Lil Uzi Vert and Edgar Allan Poe share a common message?

http://tauology.com/lil-uzi-vert-you-was-right-2/

Have you ever considered the similarities the work done by a nineteenth century poet and a modern day hip hop artist?

Well, neither have I. 

This all changed when reading Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat.” For those of you who don’t indulge in dark romantic literature of the 19th century, the short story essentially speaks of a psychotic heavy drinker who obsesses over his black cat and later proceeds to kill his cat. Pretty dark right?  Well it gets better(worse), the protagonist of the story finds another cat that reveals a shocking similarity to his old one( which really is just a figment of his imagination). As the protagonist’s drinking problem takes over him, he become delusional and swings an axe to the head of his wife as she tries to defend him from striking the imaginary cat.

To any of you who are familiar with the artist Lil Uzi Vert, you probably have already made the connection to his song “XO TOUR Llif3”.  Lil Uzi explores a notion of substance abuse and relationship issues with his significant other, much similar to the motif of Poe’s “The Black Cat.”

Although Poe and Lil Uzi were under the influence of different substances, ultimately they both showed to exhibit the same violent nature. “Xanny, help the pain, yeah please, Xanny, make it go away”(Lil Uzi Vert).  Lil Uzi demonstrates his reliance of Xanax, a commonly accessible drug to treat panic disorders. Poe, although being influenced by alcohol, shares a comparable dependence. “My disease grew upon me-for what disease is like Alcohol!”( Poe 25) Such dependence in substances is what lead Poe and Lil Uzi to neglect and moreover, harm their significant others.

So if by chance, you happen to stumble upon literature of a different century or even just a different time period, perhaps you will find joy in relating that modern music of your choice.