Calvin, Frank and Pablo

Slide is one of my top 20 most played songs. It was released by Calvin Harris with vocals by Frank Ocean and Migos. The piano intro is followed by a beat that feels like we should be cruising the California coast in a convertible that probably goes too fast to be road legal. The song is 3 minutes and 51 seconds and I never want it to end. So I repeat it once, twice, maybe five more times. As a friend once said, “make it louder.”

And I think that’s the point of the song – excess. Extravagance on top of affluence and then cover it with diamonds. Look at Migos: track jackets and layered chains, iced pinky rings and mesh T-shirt. In combination, they are very bold and obvious expressions of financial status.

The song is anchored by the idea of being a multi-millionaire and making impulsive decisions. Not only do the featured song artists exhibit this idea of excess, there’s also the lyrics “empty my bank account and buy that boy with a pipe.” Frank Ocean refers to a Pablo Picasso painting titled Garçon à la pipe, that sold for $104M in 1994 according to CNN.

The boy sits against a floral background with legs splayed wearing rumpled shirt and pants. Picasso crowned him with roses. To me, there’s something rich about the colors, a contrast to his casual posture and facial expression. Maybe he’s a working boy enjoying a small luxury, his pipe. A king in his mind and on the canvas.