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Mark Rayo

Ms. Feek

H World Lit

04 March 2019

Exploring Romanticism Through Modern day Art

For hundreds of years artist have been using their platform and creations to spread their

thoughts and emotions. They have been able to influence and sway their audiences in large

numbers. One time period that has an impact on art till this day was Romanticism. Romanticism,

a movement that emphasised on imagination and emotion, dates back to the seventeenth and

eighteenth century, it was a time period where people began to think outside the box and focus

on not how things happen but why things happen. This era wasn’t the most popular and didn’t

last long. It might not be obvious but there are still some artist who have carried over some

Romantic characteristics to modern day music. One artist who has done this successfully is

Kodak Black. Black is a rapper who grew up in poverty on the south side of Florida and

experienced a lot of gang violence. At an early age he was introduced to music where he began

to express his struggles and hardships and show the true meaning of growing up constantly

around a poverty environment. In “Calling My Spirit” by Kodak Black, Romanticism is explored

through reflecting on the past, connections with spirituality and focusing on inner self.

There’s nothing you can do to change the past but you’re able to learn from it. In the

“Calling My Spirit”, Black is able to reflect on his growth and realize he has not only grown as
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an artist but as an individual “ain’t seen my dad in a minute but I can’t be mad I got millions”

(line 46-47). He opens up on a serious time in his life where he was vulnerable and lost. Through

all of that he’s able to look past that and use his success to move forward. With the little taste of

success he realized he had to get serious “Fuck all that playing, now I’m grown, I put my heart in

it I had to get down with that chrome to show them niggas I’m serious” (line 21-22). It’s a deep

apology for forgiveness as he reflects on his time being locked up in prison. He explains how

he’s known for making bad decisions but now he’s done and is on a more sustainable path. Even

though the media perceives him as a childish figure who doesn’t take responsibility for his

actions, he believes he's better than that now “I done earn my stripes now I’m tryna go get some

real rank” (line 17). He emphasizes how he has served his time for his mistakes and that the past

is in the past there is no more time to bring it up. None of this was possible without his strong

mindset and faith .

Humans for the thousands of years have had some type of faith whether that was religion

or spirit. Throughout the song Black has a strong tone and sense of spirituality. He displays his

trust and love for the Hindu religion “Reading through my third eye ‘ cause I got tunnel vision”

(line18). In Hinduism the third eye is seen as a gateway to success and a realm of inner. It also

can be seen as a “meta organ” that enables humans to see potential others are unable to see. A

feeling of relief is felt on a reflection of his life “ I can’t be loving this life no more Bacardi,

alright” (line 34-35). His life feels so fake to him because he had never felt this way towards

anything. The trust on his music career has allowed him to find a sense of peace at last. With the

help of the Hindu religion he was set on finding his purpose. At times he was lost and took some

detours but were used to find his calling “ and it’s like every song I'm on I be calling my
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spirit”(line 23). After his discovery he realized his music all along was keeping him safe and

sane.

There is nothing more romantic than self -love. Being able to focus on inner self is an

amazing quality to have something no one can take away from you. It allows one to become

motivated, appreciated and more confident. In Black’s words it is shown it's okay to open up

with yourself “had to open my mind then I opened a benz it’s like you gotta sell your soul for

them to pay attention ” (line 19-20). Once he was able to look deep at himself and realize his

mistakes he reached serenity. Once he was honest with himself not only did he find success with

his state of mind, he became an achiever in all aspects of his life and in this case he mentions

cars and he didn’t care so much about wealth and numbers as much as he did before . He goes

one step further to cement the idea of vanity “I’ll show you I’m destined to get it I be outside

with the glizzy ” (line38-39). Growing up with constant distractions like drugs and violence

comes with a lot of repercussions like anxiety. Black displays his true feelings about his

struggles of motivation and urgency to keep pushing through his daily life and anxiety when

people want to see him fail and prove them right. At the end of the day there is no one but

yourself you need to please. The delivery of honesty is achieved in the amount of emotions that

are presented “I put my heart in my lyrics I give it all I could give ”(line 1-2). Here he explains

there’s only so much one person can achieve and it’s okay to set limits but you can always find

push in inner self.

This song was a strong statement set by Kodak Black. It was a calling for a new

beginning, which was done very uniquely and purposely through his songwriting skills. He

showed his journey of creating a better self-relationship with himself. It's also allowed Black to
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evaluate his previous immature mistakes that slandered his image. And it unveiled his true level

of trust with his belief and values. Throughout “ Calling My spirit” Kodak Black was able to

display romanticism through reflections on the past, connections with spirituality ,and focusing

on inner self.
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Cited work

Black, Kodak. “Calling My Spirit” Dying to live, Deluxe Ed.., Atlantic recordings

Corporation for the United States, 2018, track 10, apple music.