Hailing from Egg Harbor City, New Jersey, Curt Summers has released a new song to join his latest release, “One Too Many,” in preparation for his EP, Saint, to drop in 2021. The new track, titled “See Saws”, is a beautiful introduction into the mind of Curt Summers.
Now living in Chicago, Curt has drawn inspiration from two very different sides of hip-hop. Embracing Tupac and early Kanye West while studying the works of famous poets from Langston Hughes to Dr. Suess, he has learned to rhyme beautifully over beats while packing each line with an incredible message. Similarly, growing up on Gospel, Soul, R&B, and Classic Hip-Hop has influenced his choices in production and vocals, taking bits of each to create a nostalgic sound while reminiscing on his growth as a person. His passion for story-telling and creative writing have assisted him in telling his life story while highlighting issues that contributed to his upbringing that are still very prevalent today. In doing so, he channels the feelings of paranoia, desperation, and dependency into his music to show the everlasting effects that these issues produced by systematic racism can have on a person, helping the listener empathize and understood Curt as an artist and as a person just a little bit more. His goal for his music, “to help listeners find their power within and find comfort in being their most genuine selves, no matter what society expects or prefers” communicates effortlessly as he advocates for individuality and embracing one’s inner being.
As soon as the song begins you can hear the Gospel influence in the production. The heavenly female vocals effortlessly lure you in to the song, patiently awaiting what Curt has to say. The plucking of the strings adds another dimension as the introduction of the percussion picks up the pace just a smidge. Curt’s voice contrasts with the production and background vocals heavily, but his flow takes on a much smoother, poetic approach that fits in perfectly. His lyrics sound as though he’s reading the pages of his own personal journal, bearing his vulnerable soul to anyone who will listen about his insecurities and past lives.
He references his adolescence on a number of instances, beginning the song with the lines, “I used to wish that I was perfect, I used to wish they felt the pain I feel inside my verses.” I think that’s such a relatable feeling for human beings; the desire to strive for perfection until you grow enough to find strength in your flaws. I still struggle with this often, and tend to have a negative response to my mistakes rather than a nurturing one that can lead to new knowledge and development. The following line is another one that I definitely understand. As someone who’s grown up with countless poetry journals, a lot of tears have been shed while writing. Some of my most painful times were communicated through my pen into something that I locked up and kept privately, so I always commend any artist who can share with the world their internal struggles and emotions. He then goes on to share his experience with religion, saying that he “used to wonder why [he’d] even sit inside them churches, cause [he] don’t even know if God gonna listen while [he’s] hurtin.” I feel that way a lot. I’ve learned that religion can be a crutch for some people, offering a false sense of reliability that things can get better. It made me wonder why I would pray to the being that was causing my suffering. If there was someone who was so good, why was I being made to feel so bad? Curt goes on to discuss the support he received from his mother, and how much she encouraged him to embrace who he was, creating a blueprint for his message as an artist today.
Curt shares his heartbreaking experiences, from losing his brother and the memories they shared together to growing up with “trashbags of clothes.” And yet, he contrasts these memories with optimism and reminders of his self-worth, showing that the cards he was dealt haven’t dimmed his light, instead finding strength in them. He uses some beautiful metaphores to get his point across, creating amazing visual imagery to share his messages. The one line that really stuck out to me though was the one addressed to his friends, in which he says, “to my bros I’m still the one that you can call for.” It’s very rare to see men advocate for strong, intimate friendships besides the typical goofy approach in which the relationships appear far more superficial, so to see it spoken about in a way that includes emotional support is so amazing. We need to normalize these types of friendships, especially among men.
The hook of the song features Curt’s voice along with the background vocals singing, “I know that you’re tired sometimes you just wish you were gone. Let’s make up our minds we can fly to a place we belong.” I love how this reaches out so personally to the listener. It’s such a common feeling, and yet it’s one that we tend to internalize, causing us to suffer alone, when in reality we don’t need to.
“I wrote ‘See Saws’ as a deep self-reflection on my life up to this point. Many days, I’m my own worst enemy, and I stifle my own progress due to overthinking and self-imposed pressure. Finally, I’ve found peace and solace in the fact that the boy from the mud, who’s spent his whole life fighting, who’s felt deep loss one too many times, is still standing. And I know everything is gonna be okay.”
Curt Summers
He continues to reflect on other issues, such as dating, noting the emphasis on physical relationships rather than emotional connections. He also touches on societal pressures, depression, and other ways in which external factors try to diminish and underestimate his character. However, Curt pushes through, staying true to himself and using his vigor to move forward no matter what life throws at him. This song is vulnerable, motivational, powerful, and so very needed by anyone who tends to doubt themselves and get beat up by life. I know I tend to do it a lot, so the little reminders to love yourself sprinkled throughout the song and featured in the chorus are so refreshing. I really do love this track, and I’m excited to see how it fits with the rest of Curt’s EP. If you’d like to follow Curt to see his new releases, you can check him out on social media below:
I’m also excited to update this to say that Curt has released a beautiful music video to accompany his track, “See Saws”.
You can also check back here December 4th to catch the music video for “See Saws”.
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Sponsored by Curt Summers.
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