Who Inspires You Lyrically?

I'm inspired by Partynextdoor, dude had a solid first ep that came out and honestly changed my life as a sophmore in highschool. I later found out he released a few more tapes that werent on the same level but decent due to the fact that the man started writing for big artists like Drake and Rhianna! Basically he was an artist that could've made it in the lime light but decided writing was more his speed and a different way to leave his mark in the quick and everchanging music industry.
 
Honestly, Kate bush, Bjork, frank ocean, sooometimes James Blake, grizzly bear, Erikah badu, Jill Scott, mos def, ravyn lenae
 
In the beginning it was Kurt Cobain and Warren G over and over and over, hanging out at my friend Joey's house, when I first put pen to paper for no considerable reason.

It was the album art to Dookie that somehow imparted a since forgotten understanding of what Green Day was trying to tell me,

the riff on Come Out and Play that made the lyric "You gotta keep em separated" sound so perfect,

the way Sweat(A La La Long) by Inner Circle somehow painted the perfect picture of my dream girl years before my first major crush, all the while completely oblivious to the implications of the hook, i'm laughing and shaking my head as I think about it now.

But somewhere along the way, probably in the midst of a dense cloud in the back seat of Victor's hooptie (if I had to pinpoint it), inspiration faded far far away and my primary reaction was competition, a challenge, a direct affront to my ego. I was a stinking low down amateur (unbeknownst to me) and my opponents weren't people in my social circle, but rather professionals at the apex of the pyramid during one of the most nastiest periods of lyricism the world has ever seen. Punk a$$ Puffy was in my ear like "Take that, take that" and ignorance allowed me to look stupid, actually beyond stupid, but which resulted in developing something I was proud of.

At some point I became humble again, who knows how long it will last.

Just the other day I felt beyond blessed, standing in line at the gas station, when I heard from the speakers overhead the exquisite Etta James, At Last...and reflecting on it now, the inspiration tasted so damn sweet.
 
Daniel Guildenlöw mostly. Dude is a bit narcissistic, but his lyrics are just amazing. Also Tyler from 21 pilots has some smart lyrics as well. Emotionally Tuomas from Nightwish.
 
neutral milk hotel
bright eyes
pat the bunny
i love these guys and they always inspire me when i'm out of ideas
 
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