These 13 Songs Bleed 🩸 Red | Playlist 🎧

These 13 Songs Bleed 🩸 Red features music courtesy of Doja Cat, HARDY, Nicki Minaj, Prince, and Taylor Swift.

Prepare to BLEED 🩸 😈 … well, not really 😉. When we think about blood, we associate it with the color RED. So, because a R-E-D driven playlist deserves an ear catching title, that’s why the bloodiness enters the picture on 🎧 These 13 Songs Bleed 🩸 Red.  The only requirement of the 13 songs appearing on this list is they use the color/word red, or some shade of red, such as crimson or maroon. 🎧 These 13 Songs Bleed 🩸 Red features music courtesy of 🎙 Doja Cat, 🎙 HARDY, 🎙 Nicki Minaj, 🎙 Prince, and 🎙 Taylor Swift among others. So, without further ado, let’s start bleeding red, shall we?!

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1. Doja Cat, “Paint The Town Red”

🎵 “Paint The Town Red” • 🏷 Kemosabe / RCA • 🗓 2023

“Said pop make money, now you try, bitch / You could use a revamp with a new vibe, sis.” 🏆 Grammy-winning artist 🎙 Doja Cat (Amala Dlamini) is locked-in in aggressive mode on her single, 🎵 “Paint The Town Red”. Produced by 🎛 Earl on the Beat, Amala gets a lift as the beloved, classic soul cut, 🎵 “Walk on By” by Dionne Warwick (1964) is sampled overtly.  In fact, Warwick kicks things off, setting the tone for “Paint The Town Red.”  

The first thing we hear from Doja Cat is the chorus, in all its assertive glory. “Yeah, bitch, I said what I said / I’d rather be famous instead,” she bites, continuing, “I let all that get to my head / I don’t care, I paint the town red.” WOO! If the chorus weren’t feisty enough, the post-chorus certainly is, adding to the infectious nature of “Paint The Town Red”   

“Mm, she the devil 

She a bad lil’ bitch, she a rebel  

She put her foot to the pedal 

It’ll take a whole lot for me to settle.”

Gah-day-ummm! Beyond the chorus, the biting, unapologetic bars continue in the verses.  The first verse commences with a bang: “Said my happiness is all of your misery / I put good dick all in my kidneys.”  Holy shit! Oh, and in verse two, there is no back down: “I’m a demon, Lord / Fall off what? I ain’t seen the horse.”  Fully embracing all things rap and hip-hop, Doja Cat shines on 🎵 “Paint The Town Red”. 

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2. HARDY, “red” (Ft. Morgan Wallen)

💿 the mockingbird & THE CROW • 🏷 Big Loud / Big Loud Rock • 🗓 2023

On 🎵 “red,” a highlight from his 2023 album, 💿 the mockingbird & THE CROW, 🎙 HARDY taps fellow country musician, 🎙 Morgan Wallen, for the assist. The collaboration is a success – country gold. Furthermore, the ideas and theme of “red” are on-brand with the conservative, southern sensibilities associated with the genre.  “Red, I’m talking ‘bout the sun coming up and the sun going down / On a John Deere, turning up a hard work check,” HARDY sings in the opening verse. Further evidence arrives via the chorus, where he asserts, “I ain’t talking politics, I’m talking small town / And if you’re from one, you know what I’m talking ‘bout.” Wokeness is rarely part of the country script, so liberalism is not in play here.  Bud Weiser, The Bible, and patriotism, on the other hand, are (“For a wind-torn flag that’s blue and white and red”).   

 

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3. Nicki Minaj, “Red Ruby Da Sleeze”  

🎵 “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” • 🏷 Republic • 🗓 2023   

“Who the fuck told bitches they was me now?” Da-yum, 🎙 Nicki Minaj! The ever unapologetic rapper gives no fizzucks on 🎵 “Red Ruby Da Sleeze”, her first single of 2023. Always ferocious when it comes to energy and bars, she has a popular aughts classic fueling her fire.  That’s right, producers 🎛 Go Grizzly and Cheeze Beatz sample 🎵 “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)” courtesy of 🎙 Lumidee.  Nicki takes the rhythmic, spirited instrumental and runs with it.     

Besides the lift Lumidee gives Nicki Minaj, it is Minaj’s colorful rhymes that ‘take the cake.’ It is safe to say there are shots fired – an understatement.  “But I don’t fuck with horses since Christopher Reeves” appears to be a cold diss towards Megan Thee Stallion. There is also the shady “We don’t be Karen like Donna-na, na-na-na-na,” another diss to multiple Nicki enemies.  All the female rappers seem to get dissed with lines like, “When the Queen leave, bitches wanna come out like a cockroach,” or “Shout out to hoes that’s watchin’ me like Movados.” So, what does one make of 🎵 “Red Ruby Da Sleeze”? It’s a surefire rap banger, PERIOD.  Is Nicki Minaj pressed by the competition? Perhaps, but to her credit, she brings the heat here, backed by a killer choice of sample.    

Appears in 🔻:  

• Awesome Songs: March 2023
• 15 Songs Where Great Sampling Fuels the Fire (2023)

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4-5. Taylor Swift, “Maroon” & “Red (Taylor’s Version)” 

💿 Midnights • 🏷 Taylor Swift • 📅 2022 // 💿 Red (Taylor’s Version) • 🏷 Taylor Swift • 📅 2021

🎙 Taylor Swift has proven herself to be an incredibly versatile musician.  After multiple albums, 🏆 Grammys, stylistic shifts, and prudent business decisions, Swift has built an empire. On her 2022 album,  💿 Midnights, she returned to pop, including a dark red song, 🎵 “Maroon.” “Maroon” was produced by Swift and 🎛 Jack Antonoff. Forms of the color red are a BIG DEAL on “Maroon” as is love.  The pen game is top-notch for Swift in the verses and of course, the centerpiece, the chorus.   

“Looked up at the sky and it was 

The burgundy on my t-shirt 

When you splashed your wine into me 

And how the blood rushed into my cheeks 

So scarlet, it was 

…So scarlet, it was maroon.”

Vocally, she’s quite effective never under or over singing.  A potent song with cool energy like “Maroon” doesn’t require Swift to be something she’s not – a powerhouse.  Of course, some aggressive f-bombs help give this red record bite (“And I wake with your memory over me / That’s a real fucking legacy to leave”). Woo!  

 

Appears in 🔻:

• 15 Songs Characterized by Their Colors, Vol. II (2022)

“Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street.” Well, at least it’s a sharp ride, right? 10 years prior to Midnights, Swift released 💿 Red, which, fittingly, featured the fabulous, red record, 🎵 “Red”.  In 2021, she released 💿 Red (Taylor’s Version), one of many re-recorded albums ensuring she had rights to her catalog released via Big Machine. 🎵 “Red (Taylor’s Version)” retains the glory of the original, straddling that line between country and.  Obviously red is the prominent color, but Swift cites several colors poetically in the chorus:

“Losing him was blue like I’d never known

Missing him was dark gray, all alone (Woah)

Forgetting him was like tryin’ to know somebody you never met

But loving him was red (red, red).”  

It’s safe to say that red looks good on Taylor Swift.

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6. Dustin Lynch, “Seein’ Red”

💿 Current Mood • 🏷 Broken Bow • 📅 2017 

“Flame, girl you light it up / When I hear you say my name / Yeah, you know just how to start it,” 🎙 Dustin Lynch sings on 🎵 “Seein’ Red”. He continues on the advance single from his third album, 💿 Current Mood (2017), “You shine, and I just can’t wait / To get you out tonight / Yeah, you know how bad I want it.” The country musician delivers an enjoyable performance and song.  Not only is he handsome, filled of that good ole, southern boy sensibility, but he also has a great voice. “Seein’ Red” has some modern touches but doesn’t alienate a purist country audience.  From the jump, it’s energetic, featuring a driving, rhythmic groove.  Interestingly, it’s set in a minor key, giving it a darker sound 😈. Lynch plays off of the edginess well, giving a commanding, expressive vocal performance. It’s fun, energetic, and sexy without crossing any lines.

“I’m talking red hot, red kiss

Falling off your lips

I’m talking red hot, red dress

Hanging off your hips

I’m talking backseat heartbeat

Pounding in my chest

I’m seein’ red, I’m seein’ red.”

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7. Kelly Clarkson, “red flag collector”

💿 chemistry • 🏷 Atlantic • 📅 2023

“They say the worst parts of someone / Come out to play when shit goes wrong / So shit must hit the fan with you all day, hey.” Ooh wee! 🎵 “red flag collector” provides a welcome contrast to 💿 chemistry, the tenth album by 🏆 Grammy-winning pop superstar 🎙 Kelly Clarkson. What makes this particular song different in the context of chemistry? Well, “red flag collector” incorporates country/western flavor.  The western flavor is pronounced at the onset, setting up a cowboy-ish vibe. Of course, it should be noted, Clarkson does sing, in the chorus, “Play cowboy in the wild, wild west.”  Furthermore, the record seems to reference the Montana ranch formerly lived in by the couple which belongs to Clarkson. Furthermore, the song is about the red flags Clarkson discovered about her ex, Brandon Blackstock.  Among the crème de la crème of chemistry, maybe the best thing about “red flag collector” are those signature, high-flying vocals.   

 

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8. Prince, “Little Red Corvette” 

💿 1999 • 🏷 Warner • 📅  1982 

“I guess I must be dumb ‘cuz you had a pocket full of horses / Trojan and some of them used…” Hmm, 🎙 Prince had a firm grasp on the power of sexual innuendo… or just sex in general. Exhibit B: “I guess I should’ve closed my eyes when you drove me to the place / Where your horses run free / Cuz I felt a little ill when I saw all the pictures / Of the jockeys that were there before me.” The excerpted lyrics confirm his knack for being suggestive without necessarily being explicit.  The lyrics from 🎵 “Little Red Corvette” (💿 1999) would never be welcomed in church or the most devout folks’ homes, but The Purple One has been more overt…  This beloved no. 6 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 isn’t really about a car! It’s all about sex, something that Prince put into song so, um, sexually.  Examining the lyrics under a microscope, this woman who he plans to hook up with has been with plenty of guys.  Two of my favorite words are quite the source of suggestiveness: horses and jockeys.  The chorus is the centerpiece of this iconic record:  

“And honey, I say, Little Red Corvette 

Baby, you’re much too fast (Oh) 

Little Red Corvette 

You need a love that’s gonna last.” 

Appears in 🔻:

• In Remembrance: 13 Provocative Songs from Prince (2020)
• Day 16: Prince, Little Red Corvette | 30-Day Song Challenge 🎶 (2020)
• 30-Day Song Challenge 🎶: The Playlist, Part 2 (2020)
• 30-Day Song Challenge 🎶: The Complete Playlist (2020)

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9. J Balvin “Rojo”

💿 Colores • 🏷 Universal Music Latino / UMG • 📅 2020

“Tres y cuatro de la mañana (Yah) / Ven, mata estás gana’, vamo’ a llegar a mi cama (Vamo’).” Say what!? In English: “Three and four in the morning (Yah) / Come, let’s do it, come to my bed (Come on).” Ooh-la-la! 🎵 “Rojo” (“Red”) earns honors among the crème de la crème of 💿 Colores, the brief, 2020 album by Colombian reggaeton superstar, 🎙 J Balvin. “Rojo” is brief, but that doesn’t inhibit its success in the least.  J Balvin sings incredibly smoothly here, painting the 🎛 Sky Rompiendo / Taiko production absolutely beautifully 👏.  The tone of the record itself is sensual, as Balvin sings about his strong desires to be with her 😈.  The music video provides a much different, tragic narrative.  Even so, the tragic narrative, which involves Balvin’s character’s death, fits the bloody ‘red’ concept.

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10. Slipknot, “Red Flag”

💿 We Are Not Your Kind • 🏷 Roadrunner • 📅 2019 

“You used to be something special / Now you’re nothing new,” 🎙 Corey Taylor asserts in the chorus of the 🎙 Slipknot record, 🎵 “Red Flag.” “Red Flag” thrives off its speed – quite the understatement.  Those fists 👊 are clenched in the air from the onset, further confirmed with moments like the ‘gives no fucks’ pre-chorus: “You don’t own me / You can’t hold me  / This is beginning / You are an ending.” WOO! Other awesome moments from the eighth track of the Grammy-winning nü-metal band’s 2019 album, 💿 We Are Not Your Kind, include the chorus (“They’ll eat you alive just to kill you”), as well as the dramatic bridge section, which includes the lyrical gem, “Bitch, so manic / I can see the light that exposes you.” Clearly, that flag ⛳️ is red AF!!!

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11. Childish Gambino, “Redbone”

💿 “Awaken, My Love!” • 🏷 McDJ Entertainment / Glassnote Entertainment • 📅 2016

🎵 “Redbone”, the sixth track from 💿 “Awaken, My Love!”, is easily one of the highlights of 🎙 Childish Gambino’s (🏆 multi-award winner 🎙 Donald Glover) career. This red record is a soulful throwback that sounded totally hip and refreshing in the 2010s. Glover penned “Redbone” alongside 🎼 ✍ Gary Lee Cooper and composer/producer extraordinaire, Academy and Grammy award winner, 🎛 Ludwig Göransson. The chorus in particular is filled with soul. Glover’s vocals are gritty and drenched in effects. With redbone, the rapper/singer/actor is referencing a “light skinned female mixed with black and another race.” According to him, he and numerous black dudes in general desire a redbone. See the best part of this 🏆 Grammy-winning record (Best Traditional R&B Performance) – the chorus:

“But stay woke

Niggas creepin’

They gon’ find you

Gon’ catch you sleepin’ (oooh)

Now stay woke

Niggas creepin’

Now don’t you close your eyes.”

Appears in 🔻:

• 27 Contemporary Songs That Capture the Black Experience (2017)
• 100 Best Songs of 2017

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12. 5 Seconds of Summer, “Red Line”  

💿 5SOS5 • 🏷 5SOS, LLC / BMG Rights Management • 📅 2022 

“’Cause I been spendin’ all this time alone / I’m on the red line, sinkin’ Aperol.” 🎵 “Red Line” appears deep into 🎙 5 Seconds of Summer’s 2022 album, 💿 5SOS5 (the 14^th track of 19 total). Despite its late appearance, “Red Line” is much greener (positive) as opposed to red (negative).  It commences with a warm sound, produced by 5SOS member, 🎙 🎛 Michael Clifford.  Of course, lead vocalist, 🎙 Luke Hemmings, puts in work from start to finish.  It doesn’t all come down to Luke though, as there a contributions from 🎙 Calum Hood (with Hemmings in the chorus) and Clifford (select moments in the second verse).   

 

From the start, Luke Hemmings appears to have issues: “It’s hard to fake when I’m not faded / I thought I could repair myself.” Wow! His lovely vocals match the warmth of the pad and guitars within the production, despite his problems. Unsurprisingly, those pesky matters of the heart seem to be the culprit: 

“How many times did we run from each other?  

How many times did I walk out the door? 

Into the dark, we’re no good for each other 

Into the dark, I’m not welcome no more.”   

Following that spirited chorus, Hemmings makes it clear he’s in a horrible place – a downward spiral encompassing overindulgence in alcohol.  Basically, the road to recovery looks bleak, despite how sweet that falsetto is and how tuneful the melodies are.   

Appears in 🔻:

• 15 Songs Characterized by Their Colors, Vol. II (2022)

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13. Ike & Tina Turner, “Sweet Rhode Island Red”  

💿 Sweet Rhode Island Red • 🏷 Capitol • 🗓 1974  

Years before she made a comeback for the ages in the mid 1980s, 🎙 Tina Turner made a name for herself recording with her husband, 🎙 Ike Turner.  The duo had no shortage of hits.  The thing is, a gem like 🎵 “Sweet Rhode Island Red”, from their 1974 album, also titled, 💿 Sweet Rhode Island Red, is lesser known.  Notably, Sweet Rhode Island Red was created exclusively for the international market, which explains why it is a rarer LP. Even so, the Tina Turner-penned titular joint shines, showing off her dynamic voice and once-in-a-lifetime personality.  Honestly, “Sweet Rhode Island Red” goes H.A.M. from the onset.  

“Born in Louisiana in a town called Franklin / I was fully matured by the time I reached the age of 10,” Tina Turner sings expressively.  She continues in the colorful first verse, “Mulatto girl, that’s what they called me / And us mulattos have no trouble at all with men.” That is probably true.  For those who do not know, a mulatto is defined as a person of mixed white and black ancestry. Britannica adds in their entry, “today in North America mulatto is considered to be a dated and offensive term.” In the 70s, however, this term was acceptable. The pre-chorus which follows – “All the men say that I’m sweet as honey / ‘Cause I’m 34, 28, and 22 at the tummy” –  sets up the epic chorus which highlights the titular lyric.  Cock-a-doodle-doo! There is even more of a narrative component beyond the first verse.  Tina sings about attending church, school, and how Pastor Taylor and Deacon Jones treated her (“They were just too hot headed to leave me alone”).  Furthermore, it is captivating when Turner sings, “People there said it was a shame and a pity / When old Mayor Daley gave me the key to the city [New Orleans].” Woo!  Beyond the energetic, fun lyrics, the music backing Tina is epic, produced by Ike. 

Appears in 🔻: 

• Ike & Tina Turner, Sweet Rhode Island Red: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 127 (2022)
• 15 Must-Hear, Throwback Vibez, Vol. 7 (2023)
• 11 Songs That Are Incredibly Sweet, Vol. 2 (2023)

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These 13 Songs Bleed 🩸 Red (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; 5SOS, LLC / BMG Rights Management, Atlantic, Big Loud / Big Loud Rock, Broken Bow, Capitol, Kemosabe / RCA, McDJ Entertainment / Glassnote Entertainment, Republic, Roadrunner, Taylor Swift, Universal Music Latino / UMG, Warner; Christine Sponchia, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Marion Grimm, Myriams-Fotos, Nika Akin, OpenClipart-Vectors,  from Pixabay]

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