m missing…” 🏆 Grammy-winning alternative pop artist, 🎙 Lorde (Ella Yelich O’Connor), returned in 2021 with 💿 Solar Power. 🎵 “Stoned at the Nail Salon”, the second single, sounds as chill and mellow as the title suggests. This is a prime example of a song that floats along. O’Connor gives us subtle but beautiful vocals from the start.  Her tone is warm and chill; appealing.  In the pre-chorus, layered vocals keep things intriguing (“Well, my blood’s been burning for so many summers now / It’s time to cool it down, wherever that leads”). In the chorus, shes sings with more oomph without forcing things.    

“‘Cause all the beautiful girls, they will fade like the roses  

And all the times they will change, it’ll all come around  

I don’t know  

Maybe I’m just stoned at the nail salon  

Maybe I’m just stoned at the nail salon, again.” 

As far as the production (Lorde and 🎛 Jack Antonoff) things are minimal and spare. This simplicity bodes in O’Connor’s favor, allowing her voice to shine.  Thematically, she poetically reflects on getting older – relatable to everybody.  

Appears in 🔻:  

• Awesome Songs: July 2021 
• Stone: 5ive Songs No. 74 (2021) 

4. Jack Harlow, “Nail Tech”  

💿 Come Home the Kids Miss You • 🏷 Generation Now / Atlantic • 🗓 2022 

“My nail tech knows how to keep a lil’ secret / I don’t wish for my success, I speak it,” rapper 🎙 Jack Harlow spits on 🎵 “Nail Tech”.  Harlow has never lacked confidence, continuing to flex like a boss on this three-and-a-half-minute banger from his 2022, 🏆 Grammy-nominated album, 💿 Come Home the Kids Miss You. 🎛 Jahaan Sweet, NOVA CANYON, Boi-1da, Coleman, Angel López, Rogét Chahayed, and Fierce produce this confident joint. Jack ‘talks his shit.’ He’s a big baller and basically,nobody cany stop him.  Besides the standout opening lines, in the first verse, he goes on to say, “Walkin’ ‘round with my chest out, and my skin smooth, I’m healthy.”  In the second, he’s humble enough to admit what he’s not: “And I’m not no fashionista, but I’m fly though.” He’s also throws in a sexual reference too, before diving back into that surefire confidence: “I told her, ‘I don’t come from head, but you can try though / I’m not on top of this shit yet, but I’m that guy though.” His flow is nice, of course, riding that production with ease.  Of course, the most memorable parts of “Nail Tech,” which has little to do with nails, are the pre-chorus and chorus (“She down low, three-point stance, I’m back there doin’ Jack dance like / Baow, baow, baow, baow”).  The flow is great, and Harlow’s confidence is through the roof.  It marks one of the better moments from a sus album.

5. Todrick Hall, “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels”   

💿 Haus Party, Pt. 1 • 🏷 Todrick Hall • 📅 2019 

“My nails, hair, hips, heels / Nails, hair, hips, heels…” Yeah, that’s about the size of the chorus of 🎵 “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels.” All in all, multifaceted entertainer 🎙 Todrick Hall brings mad attitude and energy to his 2019 album, 💿 Haus Party 1, Pt. 1. The penultimate joint is no exception. When you listen to this dance/house-inspired cut, the first word that comes to mind is FABULOUS.  Todrick Hall says it best on the first verse asserting “Bitch, I’mma big deal” and “This whole club is my runway, run bitch.” On the pre-chorus, ‘that attitude’ doesn’t fade in the least expressing that “I work (work), I don’t play / I slay (slay), I don’t walk / I strut, strut, strut and then sashay (okay)…” The second verse is much like the first, with the confidence overflowing – “Where’s my sash and crown, ‘cause I win bitch.” The bridge goes H.A.M., with actions including “Tongue pop for me,” “Pose for me,” and my personal favorite, “Shablam for me.” 

Appears in 🔻:  

• 11 Songs Loosely Associated with Hair (2019) 
• 11 Fresh Songs About Shoes (2020) 

Nail 💅: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 47 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; 2048, Bailee & Buddy Management, Inc. / This is Hit, Inc., Generation Now / Atlantic, Todrick Hall, Universal Music New Zealand Limited; Megan Ruth via Pexels; Kevin Domfeh on Unsplash]