Freudian: Unconscious Motivation 

Ray Bellville 

Music Journalist (Rap/Hip-hop) 

Freudian by Daniel Caesar carries you through an emotional rollercoaster, revealing tragedy in relationships. Covering themes of working through infidelity and the recovery process after a broken bond. Each song demonstrates a period and process of a relationship through his lens with an interpreted version of the other in parts of the tracks.

GET YOU 

How’d I “Get You”? The question posed through the chorus, as Daniel reflects on his relationships, is not to share the lows or “natural disasters”. Instead of being spiteful, it’s a positive perspective showing gratitude and bliss for what once was a relationship. Kali ends the song, saying, “This feels like summer,” A simile for the intense amount of light brought to life by this person, creating a warmth in them that made them feel alive. Intimacy is a very big theme in this song, as he himself has expressed the difference between sex and intimacy. When you are intimate with an individual, your bond deepens, and you both become more vulnerable and susceptible.  

BEST PART/ HOLD ME DOWN 

The most popular song on the album, Best Part, the artist H.E.R., opens with a beautifully sung verse over a guitar where she and Daniel go back and forth, sharing their partners’ importance. Using references such as coffee and Tylenol to address how their person regulates their mood to such a degree that it physically makes them feel healthier. The conclusion of the track comes from a repeated verse of both parties asking “If you love me, won’t you say something” in a begging manner. In a way, this is just the representation of the start of a  “honeymoon phase” which is very prevalent in the next track. 

“Hold me down” opens with questioning as to why their partner won’t say that they love them in the heat of their infatuation with one another. He continues not only to mention the heights their sexual intimacy is bringing but to express his doubt and her “dreams of a better life,” even though he felt his intentions were seen to benefit her. From the perspective of the woman, CadaroTribe, in the second half of the song, brings up the feelings of neglect and distance felt from travels. The song ends by asking, “Will you hold me down?” pleading for the same effort in exchange for her own. 

NEU ROSES (TRANGRESSORS SONG) 

A title that combines the word Neurosis, a term used to describe a group of chronic mental emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression, and new roses. Symbolizing how her cheating would “bring his world crashing down,” would also bring about a new beginning or “new roses”. Cadaro opens with a haunting duet with Daniel, showing them shaken and spiraling as actions from both sides are possibly being accused in the verse. Pulling from current tracks such as “Who Knows” and “Do you like me?”, we see his anxiety and new view on relationships, explaining his questioning in the earlier situations. The second verse opens with his friends telling him how he should’ve left her, but he insisted on staying. A chain has been placed on him by her deeds that transgressed there. In return, he begins to mess with “empty cups” or people with no substance in an attempt to fill his void. In return, he is only met with acknowledgement to change his ways to better himself and stop following suit and cheating in return. 

LOOSE 

One of the more vulnerable songs, Loose, is the climax of the internal conflict being faced. At this moment, he is revealed to have the power to end a relationship that he fought so hard to maintain. His partner is becoming unstable and he’s blaming himself for staying, even comparing her trauma and frustration to “rain and thunder,” often resulting in altercations and conflict. At this point, both parties have communicated, but no form of growth is happening while they’re together. Even proclaiming himself as a coward for not ending a relationship that isn’t helping anyone out and is making it worse for her, as she’s carrying most of the baggage. Though in the outro we do hear his voice, silent and small, and softly let her go, so both parties don’t suffer through their dysfunction any longer. 

WE FIND LOVE/BLESSED 

Just as Loose covers the basis of the approach and cutting of the string between the two. We find love covers the aftermath and first thoughts, more so like the day after you wake up from a breakup. He delves into his thoughts of acceptance of how things always come to an end, and he’s going to need to pick himself up to prepare for the uncertain future. Though he knows that she also was a person who showed him a new side of his life he hadn’t unraveled yet. “Blessed” shows Daniel’s pleading thoughts of constantly saying he was “blessed” to be with her. Saying he essentially needed her and found so much comfort in her that she will always be home to him. 

TAKE ME AWAY/TRANSFORM 

Take me away reveals his lust for her physical features. With that, he’s essentially diluted to a point of questioning how he changes and becomes better. Transform paints Caesar as addicted to his women

because he keeps coming back to her, not only out of lust but also for their emotional connection. His hope for rekindling is still prevalent as he believes they will change and find themselves again. 

FREUDIAN 

The final and self-titled track, “Freudian,” opens with Freud’s theory of the Id, Ego, and superego. He opens his song by referencing his love for his mother and partner, and though he’s had bad relations in the past with both, they still love and care for him. However, he’s delved into thoughts of suicide, intent, and sexual desire. As seen through the album, at this point, the girl felt as though he only wanted her when he was in an emotional state. Not only that, but his constant need to seek approval or attention caused a rift between the two in a similar way to his mother.

From front to back, the album covers the basis of the “honeymoon” phase that develops into a romance, only to be marred by infidelity and emotional inaccessibility. Carried through beautiful gospel-inspired tones and features from artists such as Kali Uchis, Syd, and H.E.R. He took influences from Freud’s Ideas of the ego, reflecting his conscious thoughts through his constant anxiety-driven questioning. His frequent sexual drive for his partner prompted the id. This album was a very important piece of my high school self while navigating through family issues.