Carey Clayton is a Los Angeles, USA-based alternative folk singer songwriter who I first featured on the blog last summer through his captivating album Gradually, Suddenly. Now he’s back with a new single. It’s called Zen Garden.
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I guess we know why Drake calls Nicki mami/mama. Lol.
Jungle is a slow hip-hop song that details Drake's internal turmoil as he contemplates his place in a certain woman's life. Despite growing older, he desires to be held by this woman and comforted by her. Gabriel Garzón Montano sings the chorus. "These days, I'm lettin' God handle all things above me/The things I can't change are the reason you love me/Listen, you can hear them callin' my name/I'm all over the place, I can't sit in one place." Nicki has always loved Drake for who he is, flaws and all. It seems as if Nicki has tried to lecture Drake about being too mobile, and Drake refutes that "he's all over the place." Literally, because he's a musician that tours a lot, and because he has a hard time staying in committed relationships. "Still findin' myself, let alone a soulmate, I'm just sayin'/Feel like we one and the same, our relationship changed/That, or it never existed." Drake is trying to explain himself, saying that he's not ready to settle down yet. But the contradictions are clear. He wants her but isn't completely ready to commit; for Nicki this is confusing and frustrating. "But fuck what they talkin' about on your timeline/That's cuttin' all into my time with you." Drake is referring to Nicki's habit for using on social media, while simultaneously not giving him the same undivided attention. He wants her attention and focus, but Nicki feels like she's being pulled in a bunch of different directions by him. He isn't ready to settle down, but he wants to be with a woman who wants to settle down; that invites a lot of friction.
"She said, "You're my everything"/"I love you through everything". This level of unyielding love is on brand for Nicki. "She forgave me for everything/This a "forever" thing/Hate that I treat it like it's a "whatever" thing/Trust me, girl, this shit is everything to me." Drake is talking about the fights he's had with Nicki over the years. But their relationship means everything to him. But even if Nicki and him don't see eye to eye, giving up on their relationship isn't an option. In the words of Drake, Dricki is a "forever thing." When Drake says "she's from the jungle", the jungle symbolizes a tough place. As in, this woman (Nicki) is hard because she was brought up in a rough area (the jungle).
"This shit is everything to me/This shit is everything/Don't know where we stand/I used to hit you 'bout everything." Drake and Nicki were tied to the hip when they were apart of Young Money, but since becoming solidified individuals they've taken their own paths to success in the industry. Drake feels hurt because he feels like Nicki isn't listening to him like she used to. "Are we still good? Are we still good?" Drake asks during the bridge. "If I need to talk, are you around?/Are you down for the cause?/Are you down?." If it isn't already obvious – "the cause" refers to their relationship.
In verse three Drakes talks about his experiences with other women and relates his indecisiveness to college students switching majors. "Call your number and it's out of service/Who can I call for your information?/What am I supposed to do after we done everything that we done?/Who is your replacement?." Drake is asking caustically, demanding Nicki to tell him how he's supposed to move on from her if he can't move on from her. In 2015, Drake and Nicki had known each other for seven years. Both Drake and Nicki place a massive amount of value on....time. Their history is more valuable than any random hookup Drake has, and more durable than any random Joe Nicki thinks is good enough to hold her bags. Drake wrote jungle to let Nicki know that they were in too deep to try and undo anything that had happened before. They're bonded to each other for life because replacements for the other simply don't exist.