Alaska in Atlanta: A Critical Analysis

(Note: this isn't finished, although I might not ever finish it, so for the time being I am posting it, although I might write more eventually)

In this analysis I will discuss the themes that pervade both the lyrics and instrumentation of OJ da Juiceman’s mixtape Alaska in Atlanta (Otis Williams Jr., DJ Holiday, 2009). I have chosen several songs which I found to be particularly insightful to examine in detail.
The mixtape opens with a clip taken from a preview for the film Whiteout (Dominic Sena, 2009) describing the vast white plains of Antarctica, and an imminent danger that lies within them. Interspersed with the clip is Juiceman saying “aye,” a trademark which appears in all of his songs and is worked into the beats. This sets the tone for the rest of the mixtape, which appropriates the themes of cold, ice and snow as metaphors for jewelry and diamonds. The use of a sample from a horror film is also indicative of the tone of the music itself, which tends to be dark and lumbering, somewhat reminiscent of early 1990s video game music.
The first track, Burr Beer, opens with a beat which is slow even for Southern rap and has a heavy and prominent bassline. Southern rap is known for its mid-tempo to slow beats, which reflect the slower Southern lifestyle, in comparison with East and West Coast rap, which more often uses up-tempo beats.
The song starts with the chorus, in which Juiceman says “I step up out the wheel looking like Alaska I’m froze up/ stupid icy stupid jewelry got me like a polar bear/ yeah/ like I cold beer/ the crowd man they cheer.” This serves as a good introduction, bringing up several of the main themes which will continue to be prominent through out the rest of the mixtape. First we have several uses of what I will refer to as “cold imagery” as a metaphor for expensive jewelry, and at the beginning of the chorus, a reference to Juiceman’s car, which, though not referred to using cold imagery, is as important an item of wealth-based status as jewelry. Furthermore, these references are not to luxury items in general, but luxury items which Juiceman himself owns, and they are referred to in the context of his ownership, which shows another important theme of narcissism which is found in most of Juiceman’s lyrics. While Juiceman is relatively popular, the line “the crowd man they cheer,” seems not to be a reference to a crowd at one of his concerts, but to peoples’ general reaction to his previously listed attributes, or at least his narcissistic perception of their reaction. He does include several lines which show a level of self-awareness to his narcissism, such as “when I do a show you know it boostin’ up my ego,” and the previously mentioned line “stupid icy stupid jewelry,” wherein the word “stupid” refers to the absurdity of the size and cost of the jewelry.
The mention of beer in the chorus is interesting because, while references to alcohol consumption are commonplace in Southern rap lyrics, with little exception the only alcoholic beverages referred to are Champagne, liquor, and forty ounce bottles of malt liquor. This reference is an anomaly not only in Southern rap, but also in Juiceman’s lyrics. Aside from in this song, he almost never refers to alcohol, although does make numerous references to “kush,” a word that stems from an Afghan region purported to produce marijuana, which has become a catchall term in Southern rap lyrics for high quality marijuana.
The second track, Haters, brings up the tempo of the mixtape with an upbeat, driving sample created with a keyboard using an effect that imitates string instruments. Musically this song is much more interesting than the first track. In it we hear one of the defining characteristics of Southern rap beats, the use of a closed high-hat on the percussion track. While the other elements of the percussion track (bass, snare) sustain the same tempo all through the track, the high hat is used to create slight variations in tempo, usually building up to the end of a verse or changing the beat to match the tempo of the rapping.