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Aaron Santos

Professor Granillo

English 101

12 January 2020

Do You Remember

Rap is a very enjoyable and interesting music genre where songs can be personal and

sometimes misinterpreted. It is a type of music enjoyed by millions of people around the world

with artists who make songs that evoke emotion and remembrance. Do You Remember by

Chance the Rapper featuring Death Cab for Cutie is a song enjoyable through its nostalgic and

positive feelings towards one’s childhood, and often misinterpreted due to the bad reviews of the

original album the song is associated with.

Feelings of nostalgia and positivity emit powerful emotions among an individual, which

can be best expressed or shared through song. Do You Remember starts with the chorus

explicitly stating “Do you remember how when we were younger the summers lasted forever?”

(Chance the Rapper). The song then goes on to how we all hold that feeling of happiness

throughout our childhood when things were simple back then. This strong emotion is carried out

throughout the song makes it enjoyable for many listeners. In addition to this, the bright and

bouncy beat produces positive emotion that coincides with the nostalgic lyrics, making it very

catchy and wholesome. Benjamin Gibbard who is considered to be an iconic rock artist is the

person who sings the chorus, whose voice plays a major role in the enjoyment of the song. His

mesmeric vocals add to the nostalgic and positive tone of the song, which makes Do You

Remember a very unique track on Chance the Rapper’s album. This piece of music is one of my

favorite songs of the artist which is very important to me in the sense of nostalgia when I was
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younger. It reminded me of my childhood when everything was easy and the times where I used

to play outside and have fun with my old friends. I think that it is important to remember the past

in order to see the growth that a person has made and to remember the good times.

The Big Day, the album that the song is associated with, has negative views where many

critiques view it as bland and unoriginal which often misinterprets the song Do You Remember.

Because of the bad reviews of the album, some may say that it also means that the songs within

the album are not good. Although this may be true to some extent, Do You Remember is

considered to be one of the few songs that are enjoyable to many audiences due to the nostalgia it

produces. In addition to this, the song may be also misinterpreted because it is different. Because

Benjamin Gibbard, a rock artist with an interesting voice, sings the chorus people’s initial

reaction are not positive because of how different this song is compared to the other songs

Chance the Rapper has made. For me personally, the song takes a couple of listens to fully enjoy,

which eventually made it one of my favorites coming from the artist. Although there are some

misinterpretations of the song, it is still worth listening to.

Do You Remember by Chance the Rapper featuring Death Cab for Cutie is a song

enjoyable through its nostalgic and positive feelings towards one’s childhood, and often

misinterpreted due to the bad reviews of the original album the song is associated with. Rap is a

very fun and entertaining music genre that brings many emotions to individuals just like the song

by Chance the Rapper. Some may say that it is one of the most popular types of music,

containing thousands of popular and unique artists people can choose from.
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Works Cited

Chance the Rapper. “Do You Remember.” The Big Day, 2019. Spotify,

open.spotify.com/album/7bgi7zCoDsZdlLKPonHZqP?highlight=spotify:track:67xBtV07

CC73eFw7z5oCvU.