The Arctic Monkeys song inspired by Lil Wayne
Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner has always been open about his broad range of influences. While his early work was inspired heavily by the early 2000s indie scene in Sheffield, the frontman revealed that the American rap artist Lil Wayne influenced some of the band’s most popular work.
When the Monkeys burst onto the scene in 2006 with their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, they quickly became giants of British indie rock. Guided by the likes of Sheffield contemporaries Milburn or Reverend and the Makers, the band transcended their origins in High Green, becoming global stars. Their rapid journey to the top of the indie pyramid has since been the envy of bands everywhere. They have spawned countless young indie groups attempting to follow in their footsteps.
Over the years, Alex Turner’s songwriting influences have adjusted. Incorporating everybody from the likes of Patsy Cline to Oasis, the broad range of writing styles is perhaps what the enduring success of Arctic Monkeys can be attributed towards. In more recent times, Turner has drawn upon more classic influences, on the Bowie-inspired Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino and the almost Sinatra-esque crooning of The Car.
2013’s AM is undoubtedly the Monkeys’ most commercial record. A departure from the yearning romance of Suck It and See, AM is much poppier and more accessible. Although it received initial criticism from hardcore Arctic Monkeys fans, it also opened the band up to a new generation of indie kids. Whatever your thoughts on AM are, it is objectively a good album and signifies an important moment in Arctic Monkeys’ discography.
One of the album’s most notable tracks is a reworking of the John Cooper Clarke poem ‘I Wanna Be Yours’, which Turner once studied at secondary school. However, another big influence on the record comes in the form of rapper Lil Wayne. The lyrical style of Wayne was something Turner tried to evoke in tracks like ‘R U Mine?’. Speaking to NME, the frontman revealed, “We’ve been listening to a lot of their stuff recently. I like that thing they do where they talk about something backwards, so they talk about it but then say what it actually is on the next line.”
The band attempted to recreate this style in the opening lines of ‘R U Mine?’, one of the group’s highest-charting singles. “It’s hard to explain, but I guess it’s a little nod to that idea,” Turner said, “So I say, ‘I’m a puppet on a string’, just before mentioning Tracy Island. That’s what it’s about – uncertainty.”
Arctic Monkeys have been open about their appreciation of hip-hop music for years. Back in 2007, the group recorded ‘Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend’ with Dizzee Rascal for the B-side to their hit single ‘Brianstorm’. The group have also covered Drake’s ‘Hold On, We’re Going Home’ for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge. Although audiences have not yet been treated to an Alex Turner mid-song rap section, their appreciation of the music and lyrical style rings through their music, and ‘R U Mine?’ is a testament to that.
