TikTok has ruined music – for lack of better phrasing.
Pop and mainstream music has taken the biggest hit, with artist making it painfully obvious that their aim behind making songs is so that specific verses get clipped to make The perfect TikTok trend.
Ironically, it’s mainly people on TikTok who have caught this out, which arguably is not that surprising considering the continuous roll out of new songs that lack depth and usually sounds too alike to one other.
Do lyrics tell stories anymore?
I haven’t lost hope. We still have great artists such as Tyler, the Creator, with my personal favourite example being his 2024 album CHROMAKOPIA. This album has sparked countless online discussions and theories about its meaning across all platforms, with one of the most prominent examples being the track “Like Him” featuring Lola Young.
The song dives into Tyler’s relationship with his absent father — a recurring theme throughout his career. The repeated line “Do I look like him?”, is so simple yet is both an existential question and a painful confession, revealing Tyler’s fear of inheriting traits from a man defined by absence. The song from its lyrics to production is incredibly intimate- it carries an emotional weight. “Like Him” stands as one of Tyler’s most vulnerable and mature pieces — a meditation on lineage, forgiveness, and the haunting question of who we become in the shadow of those who shaped us. Many listeners have found solace in its honesty, relating to its portrayal of absence, identity, and reconciliation.
After the release of this album, this song was actually one of the first to go viral. However, there is a notable difference. This song went viral for the emotion and vulnerability behind it, that many people related to.
In my opinion this is what music is about. Not only the provocation of thought but also emotion.