"Racism,
Religion, and Reality in Song Lyrics"
An
informal content analysis
Kathy
Prior42
Music has been a major influence in American culture for decades. Influential artists such as Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley among many others have changed how we as a society view the world around us. In modern times, songs from all over the world are easily accessible through YouTube, Soundcloud, iTunes, and other media platforms. No matter what generation or background a person belongs to, music has a way of bringing diverse people together, reminding them of the human desires for freedom, fun, and social connection with other individuals. However, like individuals themselves, music comes in a variety of different genres that change throughout history and time. Thanks to the Internet, independent solo artists (as well as mainstream musicians) are able to create music both in person and electronically on the computer, sharing their work with others on YouTube and social media platforms. Modern pop music, dance music and EDM are often marketed to younger audiences in advertisements, videos, television, and social media.
What can alternative electronic music tell us about the way our society is built? Why is this an issue that individuals (especially the youth) should be aware of? This paper analyzes messages in the lyrics of three songs; two rap songs and one metal one. The songs in question are “Speak Your Mind,” “Broken Soldier’s Cry,” and “God Complex,” by music producer The Enigma TNG. It is suggested that song lyrics and music (in this case of an indie artist) can reveal the truth about societal issues and help listeners with developing self-awareness.
The Enigma TNG is an independent electronic music producer on YouTube. TNG stands for “the next generation [of music]” meaning that he sees himself as a mysterious producer of unique music to future generations of people. Using his skill, hard work, and creative passion, he can make music from nearly any genre: dubstep, trance, techno, classical, rock, industrial, and metalstep (a combination of metal and dubstep). Born in Pennsylvania, he started making music as early as age 14. As of 2018, he has made nearly 20 albums and more than 300 different tracks on the Bandcamp website. Many of his songs contain dark, melodic science fiction elements. Enigma is most known for his popular Skrillex-inspired dubstep track “Monster Killer” released on his “Katz in Black” album in 2013. For a side project, he also creates fan made tracks for the anime Dragon Ball Z under the alias “Saiyan Enigma.” In his videos on YouTube, Enigma states that a wide range of artists inspire him to make music; in particular, dubstep artist Skrillex, electronic producer Deadmau5, and the Birthday Massacre band. He currently lives with his wife and is still active on YouTube.
The first song, “Speak Your Mind” was released onto YouTube in 2014. Enigma first raps about how he was bullied in school as a child for being different. Then he argues “the truth is none of y’all understand me,” in the song. Indeed only Enigma and his family and close friends can understand him. All too often, people judge others based on their appearances or how they behave in public, without getting to know them first. Throughout the song, he refers to Christianity as a source of comfort and strength for him; “if it wasn’t for G-d, [he] wouldn’t be the mystery…” and “…Jesus Christ is the one who saved me.” Although particular in his religious beliefs, the message of acceptance and finding strength within oneself can apply to people of any faith in life.
Enigma encourages other people to “stand up, make a change, settle the news.” This could mean standing up against racism, poverty, hunger, sexism, environmental harm, among other issues. He refers to ignorant, cruel people as “demons” and “hedons” who “try and corrupt society.” Sociology also makes a vague reference when Enigma raps about people not doing anything to fix the problems that are occurring. He adds, “so many things wrong with the world, but ‘yall got a blindfold over your eyes and your brain swirls.” This is one of many examples of how an artist can use sociology themes in music to raise awareness to an eager audience.
Like many people, Enigma is frustrated and saddened by the current state of the world. With issues of immigration, pollution, using up resources, among other problems, it can feel overwhelming for people who want to try and fix society. He mentions that people think of “everything [as] a joke, everything’s a hoax and when something goes wrong you want to get the most out of something you don’t deserve.” In other words, people do not take certain issues seriously (ex. people not believing in climate change because it’s “not their problem” or they don’t believe in it altogether.) People in positions of power often want to keep their stable lives intact, constantly earning money, recognition, status, and authority. (Humans in general love staying in their comfort zones and being able to buy the things they want to fuel their egos).
Enigma then warns people with selfish intentions of the consequences of their careless actions, “very soon, you’ll be nothing because you let your ignorance eat you alive.” The rap ends with Enigma reminding the (presumably young audience) that “it’s never too late to make a change, or [become] the same as all the other people in the game [system of privilege].” In the last lines, he says “but if you gain a rid of shame [guilt and concern for others] I don’t wanna be the only one trying to preach this whole thing.” In other words, one person is not enough to stand up against social issues; it must be a collective effort.
Next, “Broken Soldier’s Cry” was a rap song made by The Enigma TNG in 2014. It has typical hip hop sounding beats in it, in addition to a piano solo throughout for emotion. Similar to “Speak Your Mind,” Enigma rants and laments of his experience of being bullied and abused in the past. He mentions that people only care about making an effort when it is “something superficial and beneficial to [their] needs.” In other words, people are often so preoccupied with their lives and themselves that they do not consider how people (often in lower positions) deal with their lives. The song emphasizes the point with another line: “Those same people that you lookin down are feeling hell, feeling broken like they ain’t got no dreams to follow.” This could refer to any kind of individual who does not fit the ideal White, wealthy, Christian, able-bodied, heterosexual male norm in American society. This part refers to how he felt in his personal life, but can also relate to other individuals who have felt the same way.
Throughout the song, Enigma mentions the struggles of being a biracial individual in a racist society obsessed with labeling people into certain racial categories (Black or White binary). Enigma says that he does not care about “what [people] think of me and my nationality,” and in another line where he says he “…does not submit to the pressures of this world.” To the people who believe that societal issues are not their problem to fix, Enigma warns them, “open up your eyes because you don’t realize you’re part of [the bigger problem].”
Bullying, racism, and social status are the primary sociological themes throughout the song. Even the issue of veterans arriving home from war and trying to adapt into society could also be an underlying theme of the song as well. Enigma was “fighting to survive” a world of poverty, racism, capitalism, and bullying. In a sense, he was a “broken soldier” a warrior who likely relied on himself (and his music) to survive. The important message involves learning to accept who you are as a person, no matter how different others perceive you to be. In addition, ignoring racism and disadvantaged groups will not solve the problem…it will only worsen it.
“God Complex” was a song on his new album, “Parallel Universe,” released July 2018. It is a song that uses guitar, orchestral, and mechanical sounds to create a tense atmosphere. The song has prominent religious themes both in the lyrics and the title. One of the lines reads “destruction by my hand for the god who sent me on this earth.” This could mean many different things but it likely refers to a metaphorical religious follower, causing harm to society and the environment under “God’s will.” Of course, this song does not refer nor has the intent to offend the millions of ordinary religious individuals, (in this case, most likely Christianity). The theme of the song is likely a warning of the consequences of religious extremists taking their views too far; using them for evil instead of good. Another line which says “violent passion for a fraudulent god who gave a vicious curse” likely refers to a distorted version of G-d by the elite/white supremacists. It is not Jesus Christ or a humanitarian deity in original texts, but a socially constructed version made to privilege some people (ex. white European men) over others (ex. Jews, African Americans, and those who did not follow the dominant religion).
“Religious power binding my soul so that I’ll never seek to be free,” is another line in the lyrics. Indeed for many individuals throughout history, religion had restricted them to what they could and could not do. (ex. nuns and followers in churches praying, fasting, and not being able to leave the church in earlier centuries). Scholar Max Weber studied the correlations between the Protestant Ethic and modern day Capitalism. He argues that the concept of a “religious calling;” a fulfillment of duties of a person’s position so he/she would be acceptable by G-d came from the Protestant Reformation.
Another line in the song, “Fear inside, nothing to conquer, all to watch and observe,” could refer to individuals who seek to raise their status and wealth at the expense of others. All the while, citizens passively watch and often ignore the hierarchies that are present in modern capitalism. Those living in poverty often feel powerless against individuals in authoritative positions. The song continues, “open your eyes, you’ve been stripped of power, stripped of godhood your whole life.” Enigma is telling the listeners to “wake up” and recognize the systems of inequality as well as negative impacts of the media. We, as humans are not as invincible as we imagine ourselves to be. We are indeed, at the mercy of individuals above us, a class that economic researcher Carl Marx termed the “bourgeoisie.”
One of the most influential lines reads: “Death reveals true reality, cause life is an imitator, a thousand lies.” Indeed, all of us are the same due to the fact that we will all eventually die. Death reminds people not to take their lives for granted and is a major consequence of war, poverty, hatred, racism, sexism, and other situations. Many of the “lies” in life are fed to us through television advertisements, politics, music, literature, and other forms of pop culture. America is an individualistic bipartisan materialistic country. The values held by the dominant class have influenced the ways we think about the world, values that often hide the darker parts of society.
Islam, Christianity, Judaism and other religions teach people how to be good in life and to not be as fearful of the afterlife. Some people find comfort in the thought of a loving Creator watches over them and gives them a higher purpose to fulfill in their lives. It is important to be respectful of other people's beliefs, as long as people are not facing discrimination as a result. Instead of focusing on conversion and profit, Americans could use religion to bring people together, not tear different groups apart. Perhaps modern society could do with a resurrection of its own, a rebirth of social norms and cultural values that could be more inclusive of minority groups.
There were several limitations in this paper. The first limitation includes a very small sample of only three songs that were analyzed. More songs need to be analyzed to reduce bias and a narrow point of view.
Another limitation is that Enigma’s perception of society does not apply to other individual’s viewpoints of the world. The issues of sexism, disability, and sexuality were not addressed in the songs. A wider range of artists need to be included to reduce bias.
Another limitation is that Enigma’s perception of society does not apply to other individual’s viewpoints of the world. The issues of sexism, disability, and sexuality were not addressed in the songs. A wider range of artists need to be included to reduce bias.
The third limitation is that only certain lines in the lyrics that had significant meaning to the researcher were mentioned in order to not make the paper long and harder to understand. Analyzing the entire songs line by line could have brought more insight into the meaning of them.
The primary limitation is that this is not a formal research paper with a literature review as of yet. This paper was created to raise awareness of current social issues and to promote an underrated YouTube musician. Not enough sources were used to properly support the statement in the beginning of the paper. Due to the limitations, the analysis also has elements of bias from the researcher. It is suggested that more research and sources are needed to further strengthen the statement of this paper. In addition, songs from other independent artists could be examined in the future to get a fuller understanding of social issues represented in the media.
Based on the analysis of the songs above, it is suggested that song lyrics and music are tools that can raise awareness of social issues in society in addition to helping the audience cope with their own lives. Overall, Enigma’s three songs had important themes of racism, status, and religion in the lyrics. This unique producer teaches fans and other listeners alike of the importance of standing up for oneself and not letting obstacles get in the way of success. Enigma states that success is not easy for many individuals to reach, especially in an unequal society that privileges certain people over everyone else. By working together with other people and being true to oneself, anything is possible, if one has the courage to open their eyes, and ears to the truth.
References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvO0fM0KWhM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvO0fM0KWhM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqh6u7FHxOg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuhgxVwVt3s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNUQ9wXjwpw
https://theenigmatng.bandcamp.com/album/katz-in-black
http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/318n1302.htm
