Intertextuality - Logic (Nikki)
Addictions, desires and bad habits. We all have them, some of us may even have multiple. They come in all forms, from tangible things such as alcohol or drugs to someone you love that you must let go but just cannot seem to. These things we as humans crave endlessly can often make us feel weak and hopeless, we feel we cannot open up to others about these weaknesses because we have too much pride and feel ashamed so we keep it all inside and hope the feelings will subside, but they never do. I believe that this is why art and more specifically music can be unbelievably therapeutic. I’m not saying if you listen to the right song it will immediately rid you of all addictions and/or bad habits, but what music can do is be something you can identify with. Something to remind you that you aren’t alone at the end of each day, which is far more powerful than you may think to an individual who genuinely feels as though they have nobody.
Popular American rap artist Logic is no stranger to shining light upon the commonly looked past topic of mental illness and addiction. In August of 2017, Logic released a music video for his single 1-800-273-8255 which speaks heavily on the topic of suicide and depression. This particular video has reached a whopping 250 million views since it’s release and was performed by logic himself at the 60th annual Grammy Awards as a tribute to Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell who both tragically passed as a result of suicide.
However, logics choice to incorporate themes of depression, addiction and suicide within his music did not start last year with the release of 1-800, in fact a song that I believe was written with far greater poetic skill called “Nikki” was released as a part of his album “under pressure”. I’m not going to lie, the first time I heard the song I was absolutely lost for words. I’ve never been the hugest Logic fan but I will always give credit where credit is due and Nikki definitely caught me off guard. In the beginning of the song, logic seems to be rapping about a girl he had recently broken up with through lyrics like “Nikki baby, I love you but now I’ve got to go, cause’ in the end what happens you already know”. However, as the song progresses, he begins to use clever metaphors to intertextually speak about two things at once, however, we don’t know what this other thing is until he says, “cause’ lately I’ve been feeling like a slave to the nicotine”. It is in this moment that you realize that what you thought was a breakup song, was actually a song about Logic’s long running addiction to cigarettes.
The way in which intertextuality was utilized by Logic in this song Nikki made listening to it for the first time like a roller coaster of emotions. The way in which he intricately turned the word nicotine into the abbreviated song name Nikki, gave Logic the power to passionately talk about cigarettes while making listeners believe he is talking about a girl he is in the process of breaking up with. Logic used intertextuality in Nikki to not only create a lyrical masterpiece but also create a song that almost anyone can identify with. As said by the man himself in a 2014 genius interview, “if it sounds like I’m talking about a woman, then any man or woman can listen to that song when feeling depressed or a little down and relate t to their relationship personally”, he also goes on to explain that he wanted people struggling with other substance addictions to identify with the song regardless of the fact its about nicotine.
The way logic used intertextuality in this song inspired me to the point where I’ve been staying up late at night with music playing, pondering ideas for how I can create a piece of film that creatively links two ideas together to enhance the emotion and impact my work has on viewers and audiences off all types.
References
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXHu-ZlV70w
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-800-273-8255_(song)
