Foushee’s Deep End is a song that I immediately felt drawn to the moment I heard the chorus trending on TikTok. The song initially began as a sample and was used by rapper, Sleepy Hallow to create the “Deep End Freestyle” which went viral and ended up in the Billboard Top 100 chart. Despite how popular the song was getting, Foushee still didn’t receive credit for her work on the track. Even after she came out claiming it was her voice, people still didn’t believe her and tried their best to discredit her as well. When she wrote the full extended version of the song, the chorus was slightly changed from “I don’t think you want to go off the deep end” to “I’ve been trying not to go off the deep end/I don’t think you want to give me a reason”. The song was altered and inspired by the protests going on throughout 2020 after the death of George Floyd. While there is a sad undertone to the lyrics of the song, the upbeat tempo and whispering voice of Foushee’ gives the energy of a song you want to dance and bump to. Without knowing the inspiration behind the song, it’s easy to get caught up in the upbeat energy of the track. Also, the hook “Shawty gon’ get that paper, / Shawty tongue rip like razor, / Shawty got wit, got flavor, / Pardon my tits and make up, Pay her” speaks to the beauty of black women and how much flavor, wit and inspiration comes from our presence in this world. Foushee’s song presents a silver lining despite the challenges blacks have been facing with the issues of police brutality and conflict in America. It shows how something beautiful can still come out of the darkness happening currently in America. It also serves as inspiration that blacks should continue working on our crafts because our lives, voices and contributions are important and they matter.
Musical Terms:
Airy – Spacious. Open. Instruments sound like they are surrounded by a large reflective space full of air. Good reproduction of high frequency reflections. High frequency response extends to 15 or 20 kHz.
Breathy – Audible breath sounds in woodwinds and reeds such as flute or sax. Good response in the upper mids or highs.
Pitch: Pitch is the frequency of a sound—how high or low it is in relation to other sounds. A high frequency, produced by rapid vibration, creates a high pitch; a low frequency, produced by slow vibration, creates a low pitch. The chromatic scale contains 12 musical pitches.
chorus (noun): the part of a song with the same melody and words each time it’s heard – I’ll sing the verses, and you sing the choruses.
Smooth – Easy on the ears, not harsh. Flat frequency response, especially in the midrange. Lack of peaks and dips in the response.
Tight – Good low frequency transient response and detail.
Grip – A sense of control and sturdiness in the bass.
Larghissimo – very, very slow (24 bpm and under)
Andante – An Italin word that means “walking”, andante is a moderate tempo marking between Largo and Moderato. This tempo is typically between 76 and 108 beats per minute.
Bass – The audio frequencies between about 60Hz and 250Hz.
Woolly – Loose, ill-defined bass.
Veiled – Like a silk veil is over the speakers. Slight noise or distortion or slightly weak high frequencies. Loss of detail due to limited transparency.
Sweet – Not strident or piercing. Delicate. Flat high frequency response, low distortion. Lack of peaks in the response. Highs are extended to 15 or 20 kHz, but they are not bumped up. Often used when referring to cymbals, percussion, strings, and sibilant sounds.
I would describe Foushee’s tone of voice as having an airy breathy pitch, particularly during the chorus of the song. Her voice is smooth, yet has a tight grip that makes you want to keep listening to her during the intro of the track. Throughout the song, the sounds as though it shifts from larghissimo (in the intro of the song) to andante (in the chorus) and then back to larghissimo towards the last verse of the song. Although there is a usage of guitar in the song, I am unsure if the background instruments are the bass or some electronic equipment. It’s difficult for me to tell but I guess that would be described as woolly, given that the bass is ill-defined to me. I am not sure if that would also make the song “veiled” since there is a lack of clarity/definition regarding the bass and background sounds. There’s also a swift sweetness to her voice in the second verse because she is speaking of her anger and frustration towards the contents of the song.
I would check out her Lyrical breakdown on Genius, it’s really interesting and she actually performs a live version of the song as well.
In 2020, there were many song writers who expressed their frustrations on inequalities musically, an example is Lil Baby’s “The Bigger Picture.” Like “Deep End,” “The Bigger Picture” has a sad message considering the recent events while maintaining some level of danceability through a higher tempo. Also “The Bigger Picture” uses stronger lyrics and visuals in the music video, to stress the ongoing issues of police brutality. While Foushee is much more optimistic in her tone, Lil Baby sends a very real message that these problems are probably still going to persist based on recent cases; I even done told them please/I find it crazy the police’ll shoot you and know that you dead/But still tell you to freeze.” Both songs speak volumes on the tragedies of 2020 and consistent inequalities that still exist.
Continuing with the theme of 2020 being a year of uprise and a callout for change, the song I chose to respond with is a song called it’s a good day (to fight the system) by an artist named Shungudzo, a Zimbabwean American singer-songwriter (highly recommend checking her out!) This song, released in October of 2020, is reminiscent of the year 2020; the year led by protests, rallies and the issues that have failed communities, particular Black communities & communities of color, across America. This song has a quicker, higher tempo but is accompanied with lyrics from the perspective of a person who wants change, and wants to make a change in the world they are living in. Similar to Foushee, Shungudzo breathes optimism into the song. It is a song of encouragement and community, such as when she sings “We’re gonna make it count, When one of us is tired out, the other will hold it down.” This song, along with Foushee’s song and Tati’s pick, Lil Baby’s “The Bigger Picture”are all reflections of the year 2020 and the trials and tribulations the year brought, as well as the issues that have been brought to the forefront.