Pandemic Playlist: Top 5 lo-fi and chill songs to help you muse about your place in the world
There is only one constant in the world, and that is change. Thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the world today is something entirely different from what it was just a few months ago.
When we finally emerge from our respective cocoons, we might not recognize it anymore. And when that does happen, we might find ourselves faced with the prospect of transformation from who we once were to who we must be to fit in with the new world order.
For many of us, it's hard to really process what that means and what our new selves might be like. But in the absence of the words to define that experience for us, we have music upon which to rest our feelings.
Let these five lo-fi and chill tracks help you float smoothly to greener pastures and subtle realizations.
Willow Smith: 'Female Energy Part 2'
In 2014's 'Female Energy', Willow channeled some Badu-esque contemporary hip-hop and soul to tell the story of her own journey within a relationship culminating in its end.
She speaks about feeling like she comes from outer space, being a person who isn't easily understood due to her unique perspectives on life and the human condition.
The song also samples from Jhené Aiko's 'The Pressure', hinting at how she has no control over what her significant other does, and can only feign her lack of care as they walk away. Ultimately, she also speaks of being tired of the pattern and flips the end so she's the one leaving.
2019's 'Female Energy, Part 2' continues the same theme, but this time sees Willow lean further into the spirituality within her. She questions how she is supposed to feel in this world, wondering what her place in it is, stating her frustrations make her want to scream - which she eventually does in the second verse.
The relaxing and slow song is a beautiful way to escape reality and slip into the realm of thoughts and feelings that might otherwise seem too daunting to approach.
Beck: 'Uneventful Days'
In this song, Beck sings about how "Everything has changed, nothing here feels right," repeatedly referring to uneventful and never-ending days and nights.
The song also makes reference to "never-mending battle lines", feeling "cold and alone" because someone you yearn for isn't around right now "living in that dark, waiting for the light," as well as the slow movement of time and losing the will to fight.
It also goes on to talk about money getting tight, the mundane routine eating, drinking, and cycling through the same emotions, and feeling down and left out.
Despite being released long before the coronavirus pandemic, this song is as anthemic for the times as can be. It details the boring existence of having nothing to do and nowhere to be, and feeling like you're aimlessly wandering around through the dark.
But the song isn't meant to simply remind you of what the world feels like right now. The song, as well as the album it features on — 2019's 'Hyperspace' — is, according to the artist, all about finding peace in the moment.
It is meant to be an escape, and along with its multi-genre sound, it manages to alter your space and mind until you feel like you've transcended to another realm. Even if only for just a moment.
Knxwledge: 'Learn/Howtokope'
Serving as an interlude to this list is L.A.-based producer Knxwledge's A-side/B-side 'learn/howtokope'.
'Learn' is gorgeously smooth. It's the kind of song that gets you to wind down no matter what you're winding down from and is the perfect accompaniment to when the lines between day and night blur and you can barely tell what day it is anymore.
But it's when 'Learn' cuts to an audio clip from Knxwledge stating "He just like 'I don't wanna F**k-f**k all that Knxwledge, I don't wanna hear that. It's cool. I'll listen to Knxwledge but I prefer trap music," wherein you hear the producer talk about the kind of backhanded compliments his unique brand of music receives, that this song really transcends smooth lo-fi into something truly reflective.
What follows in 'Howtokope' is a mournful wailing owing to the pitched-down vocals set against a slow, funky instrumental.
It's haunting and melodic. The kind of song you lay down and lose yourself in.
Flying Lotus ft. Anderson .Paak: 'More'
The repetition of the word 'more' throughout this song is the greatest indication of what it is trying to convey.
The lyrics itself point to two major themes - one happens to be the desire to love and be loved, which hones in on the idea that wanting to love is just as important as love itself, while the other relates to the notion that humans and society as a whole are so absorbed in self-interest that we have built entire cultures around it and now we wonder if there can't be more to life than just this.
It's wonderfully apt for the times. The video plays on similar ideas, beginning with the phrase "your ego is your seed" and ending with a man exploding into a burning tree.
This is a beautifully hypnotic lo-fi hip-hop track that weaves in and out of various aspects of life, creating fluidity and motion through both the lyrics and the sounds. It's the perfect backdrop to someone trying to ponder on themes like past experiences and growth in times of uncertainty.
Jinsang: 'Affection'
Arguably one of the most popular names in the lo-fi hip-hop community, Jinsang is known for crafting some of the most chill music while sampling from some of the best songs hip-hop has to offer.
On 'Affection', he draws inspiration from Big L and Kid Capri's 'Put It On', which was a catchy song that was made to sound bright enough to warrant being played on the radio. The phrase 'put it on' is slang for 'do your thing', making this a song about being yourself and finding your own way.
When coupled with Jinsang's style that fuses hip-hop with soul and jazz recordings that make it sound like something out of decades past, the song takes on a more introspective feel, lulling you into a daze as you switch from wondering if there is more to life to being the person that creates more for yourself.
And that is really just the beginning of that rabbit hole because once you hit play on a Jinsang song, you're probably not turning it off for a long time. Listen to his gorgeously vibey music HERE.
Pandemic Playlist is a daily list of songs that will keep you entertained instead of feeling drained while you're isolated at home. Look out for a fresh selection of great tunes from MEAWW to refresh your mood every day!