This is my review of The Rise, the newest song by Witt Lowry, released on the 28th January 2020. (And yes I stayed up until 1am to hear it in Ireland..)
The Rise was a much-anticipated song from the rapper, the first since the release of Nevers Road near the end of 2019. While livestreaming on Instagram, he played a snippet of the song, giving fans no details about the release date or lyrics of the song – just 4 words: “It’s a goddamn shame”, and an incredible beat, which I can assure you, was stuck in my head for the next week.
The song is very upbeat, with a beautiful beat accompanying it. With the introduction of the song addressing the topic of change – a topic he had previously addressed in the title track of his 2015 album, Dreaming With Our Eyes Open. He talks about how people want a change, but never want to change. (Michael Jackson Man In The Mirror vibes anyone?) He goes onto say how he paid off his mothers debt, a change from when he was unable to “pay for the rent”, when Witt was writing lyrics on the back of receipts when he worked in a movie theatre before becoming successful in the music industry.
One thing Mark addresses in the song is the criticism he gets for the inclusion of the theme of love in songs such as Like I Do, Wonder If You Wonder and Move On, by saying “not bad for some guy who complains about his ex”, following the whole rent line. But really, it isn’t bad, as since the release of Nevers Road he was even featured on the music charts. With a quick google I found his net worth is an estimated $9 million, so obviously rapping about his “ex” is doing something for him – though, do not be mistaken, the ex is only a small part of his lyrics, with Mark addressing topics that perhaps other rappers may not have the confidence to. There’s also a little nod at a previous song Mark released, Crash, where he raps “I was shooting for the stars and was shooting from the hip”, by saying in The Rise, “You shoot from the hip, I shoot for the sky, I’m shootin’ for being the greatest alive”, a humbling and inclusive trick Mark uses in many of his songs.
Apart from albums and eps, Mark has also released a chain of 4 songs, each titled “Piece Of Mind”, with fans eagerly awaiting the arrival of number 5. Speaking for myself, I know I got very excited when the idea of it was brought up in The Rise, with Mark saying “Dan said they aren’t ready for POM5, Been workin’ all night, I can sleep when I die”. Do not be mistaken Mark, we want POM5, but also want you in good health, so do make sure you get your sleep!
In the second verse, he addresses the recent phenomena on YouTube and Soundcloud, where rappers take a beat “like” Witts, and rap over it – telling them “you can never be me”.
Mark talks about his success in the charts, stating “One on the charts when you said that I’d flop, I look at my plaque and I smile a lot”, also referencing those who criticised Mark and his music.
In the second and third verse, Mark appears to be referencing the artists signed to a label, who may have lost creativity and ownership of their own songs once signed – “you sing that shit like you wrote it, you sing that shit like you wrote it”. Mark has always been proud of being independent and reaching the charts without the help of a label. Back in the second verse, he also talks about how many of the rappers featured in peoples “top three”, don’t actually profit off the streams of their songs – as it is mainly the label who do “they don’t profit off all those streams, ‘cause some old guy up in an office owns the MP3”.
Also featured in the third verse is another nod to a 2015 song called My Mistake, where he compares his room to a cocoon “And I’m locked in my room like a fucking cocoon, When I’m leaving my room, all you rappers are doomed”, once again making that reference in The Rise, by saying “I treat my room like a cocoon, I should get out more.”
The chorus attributes this, with Mark saying that this is going to be his time, his “rise”. I don’t know about all of you, but I really think that with the release of this song, it acts as the ultimate beginning to his rise.
Rating – 10/10.
Favourite Lyric – We need less sheep, we need more thought
On repeat? – Yes.
Final thoughts – I think Mark/Witt Lowry is really growing in his music, with Nevers Road being a massive success, something I can see The Rise being also. It is a fun, upbeat song, that one should listen to if they are trying to get in a hyped mood, or if they already are in one! As I’ve said earlier, I fully believe The Rise will be the song that gets Mark the worldwide success he deserves – and perhaps another feature on the charts.
Mark, you’ve done it again. You’ve smashed everyone’s expectations again, as always. I can’t wait to hear the next song you release.
You can subscribe to hear Marks latest releases on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTqvhfqR9mDf1z6sDkLgSuw or on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ghnxpW47ojtLHHyTLdxdY
You can also find him on both Instagram and Twitter @wittlowry
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