Cliffs Notes: Highbrow

Listen to "Highbrow" here: www.soundcloud.com/drewwilliam

Highbrow. A term used to describe something of elite class or taste. Highly cultured or educated, so they say. And that’s exactly the message this song is intended to convey. It’s a rebellion, of sorts, against the status quo, or what’s consumed and praised in our society as being art, when, in fact, little creativity has been put forth to create much of what’s popular and paid for in music today. That’s why I unapologetically say that the imagination and composition of this song, and everything else I’m doing musically on this mixtape, is simply above the rest. Of superior quality? I’ll let you decide. In better taste? Absolutely.

And that’s why I loved the sentiment of this track, “Martians vs. Goblins” by The Game featuring Lil’ Wayne and Tyler The Creator. It’s not only in-your-face, rebellious, and unapologetic, but it’s built around a hook that says “We are not the same, I am a Martian.” That’s precisely how I feel about this song and my music. That I’m not even different from other hip-hop artists in the sense of humans being different from one another, I’m an entirely different species in the way I create and what I write about it. Tastes in music differ and it’s difficult to be entirely objective. With that, my goal in creating music is not necessarily to get you to like it, but more so, to make you acknowledge the fact that I’m different and play by my own rules.

Verse 1

I used to be ashamed of the skill, but now I'm flauntin it

Errin on the side of arrogant and overconfident. STOP

I see you all standin there in astonishment

That silence is flattery, I take it all as a compliment

I said this song was unapologetic. You don’t have to go any further than the first line or two to realize that. This first stanza really hits on embracing being unique. I remember being ashamed of rapping for some time. The stereotypes of a white hip-hop artist are endless. And that’s one of the things that’s really fucked up about us, that we don’t embrace people being different and trying new things much of the time, particularly in the Midwest and Indiana, where I grew up. That caused me to be very private about my music and afraid of being judged. However, when you learn to cope with those factors, you realize how ridiculous they are. So now that I’ve been suppressed for so long, I’m compensating for that lost time by being completely the opposite. Arrogant and overconfident. When I used to be ashamed about rapping in front of people when they looked on quiet and “astonished”, I now embrace that as a being a compliment and meaning that the silence indicates that they only think that I’m that unexpectedly good.

Maybe cause I travel the world to different continents

My view is lookin better than yours, I'm not apologizing

Europe in the mornin, Asia for the nightcap

You think this shit a game, I'll show pictures from the flight deck

Here, I begin to ponder why people see me as being different and are surprised that I’m a hip-hop artist. Maybe it’s because I’m well-cultured and -traveled when most independent hip-hop artists aren’t? I won’t apologize for that, however, because I attained my views, status, and travel experience through hard work of my own. Of course, views can be taken in the sense that I’m seeing incredible views by traveling abroad or that I’ve acquired a very unique perspective by doing so. I say “Europe in the morning, Asia for the nightcap” to illustrate just how well-traveled I am. However, that was, in fact, a real experience of mine when I visited Istanbul, Turkey this past year. I spent half of the day in Europe and then crossed the continental line to spend the second half in Asia. I have pictures from both sides to prove it, I say, meaning that the line is not meant to be merely symbolic of how well-traveled I am.

They say Istanbul is the new Paris

7:00 A.M., I'm still on Taksim and not carin

If you don't get it now, settle down your embarrassment

Just rewind and play it all back in 5 years for clarity

Continuing on with specifics of my travel and experience in Istanbul…I’ve read and heard opinion that Istanbul is the new Paris. It’s been said to be the next great city in terms of culture, dining, nightlife, etc. (GQ: Is This the Next Paris?) I use this as a representation of how far I’m ahead of the competition. Not only am I ahead of you in my experiences and perspective in traveling abroad, but I’m even thinking ahead to visit cities that are on the cusp of popularity and are still hidden gems. Taksim Square is the area of culture and nightlife in the new section of Istanbul. Once again, I say that, beyond metaphors, I really did spend my time in Istanbul unapologetically partying until 7:00 AM. Since Istanbul hasn’t gained the popularity of Paris or other well-known international cities, I say that I don’t expect you to understand my travels or lyrics at the moment if you aren’t cultured. You shouldn’t be embarrassed because not many people do. You can just play this song again in five years and everything I’ve talked about will have come to fruition, both in the sense of Istanbul and what I’m talking about as an artist.

I'm just a little more artful like The Dodger

Women on the text, I twist em up like Oliver

And all of em say that I’m the one they thinkin bout all the time

But all of my thought devoted to gettin all of what I desire

Continuing on from the previous stanza, I say not to be embarrassed about not seeing what I do because it’s normal. Sarcastically, I say not to be embarrassed because I’m just a little more artful than you are in the way I put everything together cleverly. Artful like “The Artful Dodger” from the Charles Dickens story “Oliver Twist”. I continue this wordplay by saying that I have women all twisted up over me like Oliver. They say they’re thinking of me all of the time, but it can be inferred that my thought isn’t devoted to them because I desire success and whatever else is truly important, not talking to and being with random women.

Verse 2

I light it up like Edison

Obsessed with success, you could call it a fetish then

No whips, no chains. I don’t need to show thangs off when the flow’s propane

Go and get some more bling

I won’t insult you by breaking down lines one or two. In line three, I take this idea of the level of my obsession with success being a fetish to poke fun at some of the clichés in hip-hop. I say no whips or no chains as an example of taking a common sex fetish. No whips and no chains in the literal S&M sense, but also in the sense of saying that I don’t need to talk about or have cars (whips) or jewelry (chains) to prove how successful I am. I measure success by what one achieves, not by what one possesses. So I don’t need those things when my raps are explosive, “flow’s propane”, and are of substance. Jokingly, I hint at telling those artists that it doesn’t matter if they buy more luxuries, go ahead because they still don’t have the substance or skill that I do.

I don’t respond to no-names

Quote, unquote ballers are always the ones with no game

Call it what you want, but I’m proud of the fact I’m so vain

I don’t need to help, kill yourself #Cobain

Most people who question my music are the same ones who embrace those things that I listed above. Though, I don’t respond to or make music for those people because rappers who talk about those clichés are nothing to me, “no names”. I say this because, in my experience, it’s always been the individuals who talk the most, that truly own or have accomplished the least. I qualify the statement by saying it may seem like what I’m saying is attacking another brand of hip-hop and simply acting “vain” like I’m above talking about those things. My response is, if you’d call it vain, then I’m proud of being vain. I’m proud of being whatever I am, because it’s unique and it challenges the status quo. And that’s the essence of the song. We don’t question enough in our society sometimes. We don’t push people to explain themselves. Artists, politicians, and others simply get away with giving really vague answers. So I end by insinuating that, eventually, everyone gets exposed. So the lack of content and talking about whatever is in the moment is only going to hurt these artists in the long run. My time spent pointing out what I disagree with is irrelevant, because, in the end, it’s gonna be their own decisions that lead to their demise. Much like the rock icon of my generation, Kurt Cobain, took his own life.

Foreign chicks on foreign trips, important shit

I’m pennin hits like Sorkin is, immortal shit

My head is gettin too big, but I’m still absorbin it, exorbitant narcissism

Creepin in now I’m sure of it and still I’m seekin more of it

I continue on by saying that I’m just doing me after the previous conclusion. I say “I’m pennin hits like Sorkin is” to compare the quality of my songwriting to that of the screenplay writing of Aaron Sorkin - perhaps the most well-known writer in Hollywood at the moment. I say, “Immortal shit”. because I believe that, unlike any other profession, writers are the most immortal. Legendary athletes, for instance, have tremendous careers, but their work is always surpassed and irrelevant in the future. Writers, on the other hand, not only have their legacies, but also their works, which are cherished and adapted for ages. That’s how I look at my songwriting, by asking whether or not future generations would admire it.

Sick and tired of this boring shit talkin all about clichés

It’s all the same now every verse is a replay

Swear I’m a star and I do it with no teammates

Cause I don’t need a three way to create like D Wade

To end, I say that I feel like every hip-hop verse is a reply in the way that all of the same things are talked about over and over again. Often times, it’s difficult for me to distinguish between hip-hop artists at the moment, so many of them have the exact same brand. I then pay homage to the old days and poke fun at the way artists have so many features on their albums nowadays because they can’t stand on their own…”I do it with no teammates…” I compare this trend in music to basketball. Say what you will about Jordan, Bird, some of the greats, but they had that competitive spirit to win on their own. They had help, no doubt, but they made their teammates into hall of famers and did things the right way. Despite the fact that the Miami Heat won a championship this year, I feel like they sold out and diminished the integrity of the game in many ways. That’s why I take this dig at D. Wade and the Heat by acknowledging that I might fail in what I’m accomplishing with my music, but at least I didn’t sell out and hire help to get it done. I’ll do it the right way, on my own as an independent artist.