OTHERSIDE – MACKLEMORE AND RYAN LEWIS
Poets have been able to use their expertise to address social issues for centuries. From William Shakespeare to Edgar Allan Poe, they have been able to affect their audiences using a variety of poetic devices such as similes, metaphors, imagery, assonance and many more. Songs and poems have affected society in both negative and positive ways, especially when it comes to the controversial issue of drug abuse. In the rap “Otherside” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Macklemore talks about his former drug addiction and how drugs and the media can affect today’s youth. The main purpose of “Otherside” is to show the audience the dangers and risk of drug addiction. “Otherside” uses a lot of imagery in both explicit …show more content…
One meaning shows that he is already using, just casually, rolling a joint with some friends and then noticing that someone has brought something new with the, a purple drink in a Styrofoam cup. A drink made from Codeine and mixed with Sprite, also known as Lean but in the song referenced to as “The Easter Pink, Pink Stuff, Purple Rain and Syrup.” Macklemore continues to use imagery throughout the second verse, explaining the side effects of Lean, how the drug makes you feel like you’re too big for your body, how oblivious you can be to your addiction once you’re hooked, and also just how easy it is to succumb to the numbness of the drug, and slip into an overdose. In stanza four, being the longest of all the stanzas, includes the most imagery. In this verse Macklemore says, “Syrup, Percocet and an eighth a day will leave you broke, depressed and emotionally vacant.” Because most people use drugs to escape something, whether it’s reality, rules or restlessness for a couple of hours, he artist is saying here that drugs, no matter what kind, will end up effecting you in a negative way. You’ll “spend all your money on that buzz”, this point is also reiterated in verse five, and an addiction can end up having a reverse effect on your mental wellbeing, whilst many people use drugs to help …show more content…
For example, “We live on the cusp of death, thinking that it won’t be us, it won’t be us, NAH, it won’t be us.” The repetition of ‘it won’t be us’ gives the audience an insight into the mindset of a user. It ties in closely with the ideology of young people thinking they can outlive the world. Today’s youth seem to believe that he world stops for them and their version of living every day as if it’s their last is by hitting up their dealer for a little baggie of fun. Either they’re oblivious to the risk of using or purposely pushing the facts out of their minds. Also, in verse four he says, “… that rush, that drug, that dope. Those pills, that crumb, that roach.” This ‘list’ of sorts positions the reader to understand the whole concept of the issue, to show that when you’re addicted those are the only things you think you need to survive, to feel thing, to smile. Macklemore also repeats how his life was going downhill throughout the song, further emphasising how much of an impact drugs can have on your
Poets have been able to use their expertise to address social issues for centuries. From William Shakespeare to Edgar Allan Poe, they have been able to affect their audiences using a variety of poetic devices such as similes, metaphors, imagery, assonance and many more. Songs and poems have affected society in both negative and positive ways, especially when it comes to the controversial issue of drug abuse. In the rap “Otherside” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Macklemore talks about his former drug addiction and how drugs and the media can affect today’s youth. The main purpose of “Otherside” is to show the audience the dangers and risk of drug addiction. “Otherside” uses a lot of imagery in both explicit …show more content…
One meaning shows that he is already using, just casually, rolling a joint with some friends and then noticing that someone has brought something new with the, a purple drink in a Styrofoam cup. A drink made from Codeine and mixed with Sprite, also known as Lean but in the song referenced to as “The Easter Pink, Pink Stuff, Purple Rain and Syrup.” Macklemore continues to use imagery throughout the second verse, explaining the side effects of Lean, how the drug makes you feel like you’re too big for your body, how oblivious you can be to your addiction once you’re hooked, and also just how easy it is to succumb to the numbness of the drug, and slip into an overdose. In stanza four, being the longest of all the stanzas, includes the most imagery. In this verse Macklemore says, “Syrup, Percocet and an eighth a day will leave you broke, depressed and emotionally vacant.” Because most people use drugs to escape something, whether it’s reality, rules or restlessness for a couple of hours, he artist is saying here that drugs, no matter what kind, will end up effecting you in a negative way. You’ll “spend all your money on that buzz”, this point is also reiterated in verse five, and an addiction can end up having a reverse effect on your mental wellbeing, whilst many people use drugs to help …show more content…
For example, “We live on the cusp of death, thinking that it won’t be us, it won’t be us, NAH, it won’t be us.” The repetition of ‘it won’t be us’ gives the audience an insight into the mindset of a user. It ties in closely with the ideology of young people thinking they can outlive the world. Today’s youth seem to believe that he world stops for them and their version of living every day as if it’s their last is by hitting up their dealer for a little baggie of fun. Either they’re oblivious to the risk of using or purposely pushing the facts out of their minds. Also, in verse four he says, “… that rush, that drug, that dope. Those pills, that crumb, that roach.” This ‘list’ of sorts positions the reader to understand the whole concept of the issue, to show that when you’re addicted those are the only things you think you need to survive, to feel thing, to smile. Macklemore also repeats how his life was going downhill throughout the song, further emphasising how much of an impact drugs can have on your