Music and TV go hand-in-hand. Soundtracks to movies have sold big numbers for decades. Take a movie like The Godfather, while the scenes and storyline were chilling, so was the score. Snowfall ran for 6 seasons and while Jay Z was not an official part of the show, one of his earlier songs might have served as the foundation to the story. Snowfall and ‘D-Evils’ off Reasonable Doubt, were just too similar to ignore.
What makes this track so fitting for Snowfall was that it described the darker side of hustling. Franklin Saint began as a baby-face young kid but rose to Kingpin status quickly. He was so focused on the money that he didn’t have time to think about the consequences of that growth. ‘D-Evils’ was Jay at his best in terms of wordplay earlier on but looking at what Franklin had to endure during his run, you could see how the two could be intertwined.
Whoever said illegal was the easy way out
Couldn’t understand the mechanics
And the workings of the underworld, granted
Looking back at Franklin’s parents, this is why these bars are so compelling. Franklin’s dad was a Black Panther while his mother worked for a slum lord. Franklin wanted more. He wanted to help his mom. But for most, that drug money was the easy way out. His mom and dad at the time just didn’t understand the evil that surrounded Franklin. But they would soon learn the hard way.
I break bread with the late heads
Pickin’ their brains for angles on
On all the evils that the game’ll do
It gets dangerous, money and power is changin’ us
And now we’re lethal, infected with D’Evils
To end the first verse, Jay dropped a classic gem. For Franklin, the old heads would be Uncle Jerome and his Aunt Louie. Jerome sold weed and Louie, well, she was into all kinds of things before she tried to settle down. But it was early on that Franklin sought their advice. What Franklin didn’t see that Jerome tried to warn him about were the pitfalls that came with it all.
We used to fight for building blocks
Now we fight for blocks with buildings that make a killin’
The closest of friends when we first started
But grew apart as the money grew, and soon grew black-hearted
As a kid, the wooden building blocks were the s***. You fought over them as kids. But in the game, you’re now fighting for different blocks that make money. Money changes people. Franklin encountered this as he had to turn his back on a few friends he came up with. Remember Kev? But this could also describe his broken relationship with Mel. He was in love with her, but the evil he was pumping in the community, forced him and her to do some unthinkable things and throw their friendship away. They both grew black-hearted.
All the years we were real close
Now I see his fears through her tears
Know she wishin’ we were still close
Don’t cry, it is to be
In time, I’ll take away your miseries
And make it mine, D’Evils
At times you have to switch things up. Let’s call this the Marvel effect. Not everything in the comics will be the same way in the movie. With these bars, Jay is describing a kidnapping. They were once close friends (he and Teddy) but the money and power changed everything. This could be when Franklin had Teddy’s dad. Franklin wanted his money and called Teddy while he had his father held up. When he didn’t like what Teddy said, Franklin killed him. As Jay said, I’ll take your miseries and make them mine.
I can’t be held accountable, D’Evils beating me down, boo
Got me runnin’ with guys, makin’ G’s, tellin’ lies that sound true
Come test me, I never cower
For the love of money, son, I’m givin’ lead showers
Stop screamin’, you know the demon said it’s best to die
The last few minutes of Snowfall will go down in TV history. These bars that Jay spit broke down the rise and fall of Franklin perfectly. Franklin and his mom had a falling out and no matter what she tried, Franklin was too far gone. The money had a hold of him. He was lying to himself and to everyone. For the love of money, he’s giving lead showers. In the Series Finale, Franklin was on a warpath and even innocent people paid with their lives. But in the end, there was no saving him. Franklin’s demise was his own greed.
