Super | 5ive Songs

On the 5^th edition of 5ive Songs (2021), we select five songs that are associated with the word SUPER in some form or fashion.  

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elcome to 5ive Songs, where we keep things short and sweet – no extra calories or needless fluff! There’s a theme/topic, five songs, and a short blurb.  Yes, it’s a playlist, but it’s a miniature playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume.  On the 5^th edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that are associated with the word SUPER in some form or fashion.  Okay, let’s get into it!

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1. Cordae, “Super”

💿 From a Birds Eye View • 🏷 Atlantic • 🗓 2022

“Last year, I made seven million / Didn’t have to do a fuckin’ show.” Woo! Now that’s the life right there, man! From the start of 🎵 “Super”, rapper 🎙 Cordae is turnt TF up. He raps his a$$ off on “Super,” which arrived in 2021 as the promo single from his 2022 album, 💿 From a Birds Eye View.

“Shout out to my niggas up at Coca-Cola

For the check they cut me at the Super Bowl

All my life moments is super woah

My nigga Dr. Dre, he got a super boat

Last night, I was textin’ Jack Dorsey

That’s the perks you get from being super dope.”

Da-yum, Cordae is a big baller! Against a badass backdrop produced by 🎛 Jack Uriah, 🎛 Jenius, and 🎛 Kid Culture, he drops cocky, confident, and energetic rhymes. The chorus (excerpted above) is my favorite part, finding the rapper dropping agile, punchy bars.  He keeps things lit in the verses, not giving one fizzuck.  He makes it clear he takes the rap game serious, asserting, “I been stackin’ up all these assets / Can’t be conductin’ any bad business (Nah).” Furthermore, “Hatin’-ass ho,” guess what you can do? “You can suck my dick!” Woo! He also drops a surefire dime when he asserts in the second verse, “Young, rich, and Black, they hate me in America.” There is no shortage of fire 🔥🔥🔥!

Appears in 🔽:
Cordae, “Super”: Rap BNGRZ 🔥 No. 6 (2022)

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2. Jeremy Zucker, “Supercuts”

🎵 “Supercuts” • 🏷 Republic • 📅 2020

Love is always fuel for the fire – remember that. 🎙 Jeremy Zucker knows it all too well.  He does well in his depictions of matters of the heart, even if they’re unpleasant. Once more, Zucker entertains the plight of love superbly on 🎵 “Supercuts”. Jeremy, essentially, seems to talk himself out of the possibility of a relationship because of the potential negative side effects. He’s upset from the start because of a lack of control where, ultimately, he ends up being “the bad guy.”

On the catchy chorus – a the rare one referencing Supercuts – Zucker lays out why love is far too risky:

“‘Cause I don’t wanna be someone who makes you happy

Then lets you down, we’ll both feel crappy

I’ll hate your friends when this shit ends

Well, alright

And I don’t wanna make your mama cry at dinner

And see her at the mall next winter

At Supercuts, she hates my guts

Well, alright.”

His hesitance towards getting serious is further confirmed on the bridge, where he sings, “Find me drowning in this bullshit again / Started something that we’re just gonna end.” It’s pessimistic pop, but hey, at least it’s relatable, pessimistic pop at its finest.

Appears in 🔽:
Awesome Songs That Tickled My Fancy: July 2020
‘S’ Songs: No Rhyme or Reason, Vol. 2

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3. Kodak Black, “Super Gremlin”

💿 Sniper Game Presents Syko Bob & Snapkatt: Nightmare Babies • 🏷 Atlantic • 📅 2021

“Say you my nigga, I’ma be your killer / Nobody gon’ play with you when I’m with you.” Woo! Rapper 🎙 Kodak Black comes out swinging on his rap banger, 🎵 “Super Gremlin”, which appears on 💿 Sniper Game Presents Syko Bob & Snapkatt: Nightmare Babies, attributed to 🎙 Sniper Game, 🎙 Syko Bob and 🎙 Snapkatt.

“Super Gremlin” features banging production by 🎛 ATL Jacob; the beat is LIT 🔥! Giving the backdrop a lift is a sample courtesy of 🎙 How to Loot Brazil, 🎵 “Errror” (2019). Set in a minor key, “Super Gremlin” is set up to be the perfect knocking trap joint. Of course, the star of the show is none other than Kodak Black. Black serves up relatively agile rhymes over the colorful, minor-key backdrop. Throughout he’s hard-nosed, tough, and unapologetic:

“Oh, y’all think lil’ Yak retarded?

Y’all ain’t seen none yet, I promise

Niggas can’t take me, niggas can’t guard me

I be on a fuck nigga ass like Charmin

AK, twenty-inch carbon.”

His melodic rap moments are nice as well.  Black is confident – on autopilot. The chorus is utterly infectious for sure:

“Damn, my nigga, you trippin’

We could’ve been superstars

Remember when we was jackin’ cars

Now, it’s not safe for you

You switched like a pussy, lil’ bitch.”

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4. Julian Daniel, “Supernova”

🎵 “Supernova” • 🏷 Julian Daniel • 📅 2019

“You’re my first supernova / You’re my first but I hardly know you…” Hmm, what does that even mean? Well, NASA defines supernova as “the biggest explosion that humans have ever seen.  Each blast is extremely bright. Super powerful explosion of a star. Fair enough.  That said, for rising Canadian pop artist 🎙 Julian Daniel, the supernova referenced on his single 🎵 “Supernova”, is his first one-night stand.  The new life experience for the young singer gets a truly thrilling, ear-catching treatment to say the least.  That makes sense. One will be hard-pressed to find something amiss about “Supernova.” Daniel seems to cross every ‘T’ and dot every ‘I.’ The listener is blessed with intriguing production work – decadent ear candy comprised of colorful synths, and a driving, rhythmic groove.

Daniel delivers expressive, nuanced vocals, while his runs stand out on the chorus especially.  The chorus is catchy (the opening lyrics hail from it), backed by alluring, busy production work. Furthermore, the emphasis placed on the titular line is brilliant and so fitting. Daniel truly pulls you into his sexual experience, ‘sound-tracked’ by the dark, minor key, gimmickry within the vocal performance, and the playful, sexy approach.  Also, worth mentioning are the guest female vocals on the second verse, which provide a fine contrast to Daniel’s own awesome pipes.  All the boxes are checked off with “Supernova” – strong vocals, personality, songwriting, and production.

Appears in 🔽:
11 Awesome Songs: June 2019
13 Totally Captivating Songs That Reference Science

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5. Luther Vandross, “Superstar”

💿 Busy Body • 🏷 Sony Music Entertainment • 📅 1983

There are few singers who could sing as smooth as 🎙 Luther Vandross.  Vandross was the exemplification of cool energy and finesse.  His vocal performances can be characterized by being refined.  One of Vandross’ best, most iconic performances was his cover of 🎵 “Superstar,” popularized by 🎙 The Carpenters, who covered the songs themselves.  Appearing as the seventh track on his 1983 album, 💿 Busy Body, the original nine-minute-long song is fused with the soul gem, 🎵 “Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)”.  On various greatest hits compilations, it’s released as a standalone, five-and-a-half-minute-long number.

Listening to Luther sing “Superstar” is a heavenly experience – it’s almost spiritual! His tone is silky smooth, riding lush production work with incredible ease.  He sings with utmost expression yet never forces things.  Furthermore, that backdrop, intact with keys, strings, and backing vocals, never crowds or inhibits Vandross – he’s always in command. Speaking of background vocals, I love it when we get those sweet ‘Lutheran’ (not religious) harmonies.  The Carpenters performed this 🎼✍ Bonnie Bramlett / 🎼✍ Leon Russell classic sensationally, but Vandross makes it his own, gorgeous adult contemporary R&B masterpiece.

Appears in 🔽:
Luther Vandross vs. Ruben Studdard: Head 2 Head 🗣️ No. 21
Luther Vandross vs. Anthony Hamilton: Head 2 Head 🗣️ No. 30
15 More Soul Oldies That Tickle My Fancy (Vol. 3)

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Super: 5ive Songs No. 5 (2022) [📷: Atlantic, Brent Faulkner, Clovis Cheminot, Julian Daniel, Klaus Nielsen from Pexels, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pixabay, Republic, Sony Music Entertainment]

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