When I usually listen to new rap songs, the association with mainstream acts is rather obvious in a matter of seconds. However, when I listened to Breaking The Code for the 1st time, it felt like I’ve experienced this before but couldn’t put my finger on it. Then it came to me! Will Smith. The chill, positive, relaxed demeanour mixed with tenor tonalities and fast flow is both what stood out about Will in his rap years, and what stands out for Antoine The Icon. I find amusing the similarity in self-confidence as well: one called himself The Prince, the second calls himself The Icon. I’m pretty sure they’d be best friends.
The music and the voice mesh well, and the lyrics are transparent making it easy for anyone listening understand from the get-go what the message is: ”They talk behind ya back/ And they don’t at you/ Frauds/ I’m in the mix/ Are you down/ For ya cause/ Life’s a trip/ But I don’t/ Plan on taking a fall” We all know that mumble rap is dead and that, fortunately, makes place for a whole lot of rap styles that are much more relevant and fun to listen to. After we’ve lost so many young talents to drugs, the world is shifting. And Antoine The Icon is part of the change. I’m glad he is doing this now because the world was not ready for Will Smith, but they just might be for Breaking The Code. Will had to endure a lot of criticism because he was not thuggish, because he was, in a way or another, a prince rather than a gangsta.
We also have to appreciate Antoine’s clean look and the fact that he picked real people to accompany him in the video: wearing glasses, being happy, no try harding, no chains, all while genuinely vibing to the song. I was pleasantly surprised that a young man was able to put together a rap music video WITHOUT naked women. My respect to you Antoine!
My absolute personal favorite lines of the song go from 02:49 to 02:56: ”Cross me/ Send em all/ To church/ Ain’t been the same/ For what it’s worth/ Y’all Nijna turtles/ Yall hang with rats/ Wilding out/ That’s all facts” – you named Ninja Turtles, you got my thumbs up.
Add Breaking The Code to your Apple Music library HERE, on Deezer HERE, on Tidal HERE, and to your Spotify playlist below:
PS: by the time I was finishing the article, YouTube autoplayed the next video and I found out that Antoine is from Philadelphia. *MIC DROP*. Oh, and the song is fire AF!!!
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