By: Zoe Hines Founder of Ballistic Sounds. 20-year-old Canadian rapper, Roy Wood$, dropped his album Waking at Dawn earlier this month. Wood$ brings up the controversy surrounding different love interests and adjusting to his new life as an artist. This album addresses the question of how to deal with love when your life has completely changed for the better. There are key songs that demonstrate the conflicts faced by an artist who is beginning to #takeoff.
The First track, “Sonic Boom” begins with Wood$ having feelings for a girl that he realizes doesn’t exactly care about his emotions. The slow hazy beat mimics the effects of the drugs that Wood$ has taken to help him cope with his love interest’s lack of attention and interest in him. The nostalgia of “Sonic Boom” fades into the piano melody of “You Love It”, which speaks about a positive past relationship. After Wood$ describes a healthy relationship with a girl who appreciates his affection, he reveals that she left him in the end. Wood$ simultaneously narrates moving on and discovering himself on tour. The juxtaposition of heartache and artistic growth encourages the listener to contemplate the complex relationship between love and fame. Later in the album “Down Girl” opens with a fast tempo tune. This track could be one of the best tracks off the album. It narrates another qualm famous people deal with in romance. Wood$ is searching for a girl who loves him because of his personality and not for his money or fame. When he does find the girl that seems like the right fit, she must prove that the feelings are real and not fabricated. “Switch” shifts the momentum of the album. Most of the tracks are about love, but this song is about his personal struggle with his future as a musician. No one paid attention to him until his name became prominent. Wood$ was always working hard on his music, but people only offered their assistance and flocked towards him after the fame. As his status changes, his view on the people around him becomes different. “Menace” and “She Knows About Me” are the last two songs on the album. Wood$ shows that his problems with self discovery have damaged the feelings between him and the girl he loves. He has deep remorse for the pain he has caused her, and the best solution is letting her go and moving on. This is just one of many painful decisions Wood$ has made because of his career. Maturity is a recurring theme in this album because of what he has had to sacrifice in order to become a better person and a more successful artist. His ability to make these decisions at a young age shows both his growth in character and his firm commitment to music. Waking at Dawn is a great coming of age album. Its healthy balance of relatability and personalness make Wood$ ready for #takeoff. Waking at Dawn is available on Spotify and iTunes!
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