Loyle Carner's Crafted Poetry and Pacifying Beats
- Aug 4, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 17, 2022
Photo: NME Magazine
Not Waving, But Drowning is an album built upon Loyle Carner’s great love and affection for those around him and shows his strength even in his most vulnerable moments.
Loyle Carner’s anticipated, second album was released in April 2019. Although only having released two albums, Carner’s lazy tone can be heard on several songs and mixtapes providing a verse on tracks by artists like Swindle and Tom Misch. Hip-hop, rap and grime are some of the most popular music genres in the UK - fitting into all three of these genres, it can be questioned why Carner’s work isn’t featured in the top 10 on the British charts. His thought provoking, poetry-like lyrics stand out from any other UK rap artist as he writes about uncertain feelings and love for his mother; after listening to the album Not Waving, But Drowning, it’s almost impossible for you to not want to listen to his whole discography.
This album features a range of different beats and story lines, from the upbeat rhythm of Angel to the mellow, self - reflective track Still, featuring the soothing tone of Sampha. Loyle Carner noticeably strives for hip – hop lyrics over jazz – based beats, this perfect union of the two, reforms a whole new genre for him to pioneer.
Carner’s songs are riddled with enchanting spells, in the form of his lyrics, placing you in a captivating bubble of euphoric peace. The R&B track Desoleil (Brilliant Corners) speaks of ‘growing up since his first album and the struggles he still faces’, “But I’ve changed for the better and I know that / Things don’t look better through a Kodak / But some things look special in a throwback”.
Carner has openly spoken about his ADHD and dyslexia in previous interviews and how they played a large impact on his childhood and have shaped him into who he is today. Powerfully approaching his ADHD and combining it with one of his biggest passions outside of music, cooking, Carner opened Chili Con Carner, a cooking school for those with ADHD. It has progressively grown since it was founded in 2016 and has become a wonderful way for those with this condition to have a positive outlet. Loyle Carner has evidently accepted his dyslexia and ADHD and embraces them as tools of power rather than weaknesses, making him and his lyrics even more inspiring and influential.
Two accomplished albums, a range of singles, and featured verses, complete his discography. One distinguishable feeling in many of Carner’s songs is his strong passion and love for the people he surrounds himself with, especially his mum. Speaking briefly about his family, he has said that he unfortunately lost his stepfather suddenly in 2014 and has little to no contact with his biological father, hence the strong relationship he shares with his mum. This love for his mother has resulted in him idolizing her, and women in general in his lyrics. In the song HOW I’VE BEEN (Swindle, Joy Crookes, Kojey Radical, JNR Williams), each artist has their own verse expressing the power of mothers and women, Loyle shares a verse with the lyrics “I wish you held up to the visions in my head of a father unstuck”, possibly connecting to his own childhood. It's incredibly refreshing to see women uplifted and admired in lyrics rather than sexualised, this is one aspect of Carner's music that stands him out from the rest.
This never – ending love for his mum is elegantly threaded into the album Not Waving, But Drowning, its first track is titled Dear Jean (a letter – like song from Loyle to his mother Jean), the album then ends with the track Dear Ben (a tear-jerking poem spoken by Jean to Loyle, who’s birth name is Ben), it features the lyrics, “like buccaneers, we sailed the seven seas / and drank in the wonders of your world”, emphasizing the extremely close bond they share.
With all this in mind, Loyle Carner appears to be paving his way towards an original jazz, R&B sound, reviving the older hip – hop beats and building them around the new generation taking over the music industry today. His crafted poetry and pacifying beats combine to form his own unique sound, we can certainly expect to hear new head – bopping work him in the future. With an endless bag of talent and first – class personality, you can only ask yourself, why haven’t I heard of Loyle Carner before?
Find more of Loyle Carner's music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4oDjh8wNW5vDHyFRrDYC4k
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