Crown Violet
Listening to a song like “Crown Violet” puts you in a different place. One second you’re knee deep in snow and the next you’re on a beach. Miles of white sand stretch out on either side of you and you’re compelled to listen for hours as you ponder the meaning of adulthood and life itself.
Off of Azizi Gibson’s “Backward Books (Reloaded)” album released in 2014, “Crown Violet” is featured as a bonus track on the album. The child of a collaboration between Gibson and Abbas Kamandi, the track is a combination of subtle instrumental with an increasingly harsh beat.
A kaleidoscope view of adolescence, Gibsons lyrics are relatable to an almost unsettling accuracy. Comparing his adult life back to his high school years, Gibson raps about what he doesn’t understand. He reflects upon his self in lines like “It could be hell it could be heaven and I don’t know what the difference is,” while in others seems to be an in an entirely different world from us.
Throughout the song discussing seemingly random thoughts, Gibson is reminiscent in parts as he sings about his struggle to let go of his youth. The majority of the song is an ambiguous stream of consciousness and I leave lines like “Use powers within
Heal the world before 4:30,” up to the interpretation of my fellow listeners.
Jumbled like childhood itself, “Crown Violet” is a string maize of blue and pink ribbon that takes it’s listeners to a world with no boundaries. The real world left in the dust as Gibson enthralls you in a slow rap and hypnotizing beat that practically spits teenage angst at you.
