7. Dave
There’s still such ignorance about rap music, in certain parts of the British press, who still associate it with crime and violence and all that crap. And Dave is just the opposite. He’s socially conscious, he talks about his feelings a lot. I love the fact that this track ends with him talking to a therapist. I’m also really interested in songs which are about the creative process. As a writer, I think there’s a lot of common ground between writing songs and writing books or journalism – I think the creative process is the same. I mean, that line about reading your comments and trying to feel some love again, I bet you’ve done that. Sometimes when things are going really bad, you’ve got to remind yourself that once you did something that went well. Also, that desire to escape where you’re from? I think a lot of people can relate to that. I felt it intensely. And also that observation about how the outward signs of success are not how you feel inside, how all the gold chains are actually a symptom of insecurity. And I think you get that as a writer – people see your chart positions, they see your sales, they see your reviews, and they think that’s what your life is. And it really isn’t like that. Actually, writing is very close to depression. I think writing is about dwelling repeatedly on something, it’s about being alone. The symptoms of depression and writing are quite similar. And it’s hard. No matter how successful you get, it’s hard and I think he captures that really well in this.
