A personal, immersive experience is being delivered to us through swaying, raspy narrative, and introspective lyricism in mase J’s “head//heart.”
“head//heart” is an embodiment of Hip-Hop artist mase J’s personal dilemma; however, it’s relatable to many. Who hasn’t had an internal battle between their head and their heart? Between wanting to surrender completely to the partner and giving them all we have and insecurely taking a step back, being afraid of being vulnerable.
The hazy vibe of the song evokes the cloudy, tangled ideas and feelings that swirl in one’s mind while tormenting his sensibility with conflicting alternatives. The UK rapper utilized a bittersweet performance to portray the conflict between head and heart: his susceptibility to initiating intimacy as well as the fence that toxic masculinity, problems with trust, and personal traumas had erected around his heart.
mase J is a sentimental, skilled artist who uses his music to open up to his dark side, helping himself to cleanse the mess and be lighter, and helping whoever hears him to feel less lonely and be encouraged to deal with their own emotions. The track’s repeated line, “I wish I was dead and gone, I wish I was dead,” exhibits boldly the gloomy, cold side, yet the aerial, rhythmic beats, tender acoustic chords, and harmonic melody offer a peaceful side, making a balance between the blues and the colors.
This is the kind of song you close your eyes and play to enjoy its simple yet effective musicality, taste the characteristic production by POPPA, and feel accompanied in your own mental war with mase J’s tense, explicit storytelling.