Analyzing the Artistry of Lay's Music and Lyrics

I know that Lay's discography has a negative reception among much of the K-Pop community, even I gave him a negative review. However, recently when I went through his tracks, I discovered a hidden level of artistry through much of his music. As a result, together with me, come and analyze the surprisingly political, artistic, and mythical tales of Lay's music.

The first line I will analyze is from his 2019 masterpiece Honey. Some people dislike that song, but that is likely due to Jayparkaphobia rather than actual musical criticism. The line we will analyze is at 1:24 in the MV, the line is "Imma Trendsetter".

At first, this line might seem simple, but it hides some deeper meaning, especially if one is willing to look at the light. While I wrote the lines as "Imma", the line could also be interpreted as the Chinese phrase "Ai Ma". Depending on the tone of the words, the meaning of this word could change.

First, Ai Ma can be taken as "Love my Mother". Here, Lay is talking about how he loves his mother. The subsequent line, "Trendsetter", could mean "Trend Sitter", as in one who sits out of a trend. As a result, the line is about how Lay refuses to follow trends because he loves his mother. A topic he mentioned in an interview with Buzzfeed, shows that this theory is correct.

Another interpretation of this line could be that "Ai Ma" means here "Loves a Horse". Thus, the line could mean "Trendsetters love horses", talking about his love of horses and how that helps him set trends. He has a song called Horse, proving this theory correct.

Next, we are going to analyze his 2017 masterpiece, the revolutionary Sheep. There is so much to unpack here.

First, there is the line at the heart of the song, "I'm the lead sheep of China". While this is the common interpretation of the lyrics (possibly due to the official lyrics), it is incorrect. The true meaning of these words is "I am the Lead (the metal) Ship of China". This line talks about how Lay secretly plans to build a military battalion of warships to stop all rivals in the musical world.

Don't believe me? Later in the music video, the microwave Lay is in goes over 100 degrees Celcius before he has to reveal his final form, which is 212 degrees Fahrenheit for those using it. This is a temperature too high for humans, but just high enough for metals.

Additionally, the lore is further expanded in the track's MV universe sequel, Sheep (Alan Walker Remix), which sees Lay working with Nugu rapper Alan Walker.

In the MV, we can see an alien invasion trying to kidnap Lay. These are obviously aliens from Mars trying to take Lay out of the galaxy to win the top-musician-of-the-Solar-System award from TheNeedleDrop. However, Lay fights back with his dances, and his deep words, "The Sheep are coming up". Obviously, Lay has hired an army of sheep mercenaries to take down the aliens.

I hope this post has led to you all appreciating Lay's discography and understanding the deeper meanings behind his words.

By the way, Happy April Fools!

Note: I initially planned to spoof Lay's Lit too, but it actually has some neat lore, actually better than the song. Good going Lay!

Image Source: Asiaone