Josh Martinez has burst onto the scene with humor, wit and an infectious delivery that has his songs stuck in your head for weeks. Martinez' first release, the DJ Moves produced Maximum Wellbeing EP, blew the collective conscious with the epic track "Deny". A five beat, ten minute opus about a soldier forced to revisit the Holocaust, "Deny" won 1998's Independent Song of the Year from CBC's Brave NewWaves.
His next release, Josh Martinez & the Hooded Fang, was awarded 5 mics by Source Online and showcased production and rhyme help from Halifax's finest. This self-released gem moved Vice Magazine to comment, "Josh takes on more subject matter in one song than most rappers do in their entire careers." As interest in his recordings grew, Josh decided to start his own record label, Low Pressure Records, a Vancouver based label co-owned by DJ Moves and Rhekone. In the spring of 2001, Low Pressure released the immensely popular Made in China, Josh's third album, which sold more than 5000 copies independently and spread Josh's words far and wide. In 2002, Low Pressure was dissolved and Josh reopened under the name Camobear Records. Following on the 2002 release of both the Rumble Pie EP and The Good Life EP, comes the release of the fourth full length album, Buck Up Princess, to a growing fanbase eager for new material. Buck Up Princess is serious business: next generation rap music, moving from banger to anthem and back again, leaving you with sweaty palms, a nervous tic, and the need to love and be loved. Its subject matter ranges from funny anecdotes to profound observations to heartfelt yearnings on love and life. Featuring Josh at his most polished yet, this album, released in North America through Revolver USA, will be supported by a twenty city US tour in the Fall of 2003. Recent shows at TransMusicales in France and a three week European tour in early 2003 have lead Josh to some considerable overseas acclaim. The Buck Up Princess album will be released throughout Europe on Bella Union (UK), and will be supported by a month long European Tour of the festival circuit throughout
the Summer.
Martinez has built a solid reputation around the world for his engaging wordplay, butter melodies and high-energy live performances. His live show has captivated audiences and spread his reputation as one of the best live performers out there. Over the last three years, Josh has performed in every major city in North America, several times over. Having twice headlined the huge music festival at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, showcasing at this year's NewMusicWest in Vancouver and dropping heat for thousands of screaming lunatics on the 2002 Vans Warped Tour, Josh has performed for them all, delivering the same high-energy lunacy each and every time he hits the stage.
http://www.joshmartinez.ca
Breakdown
Josh Martinez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't even know why I'm doing this song
I don't even know how I feel anymore........ god damn it
I can't count how many times I been the last one laughing
The joke is on me, cause see I keep crashing
My life is changing, really weird being here and there
Doing double duty to a girl id love to live for
Thinking for ever, last alot, last long then I had planned on
Immortal is love, life isn't just a nice portal we go leaping through
I dig through dumpsters and rifle through the scraps
My spirit is starving, I am sad
I just wanted to walk my thoughts off and drink a cup of coffee
It seems like I can't sleep anyway, what am I doing here
My intentions span a mans attention, they pay me no mind
For I am the mother of invention
They say an ounce of pervention is worth a pound of cure
But I'm sure my intentions werent pure
In fact they acted so brazin
That's what forced me to leave this safe haven
And now I'm out in the storm having cut off my escape route
I slid through the some mud in a make shift rain suit
I was soaking wet and drug myself up from the bottom
I was shocked by cupids rock, I chased him down until I caught him
Grabbed the gimpy infant diaper rash
He used to quiver quickly to load love and unload until I started to feel sickly
I was head over high heels in love with my wheels in my girlie
The road came calling but she left early, now I'm falling into early thought
I can't stop thinking I just hope I don't get caught
[faint singing] aaaaaahhhhhh, I break everything
So I broke it off, because I break everything
Fall out of love is an abstract art
I know I don't support your dreams
But I don't mean to be so selfish
I'm just overwhelmed by currents of assurance
Still I'm helpless and hoping
Someone else will help this coping
To be open is an art form, I'm feeling closed in
Mostly a part from where we came from is part of whos to blame
There really nothing nobody can do to ease this pain
I'm feeling freezed in rain drops spread across the roof tops
I'm hiding undercover until the truth stops leaking
With loose lips peaking, gossip starts speaking in toungues
There's not a decent soul among them young ones
Who just gathered in rapture to pay hommage
To the capture of the master
We made ship to shore communication
You are my first true love but ive lost patience
With the endless way we let inpendence way of tendancy
To say I need more space, so please go away
Later on the change is on the otherside, let it slide
Better be hiding the good vibe that I am feeling
When not stealing light from your likeness but
Like it or not, you let the first shot go
And invited the first thoughts of might we be so tired
As to be beyond the first aid our state required
Doo doo do do doo do doo do doo doo doo do [repeat]
Man...
You can't bandage neglected efforts or put band aids on baskets
No longer filled with love and now employed as caskets
Yes the love is dead, no the love remains
Nothing sings the soul as much of what the whole contains
When dumped down on this ground below
Spread slow at first but then emerced the town in its undertow
We can't grow in salt water cried the pretty girls
Neither can the flowers bloom
When you in tune your rose pedals in contract with those have settled in their ways
They layed down their arms and gave up thier glory days
Shortly before I walk out this door
I took a last look back and still I'm not sure
I've been a B minus boyfriend whos character was doubted
Who in every fight we had raised my voice and shouted
When I wouldn't even have to say a single thing at all
But if I strive to keep my silence it will be a lonley fall
But if I speak up now and raise my voice above the crowd noise
She only hear me hollering, she won't feel my footsteps
And following the shoes that break dance and exude balance
As the real amazing girl with an endless list of talents
That's why I'm challenging myself to grow up and spread out
If it's meant to be then its meant to be gently
Left alone to work itself out...
I just need more time
FUCK!
I don't even want to do this anymore
The phone calls, back and forth
Hello I'm lost, hello I'm found, hello I want you back, goodbye
I'm by myself again, I'm really tired of being lonely
I'm sick of this........ get out of my head
I broke it off because I break everything, everthing I touch turns to dust
Ooooh why, why would I want to touch anything, anymore
[whispering] I don't want to go through this again
The lyrics to “Breakdown” by Josh Martinez tell the story of a man who is dealing with the fallout from a failed relationship. He is struggling with the idea that everything he touches turns to dust, a theme that is reflected in the song's title. The song starts with the artist questioning why he's even doing the song, and how he's feeling lately. He then goes on to say that he's often the last to stop laughing, implying that he tries to keep things positive even when they're not going his way.
The artist then delves into the core of his feelings, explaining how his life has been changing recently and leaving him in unfamiliar territory. He is struggling to deal with the long distance of his relationship, often traveling via airplane to see his love. He mentions his love will last a lot longer than he had planned on, and that love is immortal even if life is not. He then uses a metaphor of digging through dumpsters to describe how he feels that his spirit is starving, leaving him sad and alone. The artist ends the song by admitting that he has broken things off and he's struggling with how he's feeling lately, finished by questioning whether he wants to touch anything anymore.
Overall, the lyrics paint a picture of a man who is struggling to deal with the end of a relationship, feeling alone and lost. The song is a somber reflection of the struggle that comes with the end of a long-term relationship, and how that struggle can take a toll on a person's mental health.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't even know why I'm doing this song
I'm unsure of my emotions and why I'm expressing them in this way
I can't count how many times I been the last one laughing
I've often been the butt of the joke and the one left humiliated
Plane flights and fighting long distance late nights
I'm struggling to maintain a long distance relationship
Thinking for ever, last alot, last long then I had planned on
I thought my love would last forever but it's slowly fading
I dig through dumpsters and rifle through the scraps
I'm searching for meaning or something to hold onto in my desperate state
My intentions span a mans attention, they pay me no mind
I have so much to say but no one will listen to me
To be open is an art form, I'm feeling closed in
I'm struggling to express myself and feeling trapped in my own thoughts
We can't grow in salt water cried the pretty girls
There's no room for growth when surrounded by toxic relationships
They layed down their arms and gave up thier glory days
They've given up on trying to fight for their relationship and accept its failure
But if I speak up now and raise my voice above the crowd noise
If I don't express myself now, I'll be lost forever
I broke it off because I break everything, everthing I touch turns to dust
I ended the relationship because I have a tendency to ruin things
Contributed by Muhammad V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.