Ever since the release of the Link’s Awakening remake, my feed has been inundated with a flood of new music for me to listen to, some familiar and moving, other pieces amusing and clever. I chose something of the latter this week, for despite my fondness for indie and alternative music there will always be a part of me drawn to eclectic mixes of other genres that happen to catch my ears.
JT Music has been producing songs and skits for video games for over 10 years, and it wasn’t until now that they tackled a Nintendo piece. I was first intrigued when I saw the title of this piece, “Link’s Awakening Rap,” for it’s rare that I see anything Zelda related combined with the word Rap. I was instantly intrigued and my curiosity did not go unrewarded.
The song starts off with a brief taste of the old 8-Bit Zelda music from the original game accompanied by sweeping violin and orchestra music in the background. Soon, beautiful vocals come in, the sweetness of them contrasting with the image in the video: Link on his boat, struggling in the storm, and the lightning striking the mast.
After that, the tone of the song changes entirely, switching from sweet, melodic vocalizations to sharp, enunciated words that flow rhythmically over one another at a pace that made me instantly want to nod my head along to the beat. The lyrics detail Link’s journey, awakening on a strange island with little-to-no memory of what happened, finding himself in a charming village overcome by strange monsters. The rap makes reference to Link’s penchant for “landscaping” and the catharsis he finds in it, tossing pots and rocks simply for the fun of it, how it feels to take down Moblins, and his internal struggle as he decides between the cute and sweet Marin and his Princess Zelda waiting somewhere for him.
I’ve always been drawn to rap music not only for the rhythm and talent it takes to produce the songs but for the cleverness often found in the lyrics. “Head on a swivel, I’m steady and smart, I get plenty of chests and I’m heavy with hearts,” the rapper sings, which describes Link perfectly in any of his adventures. There are a host of clever lyrics like this throughout the song, and I found myself laughing at a few and nodding my head in agreement with many others.
When the rap ends, we’re back to the sweeping vocals, the melodic voice singing, “When we need a hero, you always seem to come through.” Again, a perfect description for Link. She goes on, begging the Hero to help quell the deadly nightmares of this world he’s found himself in, reminding Link that his dreams are real so long as they are still in his memories.
The video is charming to watch, featuring gameplay from the Link’s Awakening remake alongside the track before it ends with the sweeping orchestral music that began the adventure. It’s a clever and unique piece. I hadn’t seen anything like it for some time and I truly feel it deserves a listen. You won’t be disappointed.
JT Music is a two-man group of music creators who often collaborate with others to form a team. They have over three million YouTube subscribers and their music is available on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, and Soundcloud. Should you want to give them a listen, head over to any of those sites to check out this Zelda cover, music from Undertale, Halo, Bendy and the Ink Machine and more. The creator mentions in the video that he hopes this to be the first of many new Nintendo covers, and I share in that wish. I’d love to see what they come up with in the future.
