By: Jaylyn Gonzalez
With an elegant baritone range, angelic vocals, and thoughtful approach to songwriting, Giveon—a rising R&B/Soul artist—is one to bring a new, timeless tone to modern music.
Prior to starting his music career, Giveon took notice as to how, in the R&B music industry, it is rare to come across an artist with such a unique and heart-stringing range.
“At the very beginning [of his career], I thought my voice was kind of weird…the artists I was looking up to like Frank Ocean and Miguel, at the time, had more of a traditional tone,” said Giveon in an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe.
However, after discovering Frank Sinatra—a baritone singer himself—he was able to recognize and fully utilize his baritone range, which sparked curiosity as many were eager to hear new, different ranging vocals.
After a sudden hit of one million streams on Spotify through his most popular ballad, “LIKE I WANT YOU,” in 2019, Giveon soon started the production of his debut EP, TAKE TIME—which was released just months later. With soothing harmonies and a vintage-like voice, this EP became a clear-cut picture of Giveon’s powerful ability to transcribe stories into prodigious songs.
“I love listening to people talk and I love hearing what my friends are going through, so, with that skill, I never run out of stories and songs to write about…I like to be an empathetic person and put myself through their shoes,” Giveon continued in the interview.
With just 310K followers on Instagram, Giveon quickly grew notice from well-known artists across the music industry. From being featured in Drake’s newest album Chicago Freestyle to being recognized by Daniel Caesar and Aminé, it’s with no doubt that many see potential in his way of producing music.
After releasing his debut EP, TAKE TIME, during the very start of quarantine, Giveon has now set the stage for yet another EP: When It’s All Said and Done.
Through just four songs, he was able to carefully map through the stages of a breakup, letting his second project of 2020 set an ache in the hearts of his fans.
However, this EP was more than just four songs. In listening, it soon molded into the opening of a book that contains a total of just four short chapters—one which told a sorrow story while bringing a soaring flow of vehemence to the table.
When It’s All Said And Done
Through a 55-second introduction, Giveon set the stage of the beginning periods of a breakup, an uncommon perspective of a heart-break.
Rather than singing about the depressive and coping state of a breakup, Giveon sheds light on the egotistic and anger-filled emotions that arise as a result, almost as if one is in denial to the mishaps of the ended relationship.
“Not proud I called you for the fifth time/I just got to quit trying for you baby/Try my hardest for this s**t/But you, you don’t give like me so I/ I’ma make this promise here/ I promise I’m the best you’ll get…”
This is a toxic—but realistic—start to the EP as it displays a true reaction of most people after breaking off from their significant other, similar to the “I don’t need you, you need me” aftermath that lingers around one’s mind.
Still Your Best
However, by the second track, Giveon makes it clear how this toxic way of thinking is truly just a coping mechanism—a mechanism that creeps in when people want to seem like they don’t care and put forth a facade in front of others.
Through this facade comes vulnerability. He is able to portray how one can hide their hurt by setting a newer, better standard for themselves, almost similar to a trophy-like character.
The lines “that’s a downgrade and you know it/I’m still your best, oh/ Still your best” are repeated in the chorus. This repetition is comparable to a coping strategy seen among those in denial—a denial that was once used to play into the egotistical features in the introduction.
Last Time (feat. Snoh Aalegra)
In the last few seconds of the previous song, there’s a ringing of a phone call prior to the transition to this song that plays into the dual nature of a relationship—feeding into the idea of a conversation-like nature.
After serving as the opening act of Snoh Aalegra’s tour in late 2019, Giveon invited Aalegra to be his sole feature in the EP—a duet that sparked an intimate tone to the song.
“Come over/I know I shouldn’t, know you shouldn’t come over, no/Here we go/Back into your arms again I know it’s getting silly/Saying that you love me just so I don’t let you go”
Following his theme of a facade, Giveon paints a vivid picture of how one breaks down the emotional walls built during the denial stage—creating an image of how the person who broke first always comes running back.
Stuck On You
As a pre-released single, this song gave many fans a peek into this four-track EP—giving many a first glance of its “mood.” Being that it played into the theme of a breakup, it was then noted how this last song became one of its final stages: acceptance.
“Don’t tell my friends that I’m here/Waiting for you, even how you treat me/You’re my baby even when you leave me/ Maybe I’m the one to blame/ Maybe I’m the ‘cause of the pain”
Giveon, vulnerably, sings of being willingly “stuck” to a former significant other, even when knowing he’ll be judged by. Much of the songs in this EP played into Giveon’s fear of judgment by his friends—the same way he put up a facade towards his real feelings in the aftermath of heartbreak.
In this EP, Giveon rendered four different stages of a breakup: anger, vulnerability, relapse, and acceptance. Depicted in a matter of four songs, he (once again) proved that being a soulful artist is more than just singing potent ballads, instead, it’s the act of reciting a meaningful story in-between the lines—an eccentric feature that adds to one of many Giveon’s rising musical talents.
