I’ve been playing this song since February.
I don’t know if the hard-hitting seductive beat captured me more the first time I heard it, or if it was J. Cole’s nonchalant delivery opposite Miguel’s passionate crooning. Either way, I was hooked midway into the first verse.
If you’ve ever feigned for one person, you can relate to this song. If you ever wanted to experience someone physically and were never able, you can relate to this. The gift of fantasy is really symbolized in this song because the song is about the one who got away. The one who keeps you up at night because anticipation “is the purest form of pleasure.” Or so they tell me.
I mean, think about it. Before you ever went on a date with someone or even held a conversation with him/her, there’s a window where all you have is your anticipation, your curiosity. The mind is a powerful entity, so powerful in fact that you have all of these thoughts about what will happen, what could happen, what you want to happen, what you want to feel, what you want to do, over and over that you build the perfect vision before you really know the other person. You don’t know if they shower on a regular basis, if they are married, if they have ten kids holed up somewhere, if they’re clinically insane, if they are freaky or more conservative, if they are taking STD antibiotics, and truthfully you don’t care. You’ve made up your mind about the type of lover they are, the type of lover you want them to be and are not open to deviate from your prototype.
I’m guilty of the same. When I first heard the song, I started to think about my past crushes, the guy who first made me dinner, the other guy who wrote me poetry, and even the other guy who would look at me and within an hour we were at his place. But, the kicker out of everyone is the mysterious, sexy guy who never made it out of the Friendzone. He’s the guy who used to have me on a power trip. The thoughts and dreams of what we could have experienced together used to haunt me in college. After graduation, we tried to see if we could make something happen beyond the sensual hugging and harmless flirting but something would always happen—a fight breaking out, one of us had a significant other, etc. etc.
Maybe certain things between two people just aren’t meant to exist outside of our dreams. Maybe we’re supposed to crave that which we don’t know and can’t experience because the fact that it’s unattainable makes it that much sweeter. Maybe the pundits are right; maybe reality would be too boring. Maybe he doesn’t shower, has been married for five years, working on their third child, has PTSD, is freaky, and got Chlamydia last week from his office secretary. Who wants to know all of that anyway? He just smiled at you from across the room and it’s not like you want to go to the altar tomorrow, right? So go on and enjoy your daydream where he sneaks you into the wine cellar at the party and starts to explore your assets. “Constant drinkin’ and love songs” should keep you occupied for the next three to four minutes. Repeat as needed.
For your viewing and listening pleasures, courtesy of GotHipHop.com, live from Barclays Center in New York, Power Trip (LIVE)
**It’s not the best quality, but you’ll live. Let the video load first, then play it. Trust me, you’ll be less frustrated in the long run. Watch J. Cole. Around 3:20, he’ll give you the laugh you needed for this Monday.**
Read along here: power trip lyrics
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