Duke Cane, out of the Bronx, released “Justify” on September 30th. The song is about a relationship that is slowly slipping away despite everyone’s best efforts. There is emotional withdrawal, a lack of trust and communication that is fading out, but the physical attraction is still alive and keeps pulling the two people toward each other, even though they both recognize something is wrong. The artist says it was inspired by Kehlani’s “Folded.”
Narratively, I found it intriguing as the lyrics say the irrationality of justification and pushing the truth aside just because love feels so good is a classic part of human love is a fool’s game after all. Musically, this approach is always hard to land in my opinion, because a lot of the songs that are a dialogue between a couple sometimes lean too much on the novelty of it that they forget the music part. Here, it is quite a different story; there is plenty of music here, though not in terms of complexity, but in terms of nuance. The way the layers do a call and response with each verse makes the song’s pacing really great.
Duke Cane describes “Justify” as not quite a breakup song and not quite a reconciliation song, but a song about the frightening space between the two. The emotional arc the artist lays out goes from confusion to nostalgia, then conflict, desire, and denial, and finishes on hope. The press materials focus on feeling more than specific events, which leaves room for listeners to see their own relationships in it. It is available on all streaming platforms, and the afrobeats and alternative R&B tags suggest a blend aimed at listeners who like their R&B a little left of center.