Don’t let the smoothness of this tune confuse you with its message! “Don’t Ask Y” by The Urban Renewal Project opens with a pumping minimalist beat surrounded by a bouncing bass and rolling guitar. A tasteful flute decorates the end of the phrase with a mosaic of color before the verse by featured artists Camp Lo. This is when the song begins to gather depth.
With a stylish yet slightly sarcastic tone, Camp Lo demonstrates the shallowness of the corporate world. Smooth and creative delivery almost fools the listener into missing the internal critique of excessive materialism. A leading trumpet melody introduces a larger brass section into a hook of light-hearted mockery and sarcasm. Lines like, “Play the game just do it and don’t ask y" & "fame is in your future if you look fly” we get closer to the heart of the song. As Camp Lo explores the fraudulent nature of brand based corporatism, The Urban Renewal Project creates an ideal backdrop for concealing the shallowness with upbeat and major vibes. This mirrors the exact dilemma of mindless consumption for the sake of feeling cool or fitting in instead of questioning why these products have that amount of control on us in the first place.
The song then takes to the sky with the drummer on ride and the horns painting with broad strokes. Up and away, the tune turns to self-reflective sincerity at just how beautiful this place is without all the stuff. But to those stuck in the cycle of material wealth equating to happiness Camp Lo asks “Are you in your ballon?” Followed up by a quick but jam packed verse and a sax-guitar mash, “Don’t Ask Y” wraps up into a tight-knit package of light-hearted yet thoughtful look at the obliviousness of our consumption and the price it really has on our happiness.
Also, you must watch their official music video below, it’s worth it!