This song is called “Bablo Boat” by Royce da 5’9″ featuring J. Cole. I chose this song after finding about Royce through Eminem and their song “Caterpillar”. Youtube recommended Bablo Boat to me right after hearing it. I was curious to hear J. Cole with Royce and was not disappointed. At first what caught me was the instrumental as it’s soft as if it’s a beat meant to relax the listeners. There’s many background noises that add onto the effect making it smoother and psychedelic. The pacing starts slow but speeds up as the song progresses. To me, this stirs away from most rap and hip hop beats. As I listened to the instrumental I focused on the lyrics repeatedly and noticed both Royce and Cole reminisce on this track about their lives. Royce speaks about his personal experience at the actual Bablo Boat amusement park with his family. To his uncle’s crack addiction, to his father and brother’s alcohol addictions. Royce also mentions how at the Bablo Boat he lost his virginity. J. Cole continues the theme by talking about his past with his mom, wishing he could rewind time to when his only focus was girls. J. Cole uses word play in his line “we had no bablo boat but I could note those times like a Bible quote. B.C. before cell phones.” saying life was easier when the world wouldn’t focus on social media and giving their lives to a device. I believe we can all relate to this and reminisce as well to those times.
Definitions:
Smooth: Easy on the ears, not harsh. Flat frequency response, especially in the midrange. Lack of peaks and dips in the response.
Pace: Often assoc. with rhythm, a strong sense of timing and beat.
Focus: A strong, precise sense of image projection.
Isn’t “Boblo Boat” such a mellifluous term? Gosh, if I could somehow loop Royce Da 5’9″ saying “Boblo Boat” for an hour and listen to it, 20 minutes in I’d be in Nirvana. Ever the musician, I suspect he’s aware of this. He’s certainly keenly aware of the sound of language everywhere else in the song. The mastery of internal rhyme on the part of both rappers becomes so hypnotic that I often get lost in the sound of the music instead of paying attention to the content. I suppose that’s okay, though. The instrumental is dreamy enough, and the content is, in fact, about reminiscences of youth. Such imagery is bound to be hazy. The sound, then, is really only falling in line. It’s quite the relaxing listen.