The Genius Community is a group of international music lovers who come to Genius every day to contribute musical knowledge. Through the medium of annotations, they decode the deeper meaning behind lyrics, contextualize them within an artist’s discography, pinpoint their social relevance, or uncover their historical influences.
The best annotations are not only well-written and comprehensive, but also bring new insight to the lyrics we’re all obsessed with. They consolidate the most interesting information about trending music, or take what could otherwise be unassuming lyrics and transform them into engaging tidbits of knowledge. With that in mind, here are the Best Annotations of July 2018.
The aptly-titled “Self Care” plays like a list of Mac Miller’s confessions, as he acknowledges he needs to take better care of himself and reconciles with his recent real-life struggles. Apart from his public breakup with Ariana Grande, he alludes to his March arrest on DUI and hit-and-run charges where he hit a power pole with his Mercedes-Benz. Genius contributor @Liiight broke down all the details.
Since Drake dropped Scorpion in June, “In My Feelings” has emerged as its biggest and most enduring hit. Its success is in large part thanks to the viral #DoTheShiggy dance challenge, and to the catchy “Kiki, do you love me?” chorus. Fans speculated “Kiki” was singer Keshia Chanté, but it wasn’t until a credible source reached out to Genius in early July that it came to light who “Kiki"—and "KB"—really is.
Denzel Curry’s TA13OO is a concept album broken up into three acts representing light, grey, and dark, but they’re all tied together by a central theme that the title suggests—tough-to-swallow topics and brazen sociopolitical criticism. But that more serious subject matter doesn’t mean the music is completely devoid of Denzel’s usual banter. On “CASH MANIAC” he mixes in Rae Sremmurd and Black Sabbath for a dash of clever wordplay.
Rich in social commentary, The 1975’s new single “Love It If We Made It” sees the English rock band memorialize Lil Peep, challenge religion, and denounce modernity. Among all the other references and critiques, Genius contributors @GnarlingtonTX and @wavespale took a deep dive on one line in particular, connecting the origin of the term “Jonesing” both to frontman Matthew Healy’s struggles with heroin addiction and to his appreciation for 1990s R&B.
twenty one pilots returned after two years of silence this month with their singles “Jumpsuit” and “Nico and the Niners.” As always, they accompanied the music with opaque fictional story—which, as it turns out, they’d been teasing on a promotional website for a while leading up to the release. Genius contributor @Lxgan bridged the gap between the titular line from “Nico and the Niners,” a weird GIF of a cheetah, and twenty one pilots' previous lore.
