The True Meaning Behind G-Eazy & Halsey's 'Him & I'
6 December 2017, 12:22
A deep dive into the inspiration behind G-Eazy & Halsey's latest bop.
After Halsey started posting a million pictures of herself with her new beau G-Eazy, we guessed that it was probably only a matter of time before they ended up creating some moody romantic bops together. Well, the inevitable happened last Friday (1/12) when Halsey and Eazy dropped 'Him & I' with an adorable video to go with it.
G-Eazy & Halsey - Him & I (Official Video)
Damn.
The song is taken from G-Eazy's upcoming album The Beautiful & Damned. Announcing the song on her Instagram, Halsey said, "This song is so special to me. i made it with someone i love for the people we love. enjoy guys :)"
So, what is 'Him & I' actually about and where did the inspiration comes from? Well, it should be immediately obvious to anyone that the song is about Halsey and G-Eazy's relationship, which is depicted as wild, rebellious and devoted, all at the same time.
But there is one particular couple who Galsey (new ship name...no?) reference in the song and in subsequent interviews that form the bedrock of the song; infamous bank robbers and star-crossed lovers Bonnie and Clyde.
Halsey spoke about the inspiration behind the song in an interview earlier this year with 97.1 AMP Radio. "It’s like this Bonnie & Clyde record and we made it out of love, which is really, really awesome. Getting to share that with the world is really cool because it’s not a contrived thing. It’s not two artists pretending to be something they’re not for the sake of a story.”
For those that don't know, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were part of a criminal gang that operated in the central states of America during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Though they mostly stuck to small robberies, they became famous after a number of bank heists and were known to kill if cornered or confronted. It is believed their gang killed at least nine police officers and several civilians during their run between 1931-35. Eventually they were ambushed and killed but have become a go-to example of reckless love for artists, film-makers, musicians and writers ever since (see Jay Z & Beyoncé's 2003 hit 'Bonnie and Clyde' or Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot's 1968 song of the same name).
The Bonnie and Clyde theme makes several appearances in the lyrics. Firstly in G-Eazy's opening verse, "They don't wanna see us make it, they just wanna divide / 2017 Bonnie and Clyde", then again the second verse, "Calm and collected, she keeps her composure / And she gon' ride for me until this thing over".
G-Eazy explained a little more about this theme in an interview with MTV. "That's a Bonnie and Clyde song," he said of their relationship, "that's a star-crossed lovers song, that's a crazy in love, like, we would kill for each other, we would die for each other kind of thing."
Awwww that's cute. Probably best we don't get on the wrong side of Galsey though. [H/T Genius]
