The music industry is now run by multi-million dollar corporations. And now the same industry zeros in on the luxury life that music has afforded these artists. But once upon a time, music was an art form that celebrated an artist’s expression. One of the elements of those expressions was storytelling. Many musicians could use their lyrical abilities to convey their life experiences. Some stories are happy, others are sad. But regardless of the emotion, it gave fans an opportunity to see some of their favorite artists in their most vulnerable state. Here are some of the top songs that tell powerful stories.
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Notorious B.I.G. – Story to Tell
We couldn’t kick off a list about storytelling without starting off with hip-hop’s chief storyteller. The Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls. Smalls had such a way with words, that his lyrics would help put listeners at the scene of the situation he was detailing. A Story to Tell from Biggies 1997 album Ready to Die, gave listeners an inside look at one of the rapper’s sexual experiences. In the song, he details sleeping with a woman who was dating one of the players from the New York Knicks. Biggie puts on a storytelling masterclass on the song. From how he describes the woman’s features, to him hiding in the apartment, to the actual encounter with the athlete. Everything is perfect and leaves you wanting more as the listener.
Eminem – Stan
Eminem’s Stan from his 2000 album, the Marshall Mathers LP, takes an interesting angle. The song starts out talking from the perspective of a superfan named Stan. Stan, who is a huge fan of Eminem does everything like Eminem. He talks like him and even bleaches his hair blonde like the rap star. Throughout the song, Stan writes letters to Eminem about many things in his life, including wanting to meet him. Stan continues to write the letters, but they ultimately go unanswered. Stan eventually grows upset, and things take a dark turn when Stan ties his wife and drives her off a bridge into a lake. Similar to how Eminem, assaulted his wife in his song, Kim.
Eve Love is Blind
Eve’s 1999 hit Love is Blind is one of the saddest stories in hip-hop. In the story, Eve talks about her relationship with a woman who she is close to, who is a victim of domestic violence. Eve talks about how she constantly tries to convince the woman to leave the relationship but she insists that she is still in love with the man. Things take an ugly turn when the boyfriend abuses Eve’s friend so badly that she dies. An upset Eve then takes matters into her own hands at the funeral and shoots the boyfriend, delivering one of the coldest lines in hip-hop history. “Praying to me now, I ain’t God but I’ll pretend,” she says in the song.
Lost Boyz – Renee
Renee off of the Lost Boyz Legal Drug Money album, is also a case where hip-hop meets dark storytelling. Mr. Cheeks conveys a story where he meets an attractive woman named Renee on his way home from school one day. Renee and Mr. Cheeks get more acquainted as the weeks go by and ultimately end up falling in love. But as soon as things get serious between the two, tragedy strikes. Mr. Cheeks gets a call from Renee’s mom telling him he was shot. He rushes to the hospital to see her, but by the time he arrives, she is dead. The ultimate “Ghetto Storytale.
