SHE SAID: The Taylor Swift Argument

Chief Keef versus Taylor Swift. When my opponent approached me with this topic, I will admit that I was confused. Pop princess, winner of twelve grammys, versus the less well known rapper. However, I am confident in my argument that Ms. Swift is a far more sophisticated writer by challenging herself lyrically and presenting herself as a positively influential public figure. 

One of the stereotypes that Swift faces is that her songs are all about the same thing, which is boys and breakups. While many of her songs are, that claim is entirely untrue. For example, her song “The Man” is about the obstacles that women face in society and more specifically the music industry. She sings, 

“I’m so sick of running as fast as I can

Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man

And I’m so sick of them coming at me again

Cause if I was a man, then I’d be the man”

In her latest rerecord of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)”, she tackles a critic that attacked her relentlessly in “Mean”. Swift sings, 

“Someday I’ll be living in a big old city

And all you’re gonna be is mean 

Someday I’ll be big enough so you can’t hit me

And all you’re ever gonna be is mean

Why you gotta be so mean?”

She also addresses the incident of the 2009 VMAs with Kanye West in “Innocent”. Instead of being angry at West, seventeen year old Swift handled the situation with maturity by forgiving him. She sings, 

“It’s alright, just wait and see

Your string of lights is still bright to me 

Oh, who you are is not where you’ve been 

You’re still an innocent

Its okay, life is a tough crowd

thirty-two and still growing up now

Who you are is not what you did 

You’re still an innocent”

Swift’s ability to forgive such a tremendous incident at such a young age demonstrates the kind and mature person she is. 

For a long time, Swift wrote about extremely personal matters. However, when the pandemic rolled around, Swift challenged her creative abilities and wrote about an imaginary world she created in her head, starring characters such as James, Betty, and Augustine. Swift wrote from the perspective of teenagers in “betty”  , alcoholics in “this is me trying”, and a widow basking in her late husband’s money in “the last great american dynasty”. While her lyrics that mirror her own life are amazingly profound, her lyrics surrounding this imaginary world were just as impressive. Take her 2020 track “gold rush”. Swift describes someone’s eyes as “gleaming, twinkling eyes like sinking ships on waters so inviting I almost jump in” If that wasn’t enough to hook the listener, when the chorus rolls around Swift defies all expectations. She sings, 

“What must it be like to grow up that beautiful?

With your hair falling into place like dominoes

I see me padding across your wooden flowers

With my eagles t-shirt hanging from the door

At dinner parties I’ll call you out on your contrarian wit

And the coastal town, we wandered around 

Had never seen a love as pure as it

But it fades into the gray of my day-old tea

‘Cause it could never be” 

Swift’s lyricism has not only progressed, but has changed dramatically.  When she first started in the music industry at the young age of sixteen, she was a country artist. When she turned twenty-five, she crossed over to pop. In 2020, she made the change to folk. To be successful in this industry is one thing, but to cross over from three different genres and continue to rise in popularity is a different level that few stars even bother achieving. Taylor Swift herself has been described as the music industry as a whole. Her music stays relevant while making its way to various demographics and increasing in popularity through her re-records. 

While many artists just sing and perform, Swift took her power to new heights by stepping into politics. In 2019, she posted her beliefs about the midterm election in Tennessee. “I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country.” Swift wrote on Instagram. She focused on the importance of women’s rights as well, by highlighting the importance of the Violence Against Women Act. Just through her Instagram post, there was a surge in voter registration, deemed the “Swift Lift”. 

Women’s rights are not the only rights Swift has advocated for. In her 2019 anthem, “You Need to Calm Down”, she raised awareness regarding adversity that people of the LGBTQ+ community face. At the end of her hit music video for the song, she posted a petition advocating for their rights that received half a million signatures. 

Taylor Swift is a world-wide positive public figure who advocates for human rights and is a strong influence for her millions of fans. Her songs never go out of style, as they range in topics from breakups to equal rights to lessons learned from her singers that came before her. Chief Keef is a good rapper and I appreciate how he bounced back from the hardships of his background, but he is no match when it comes to the publicized image, lyricism, and long-lasting fame of Taylor Swift. 

HE SAID: The Chief Keef Argument

By: Jacob Filpi

When another Taylor Swift album comes out, I will already be able to summarize the songs for you because her themes never change: boys are terrible (except there will be one song about how great one guy is but the rest of them are terrible, blah blah blah). Chief Keef on the other hand, will never have that problem, because unlike Taylor Swift, he isn’t recycling the same lyrics with a different beat every time. Controversial as his lyrics may be, Keef rarely sings the same thing twice. From explosive tracks like “Diamonds” in which Chief flexes his money with zero regard for who sees it, to slower tracks such as “Love Sosa” which serve as a warning to anyone thinking about crossing Keef, he is always throwing something new at you. 

Something else Taylor Swift lacks is guts when it comes to lyrics; Swift never risks controversial topics. Chief Keef raps about his past experiences—while they are controversial, the content makes his music better because it all comes from the heart, and he never holds back. Swift won’t even tell us the obvious truth which is that she hates every boyfriend she’s ever had with the white hot passion of a thousand suns.

 Now I know that some people say that Chief Keef’s lyrics aren’t appropriate, but this opinion does not take into account the artist’s background, which is an important component to how they write. Taylor Swift’s lyrics are inarguably more positive, but this is where things get interesting, because many (if not all) artists write from personal experience. Therefore, it would be kind of strange for Keef, who grew up on the South side of Chicago, to write about annoying breakups. His own life is so far more compelling and it would be even more odd for Swift, who grew up on a Christmas tree farm, to write songs about gang violence and warfare. So, while I know a lot of people at this school will pick Taylor Swift, I’m going to stick with someone who is actually interesting.