Song Persuasion Analysis Essay: "Love Yourz"

Introduction

"No such thing as a life that's better than yours", are powerful words from the song "Love Yourz" by J. Cole Lyrics. The song is one of the songs in Cole's album, 2014 Forest Hill Drive, released in 2014. Produced by Illmind, Cardiak, and CritiCal, the song came to inspire so many people, as it brought a message of self-love, appreciation and contentment for what one has. The American rapper filmed the video during his Forest Hills Drive Tour, carrying the strong message of Love Yourz. Generally, Cole's message resonated around the fact that there will always somebody wealthier than you, better than you, having a fancy life than you, but despite all these, you ought to love your own. The song is based on his personal life experience, and by that, it has gained great acceptance by many people. Undeniably, the song is greatly acceptable as it teaches an ethical lifestyle based on contentment and self-love.

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The Message and Acceptance of "Love Yourz"

The song's message gained great acceptance as it was based on a unique historical moment. After its release, it featured number 33 on the Billboard Mainstream Hip-Hop/R&B National Airplay. In general, the album sold 353,000 copies and debuted in the first position on the US Billboard 200 ("Love Yourz - Story of Song," n.d.). In the first week alone, the album streamed over 15.7 million times indicating the great reception of Cole's message. Notably, the song summed up the whole message in the Album. The title of the Album, 2015 Forest Hills Drive, Fayetteville, South Carolina, in itself forms a cultural landmark. As Cole explains, that was the actual address of the street where he and his brother Zach were born and grew up in their mother's company (HipHopDX, 12). It is in this historical context that Cole finds the main message behind the song and the album; the heart is in the home. Being a poor background, he became obsessed with the idea of success in future ("'Love Yourz: Relationships According to J Cole?" 2017). He notes that all he wanted was to get rich, build a house for his mother and change things around. However, he notes in the song that it is this anxiety of the next step that makes people lose sight of the little things they has that goes unappreciated. The song's message has remained relevant over time, with people relating the song to mental health. In reference to the song, Grant Brydon on the relationship between Hip-Hop and Mental health, one can operate more effectively at work without an inflated, egocentric ideology about success ("Love Yourz: Exploring Hip-Hop And Mental Health," n.d.). Thus, the song has continued to inspire many people to live a life of contentment.

Ethical Standards in the Lyrics of "Love Yourz"

The song's lyrics are greatly acceptable by the audience as the instil work and life ethical standards. Ranks model of persuasion is a simple model that basically explains two basic patterns common in persuasive situations; intensification and downplay. In intensification, a significance of certain elements by the persuader is increased so that the receiver may find them of great importance ("Rank's Intensify/Downplay Schema," n.d.). Generally, intensification is done through repetition, association, and composition. On the other hand, downplay is the opposite of intensification, as one tries to distract a person from some elements through diversion, omission, and confusion. Cole creates intensification through repetition of the phrase "No such thing as a life that's better than yours" which is repeated more than nine times in the song, to create an emphasis on the song's main message. However, he applies to downplay by criticizing people who live in the fantasy of a life without stress. Manly, he applies diversion, in which a person is distracted from an undesired element ("'Love Yourz: Relationships According to J Cole?" 2017). He does this by pointing out that there will always be a person wealthier than you, shoes better than yours, but no one will ever have your life. Through diversion in these lyrics, Cole denotes an ethical lifestyle with less anxiety, no greet, but conversely characterized by love, contentment and appreciation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, "Love Yourz" is a song composed to challenge people's lifestyle that is full of an inflated, egocentric obsession of success. Cole challenges the audience to look closely to the little things that one has, and that there is no life that will be better than yours. Evidently, the song received great reception among many people and had continued to inspire many people to appreciate home and not get obsessed with a life that is not realistic. In fact, the song is related to mental health, as it is viewed that workers are more likely to be productive if they work with little anxiety. The song is ethical, emphasizing love, happiness, appreciation and contentment.

References

HipHopDX. (12, 2). J. Cole Breaks Down "Love Yourz" On "Tavis Smiley". Retrieved February 13, 2018, from https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.32998/title.j-cole-breaks-down-love-yourz-on-the-tavis-smiley-show#

Love Yourz - Story of Song. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2018, from http://storyofsong.com/story/love-yourz/

Love Yourz: Exploring Hip-Hop And Mental Health. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2018, from https://www.clashmusic.com/news/love-yourz-exploring-hip-hop-and-mental-health

'Love Yourz: Relationships According to J Cole? (2017, February 3). Retrieved February 13, 2018, from https://guestlist.net/article/91066/love-yourz-relationships-according-to-j-cole

Rank's Intensify/Downplay Schema. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2018, from http://changingminds.org/techniques/general/overall/rank_schema.htm