Jon Bellion was an artist I didn't think too highly of the first time I heard one of his songs. Granted, I wasn't really listening very intently. That was when I was in Alaska in the summer of 2016. Things were so different then. Things are different now too.
Not long after that I quickly took back those words once I dove more into 'The Human Condition'. It was his first official album and he came out with a bang. There's not a bad song on there. Not one. I'd be hard pressed to pick a song I don't like from one of his mixtapes or albums. It would just be a song I don't listen to that often.
Over the last few months I've been listening to a lot of Jon Bellion.
Like listening to a playlist that only has his songs type of a lot.
But I finally got the chance to see him live earlier this month. Since then I constantly have different songs of his stuck in my mind. Sometimes when a song is stuck in your head it's awful and you would do anything to make it stop. With his songs though it's awesome having those sounds constantly replaying in your mind. I wanted to put something positive out in the world about Jon Bellion, and just show how much his music has meant to me.
That being said, let's get into my top songs dating all the way back to his first mixtape in 2013.
Translations Through Speakers (2013)
Honorable Mentions -
Waves of Loneliness
"It's so empty right where your head sleeps
And she said, "I still smell your cologne in my bed sheets""
And she said, "I still smell your cologne in my bed sheets""
Timeless
"Fell asleep I had a kick-ass dream
Me, Frank Sinatra, James Dean
Sammy Davis at the bar drinking Moonshine
Nice women, white wine, chillin' poolside"
"Fell asleep I had a kick-ass dream
Me, Frank Sinatra, James Dean
Sammy Davis at the bar drinking Moonshine
Nice women, white wine, chillin' poolside"
3 - While You Count Sheep
"I knew you were dope from the jump like ribbit"
2 - Don't Ask Cuz I Don't Know
"I haven't even picked out my socks. How could I tell you 'bout my future?"
1 - Dead Man Walking
" 'Cause my sister has a best friend that I've known since I was three.
And now I'm gon' get strangled 'cause we tangled in the sheets"
It's not fully formed, yet. But you can tell something is there. That's what we got from his first mixtape. His first two mixtapes have more cursing than the rest of his works. He toned it down over the years. It's still there from time-to-time, but it's changed in comparison to his first two mixtapes. All-in-all a good starting place for sure.
The Separation (2013)
Honorable Mentions -
A Dedicated Instrumental
"I grew up in the age of Timbaland and Pharrell sh*t"
Ungrateful Eyes
"I made a hundred grand this year
Clap clap, clap clap, so what?
Still lost , still feeling anxious
Still worried about the same sh*t"
Ungrateful Eyes
"I made a hundred grand this year
Clap clap, clap clap, so what?
Still lost , still feeling anxious
Still worried about the same sh*t"
3 - Halloween
" 'Cause I could be October, baby, you could be the thirty first"
2 - Superman, The Gift and the Curse
"Count your blessings I consider rap a f*cking hobby"
1 - Jim Morrison
"The teachers said I'm nothing, but Kanye gave me college
And they feel me down in Brooklyn
Yeah I'm feelin' very Christopher Wallace
Roll me up that mister Marley
Take a pull and kick some knowledge
Ask my father if money is hereditary
Will Smith, b*tch I am feeling legendary"
I mean, there was a reason Jim Morrison was a part of his encore until the GSP Tour even though it was from an early mixtape. When you hear those first few notes it gets you feeling a certain type of way. This song just hits all the right notes both literally and figuratively.
The Definition (2014)
Honorable Mentions -
Run Wild
"Such a hopeful Eve, but Adam let you down"
Human
"The pastor tells me I've been saved I'm fine
Then please explain to me why my chest still hurts"
3 - Luxury
"But I give it up to heaven 'cause it isn't Jon
The chorus and instrumental, oh you think it's odd
I don't have to give you lyrics cause you know it's God
That's why I get emotionally when the chorus drops"
2 - Pre-Occupied (feat Blaque Keyz)
"You should go and ask Rihanna if the pen game's crazy"
1 - Jungle
"Listen close, these models don't mean soda when they're offering coke
You sound so f-ing cute when you ask what is blow
There's quicksand in this nightlife
It will swallow you whole
It will swallow you whole
Singing New York City it's a jungle out there"
It was really hard to narrow this down. I didn't even include A Haunted House and Munny Right and those are both great songs in their own right. You can listen to this mixtape and you hear everything coming together in terms of making an album. He pretty much 'gets it' at this point, and that was made back in 2014. It laid all the groundwork for his first official album.
The Human Condition (2016)
Honorable Mentions -
Morning in America
"We're secretly out of control, nobody knows it
When the class president overdosed, we all pretended
It was rare, it was shocking and all the town was talking
Yeah we're secretly out of control"
Guillotine (feat Travis Mendes)
"The secrets you tell me, I'll take to my grave
There's bones in my closet, but you hang stuff anyway
And if you have nightmares we'll dance on the bed
I know that you love me, love me
Even when I lose my head"
3 - All Time Low
"I was the knight in shining armor in your movie
Would put your lips on mine and love the aftertaste
Now, I'm a ghost, I call your name, you look right through me
You're the reason that I just can't concentrate"
Would put your lips on mine and love the aftertaste
Now, I'm a ghost, I call your name, you look right through me
You're the reason that I just can't concentrate"
2 - 80's Films
"She said, how does it feel to be you?
I said, it's alright. I really think I peaked in high school
She said, that is impossible. You are out of your mind. 'Cause we never hooked up in high school"
"Just like the 80's films we'll hook up in my backseat and let my best friend drive"
1 - Hand of God (Outro)
"I am just a man, I am just a man
Who lusts, gives, tries
Sometimes I lose my way"
"When you're lost in the universe, lost in the universe, don't lose faith
My mother says, your whole life's in the hand of God"
Now that was actually impossible to narrow down. I could make arguments for basically every song depending on that day. New York Soul, Pt.ii is what he performed on Sway and that song overall is incredible. The Good In Me is beautiful. Woke the F*ck Up is one of my alarms that I wake up to almost every day. He is the Same is a great de-facto intro. Overwhelming is well kind of overwhelming when you listen to it in a certain mood. iRobot feels like a sequel to Human from The Definition. Fashion describes how he can enjoy some finer things now that he has the means to. Weight of the World is inspirational. It's really a challenge for me to describe how much I love this album. I probably wouldn't have put All Time Low in the top three until I saw him perform that live. I would say my top three songs from that show would be that, Guillotine and a song that will be number one when I get to his most recent album.
Glory Sound Prep (2018)
Honorable Mentions -
Stupid Deep
" 'Cause the hole inside my heart is stupid deep. Stupid deep"
The Internet
"Life became dangerous the day we all became famous
No one cares if you're happy just as long as you claim it, oh
How can we change this the day we became famous
No one cares if you have it just as long as you claim it"
How can we change this the day we became famous
No one cares if you have it just as long as you claim it"
3 - Let's Begin (feat Roc Marciano, RZA, B. Keyz & Travis Mendes)
"Was never focused on getting bigger just getting better
That's why I keep getting bigger with every record "
2 - Conversations with My Wife
"Will you love me when my phone turns off?
I don't want to be some digital Jesus
No more followers, we'll both get lost
When it's me and you inside real life"
1 - JT
"Remember, dreams seemed far away
Was pinchin' pennies like Lane and Hardaway
Now my beats make fees for holidays
In 'Greece' and I don't mean John Travolta."
This album keeps growing on me. Seeing him perform most of the album helped the cause without a doubt.
Before seeing him perform I would have had JT as an honorable mention, but when I watched him open with it that changed everything. Before that Conversations with My Wife was my favorite. I really connected with it because the way he talks about removing the digital piece of a relationship really hit home with me. It can be a necessity depending on your individual situation in life to communicate with your significant other that way. But if you don't have to it's such a beautiful thing to just be with someone and be fully present without needing to check your phone for some notification that can be dealt with hours or sometimes even days later.
I've had too many things in my life that have been dealt with digitally that didn't have to be that way, but because of the age we live in it was the most convenient way to do it.
As much as I love and rely on my phone there are days when I wish I could just turn it off and remove it from my life at least for a few hours. But at this point that isn't something I can do.
