AfricAryaN

Album: Everybody (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Logic was born Sir Robert Bryson Hall II to Robert Bryson Hall, an African-American Maryland native, and a Caucasian mother. On this song, he explores his mixed race background, the impact it has had on his life and his self-perception and acceptance in both Black and white communities. Logic said in a Genius annotation:

    "People either treat me like I'm some racist Aryan mother---er or racist ass white people treat me like, 'Send your ass back to Africa.' These are things that people have said to me."
  • This was originally going to be the title track of Logic's third album, but he eventually decided to call it Everybody. The Maryland rapper explained:

    "Because AfricAryan is a negative thing. It's not a good thing. Like how I felt in America, people had branded me as one or the other, extremes of either end. But as the album really grew, it became much less about me and became more about everybody. So I decided to change the title because that's what it reflected. It reflected everybody. You look on the album cover and who do you see? Everybody. The perspectives I'm rapping from are everybody. Who is this for? Everybody. Who am I rapping for? Everybody. I'm am f---ing getting behind and parading behind? Everybody."
  • The track is just over 12 minutes long, and after five poignant, personal verses from Logic and a skit, J. Cole jumps in to contribute some unexpected rhymes. Cole is also bi-racial with a similar story to Logic, and the "Deja Vu" rapper lends some pertinent words of wisdom to the mixed race Maryland MC.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.