Tyler Walker  ENG 1101
Not So Easy
To my own surprise I’ve changed the Artist I wanted to write about. However, I choose someone who I felt needed to be acknowledge instead. Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some Tyler the Creator, I mean how could I not? We even share the same name! But even so I believe that listening to Tyler helped me discover this artist in the first place.
The Artist I choose was King Krule, an English singer, rapper, song writer and musician. My song of choice is King Krule’s “Easy Easy”, which I believe is the first song of his I’ve ever heard from him. At first, I was taken back from his vocals as I found it somewhat wobbly however as the song progressed it was quite serenading. I find his music very soothing and something I can relax to while doing homework compared to the usual rap I listen to which is very upbeat and gravitates me to rapping along. While I don’t deny that after a while, King Krule’s songs can become a distraction, I find his low pitch voice and very expressive tone within his songs alluring. Within the song “Easy Easy”, I would have to deem it very repetitive. However, when listening to this song multiple times I wouldn’t get bored. I feel as if the instrumentals behind the lyrics themselves gives the song life, it sticks within your head and all you can ever think about is the word “Easy”. I find the lyrics quite simple as well. Again, I don’t think this is a bad thing at all, in my opinion this makes the song much easier to digest and comprehend. For me, it feels as if it creates this carefree and nonchalant atmosphere around me, lightening up my mood as I carefully listen to it.
Within the music video of “Easy Easy”, there is use of various cameras. The quality alternates as the video progress. Whether it be from what it seems to be a hazy camera, to changing to a modern-day camera with exceptional quality simply creates an entirely new outlook of the performance. The shots that they take of their everyday surroundings appears to be comforting and creates nostalgia with the quality of the hazy camera. The video is very suiting for the lyrics, as it is just King Krule and his friend walking around the streets of what I assume to be Southwark, United Kingdom. Said by king Krule himself, “Growing up in any big city, you get exposed to so many beautiful cultures. I’ve grown up with a lot of open eyes around me that’s influenced my eyes to open” I believe King Krule displayed within his music video of “Easy Easy”, the beauties of his city, especially displaying its cinematic appeal multiple times within the video. I see deeper into this quote and its correlation to the song, being exposed to many beautiful cultures, you begin to take in those cultures and make it define who you are, not only as a musician, but as a person as well. Having those influences around you would drastically change your perspective of the world and how you would want to impact it yourself.
While the song is on the short side, I believe it has a powerful meaning to it. Alone with the title, “Easy Easy”, you can assume that this song spreads positivity and explains why life is easy. However, I’ve had a different interpretation when I’ve listened. Within this song he says, “And with your dead-end job /That’s been eating away your life /You feel a little inside /The trouble and strife /And now you spend your evenings /Searching for another life /And yeah I think mate I think you’ve got them in your sights”. At first, it seems that the narrator is having hardships, a problem that they’re holding within themselves bottled up eating them from the inside. However, in the next bar the narrators tone begins to change into a more relaxed and calm tone. It gives off the message of never quit, keep searching for what you want to do as there will be hardships in life and the only way to achieve your goals is to keep your sights on your future. Listening to this reminded me of the quote “with every cloud there is a silver lining”. I think it’s safe to say that everyone goes through some kind of struggle and while it does seem like quitting is the best option, it’s not, if you care for something you should strive to achieve that goal. At the end of the second verse, he follows up with the ending of the first verse a says “When positivity seems hard to reach /I keep my head down and my mouth shut /’Cause if you going through hell /We just keep going”. When these lines were said, you can hear the transition in his tone from a very relaxed voice transitioning to a loud and strenuous voice, it’s almost as if you can hear his passion. I felt as if in the beginning of this bar, he exclaims that there will be tough times where you feel as if you’re alone and there’s no one you can convey your thoughts to. However, he says “’Cause if you going through hell /We just keep going” with a final breath. This was very inspirational and influencing to me, as the only direction to go if you’re backed against a wall is forward.
In conclusion, I would recommend this song to anyone, no matter what genre you listen to or preference in music is. I believe that King Krule has a very positive message for those who need it and is very influential and inspiring to me after listening to a couple more of his songs. And while some may think that the song “Easy Easy” has a simplistic meaning having an easy life, would be very mistaken. So as King Krule would say, take it “easy”.
King Krule “Easy Easy” music video : https://youtu.be/hRzlbh4or3c
Krule, King. “King Krule Quotes.” BrainyQuote, Xplore, www.brainyquote.com/quotes/king_krule_602250.
