 Imagine getting shot in the head as a teenager, having suicidal thoughts throughout the day, and being told by everybody in your childhood that you will not amount up to anything in your life. On top of that as an adult you have over 8 kids with multiple baby mothers, and you have to pay child support for each child.  Plus, the women that you loved more than anything left you for a NFL football player. So you take drugs (perks, molly, zanies with a heavy dose of weed) daily, waste money on strippers daily, and have sex with random girls (groupies) daily just to ease all the pain from your life. At this point I can truly say, welcome to the Low Life. 

The phrase Low life was repeated in this song 27 times. In the song, “Low Life,” Future uses the symbols of drugs, cheating, money, and gun violence to illustrate the theme of getting caught up in the low life. 

 The song "Low Life" by Future is more than just a song, it’s a way of feeling what the artist is going through, and it makes the listener reminisce on how their life is going. In the song The Weeknd says, " Cos I'm always repping that low life repping that low life (turn up) Low life, low life, low life Know I'm repping for that low, low life” (Weeknd).  He is owning up to the fact that he is a low life, and he doesn’t care about what anybody has to say about it because it's his life. I can also feel the pain in his voice where it seems like he just wants everybody to know that he was raised in the "Low life," and even though he is rich and famous, he is still living the "Low life." 

He takes drugs daily to try to ease the pain from his past and the pain he currently has.  For example, Future says, “I been on the molly and them Xans with your daughter" (Future).  Low life people are more prone to take molly than people who are not.  Future is also referring to the "Low Life" when he said, "I just took some molly, what else?" Future is stating that living the "Low Life" is everything to him by saying "what else?" He's making it seem like taking molly is a regular thing for him.  Drugs is a part of Future’s lifestyle.  It helps him deal with the pain and heartache of being alone.  Even though Future is rich and famous he still goes though things that regular African American men go through during their lifetime.  For example, cheating on the person that he loved, taking drugs to ease his pain, spending money just because, and being evited from your apartment. 

He also talks about money in his song (root of all evil).  In “Low Life” he says, “popping tags on tags, I was starving.”  He spends so much money on unnecessary things, because he was so broke earlier in his life. This is a reoccurring theme of his.  He used to be on welfare, and now he has more money than he ever dreamed of having. He also says, “Flood my cross with ice, getting money my religion.” Future is clearly showing his wealth, trying to hide the fact that he is hurting inside and trying to use jewelry as a cover-up for his shortcomings. 

Next, Future talks about cheating on his fiancé Ciara in his hit song “Low Life.”  By saying, “If she catch me cheating, I will never tell her sorry (repeat), If she catch me cheating I will never tell her sorry.” He disowns his actions of cheating on her. He cheated on her with his stylist, and since then he still says to this day that that wasn’t the reason they broke up. He still hasn’t apologized for cheating on her and probably never will. Future is hurting inside, because he did love her with all of his heart and deep down inside he knows he messed up, even though the media nor his fans do not know what Ciara’s role in the situation.  

Finally, Future talks about gun violence as being part of the low life. But the common stereotype is that black males with no money are more prone to buy guns. He wants the world to know that it’s not stereotyping in his case, because he always keeps loaded guns with him and is no longer poor by saying, “Yeah, they stereotyping cause they know a nigga keep ten rifles- and they know a nigga keep ten snipers- keep a baby bottle like we wearing diapers -Yeah, they stereotyping cause they know a nigga keep twenty rifles -and they know a nigga keep twenty snipers.”

Both rappers made this song with the intent of letting the audience know that they are still living the "Low Life," so don’t think that just because a person has a lot of money doesn’t mean that they are not living the same life that regular people are living. "Low Life" is a type of song I listen to and just think about my past and where I came from and all of the things I had to go through over and over again to get to where I am today. It is also a song I can listen to and realize to myself that some people, including myself, are good at hiding what's hurting them on the inside. "Low Life" is a song that lets people know that it doesn’t matter how much money or fame you might have, everybody has had some type of "Low life."

I think the overall message in this song is to let people know that they are living the Low-Life, which involves drugs, cheating, money, gun violence, and a lot of other things that a typical low life person would be prone to do.  So before you judge Future ask yourself this, what would you do if you were in his shoes and been through all of the trials and tribulations that he has been through?  Exactly.  Welcome to the low life.  

 