Leon - Come By Here Lord

Topic: Rap
Rap was a style of speaking within a structured format. Despite its associations with Gangsta Rap, the subject matter was varied, but generally restricted to experiences of the rapper and his or her audience.

Leon adapted the style to evangelism in 2006. He described a person ready to kill and one ready to smoke crack using short staccato phrases to advance his narratives. One described a fight

"He hit you so hard
Like he broke your jaw"

that led to the vanquished pulling a gun with

"Balls of sweat
Down your face drippin’"

In the second, a boy stole his mother’s wallet to buy crack from the dead man. In both cases, they were stopped by a voice that told them to put the gun/dope down. This was followed by:

"And fall to your knees
Crying out loud
Lord help me please"

At that point the recording changed from a single male voice chanting slowly against a drum to a group of men singing the "somebody’s praying" verse from "Come by Here" in harmony with the 1-5 melody. The drum continued through the chorus with an Xx beat. In the verse, it had only played a strong beat at the start of the second half of each phrase.

Performers
Vocal Soloist: Leon
Vocal Group: men, not identified
Instrumental Accompaniment: none
Rhythm Accompaniment: drums

Credits
(C) 2006 Barrydrecords

Notes on Lyrics
Language: English

Pronunciation: strong Xx pattern so, for example, "everybody yelling" became "er by yellin’"

Verses: praying

Vocabulary
Pronoun: somebody
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: drug slang

Basic Form: verse-chorus.
Verse Repetition Pattern: chorus repeated twice
Ending: none
Unique Features: used traditional "Come by Here" as chorus

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-5
Tempo: slow

Basic Structure: ABAB. Leon described the B chorus as "lyrical harmonic loops." [1]

Singing Style: A was chanted; B was sung in harmony

Notes on Performers
Barry Leon Dorsey was born in Miami, Florida, in 1970. He said he was singing with a toy mike when he was two, and "later played the drums in the church and sang in the church choir." In his twenties, he was performing professionally, although he did not specify with whom or what style music. His favorite groups, Run-DMC and Earth, Wind and Fire, suggested he preferred the disco and early rap of his adolescent years. [2]

Instead of providing biographical details, he recast his experiences into a tale of salvation. He wrote:

"I spent many years writing and performing music that was inappropriate. During this time of rebellion, I battled with good and evil over the type of music I wanted to play. One day my soul hit rock bottom and the devil lost the battle." [3]

Availability
CD: Role Model. 23 May 2006.

End Notes
1. CD Baby website for album.
2. Liner notes reprinted by CD Baby.
3. Liner notes.