"But I’ll Wait for You"

Spirituality Meets Romance in Daniel Caesar's Music

Toronto, Canada, is home to Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter-producer Daniel Caesar. Born as Ashton Simmonds on April 5, 1995, Caesar is well-known for his reflective, soulful, and romantic R&B, combining elements of modern, neo-soul, and gospel music that stand out like no other artist. His distinct vocal delivery, mellow melodies, and poignant lyricism have brought him praise from critics and his devoted following. 

Caesar creates the music as a reflection of struggles in his personal life. His early exposure to gospel music and church performances in particular—he was raised in a religious home—shaped the spiritual overtones of his sound. With that influence, and many others based in R&B such as Kanye West, Frank Ocean, and Beyoncé, Caesar’s music combines both worlds of music to create music that not only touches someone’s ears, but their soul. 

Photo courtesy of Keith Henry (2016).

Daniel Caesar’s 2017 album “Freudian” perfectly captures the gospel feel of Caesar’s past. Gospel music is characterized by “... hymn-like melodies and harmonies, and a range of expressions derived from African music-making and spirituality,” according to Classical Music by BBC Music magazine. Applying this idea to Caesar’s album, we find two songs fully highlighting not only the structural aspects of the gospel but its overall feelings. “Hold Me Down” perfectly emphasizes these ideas structurally through lyrics like “I was wondering, can you hold me down?” and while they directly talk about a relationship, this idea of needing spiritual or emotional support correlates strongly with gospel music. Throughout the song, strong examples of harmony and choral style backing vocals to the main lyrics strongly reinforce this idea of major gospel influence in Daniel Caesar's Music. “We find love, we get up” shouts common themes of resilience and redemption often found in gospel music in the song “We Find Love.” It includes lyrics that can be interpreted as spiritual and gospel ties, but also a strong use of backup vocals to create a choir-like atmosphere that lifts its listeners, similar to that of gospel music. 

As we progress further into the influences of Caesar’s music, it is crucial to focus on strong themes and trends of R&B in Caesar’s music. “Never Enough,” Caesar’s third studio album, beautifully demonstrates his commitment to and love for not only R&B but romance in its entirety. R&B draws upon jazz, applying strong notions of bass, drums, and simple melodies that highlight and enhance the smoothness of the singer's voice. “Let Me Go” does an incredible job of embodying the genre’s themes and strongly presenting ideals of love and heartbreak. “Baby, won’t you let me go,” a simple yet powerful lyric, demonstrates these ideas. These direct words tell a story of love doing more harm than good. Caesar extends the last note, layering harmony and emphasizing the bass during the chorus, all strong characteristics of R&B. Stringing romance in a more everlasting and substantial way, “Always” highlights how strong love can possibly be. “And I still remember the fussin', the fightin', the fuckin', the lyin'
It's all fine, you'll always be mine.” Part of learning to love is learning to love the parts of people that make them human, no matter how good or bad those parts are. We see through “Never Enough” how the influences of R&B and romance in Daniel Caesar’s life pushed his music to improve. 

While both albums and their aspects of gospel and R&B demonstrate separately how these styles of music can enhance listening experiences, the highlight of Caesar’s music is apparent when both of these aspects are combined and clear in his songs. “Japanese Denim” preaches the strength of love, using a smooth melody and voice that emanates clear characteristics of R&B expressing “I don't like to drink, I don't like to think, fuck that, oh-oh
But I ponder you, oh.” Here, we see that even someone who does not like to think finds themselves thinking about the person they are in love with. To aid in this effect, a voice filled with vulnerability and sincerity, accompanied by smooth note stretches, fully embodies the strengths that gospel music provides. We see that it is not just the gospel or R&B aspects alone that create the full experience of Caesar’s music, but the combination of both styles. While voice harmony during chorus’ is more common, through “Cyanide” the power of harmony interwoven into the entirety of a song creates a smoothness that can only be compared to the smoothness of a pool cue ball. Accompanied by this harmony throughout the song, Caesar urges the power and sweetness of love, crying to the world “Feel my love drip over your skin
Rich dark chocolate, sweet melanin.” While singing this lyric, the smoothness and clarity of Caesar’s voice become the highlight. This highlighting effect is present in many R&B songs, accompanied by harmonic voices often present in gospel music, and blends these two worlds together in one song to create a sweet listening experience similar to the sweetness love can bring to one’s life. Sometimes, music can impact and influence you in unexplainable ways. Ways where even the lyrics cannot explain why you are feeling how you feel. The sheer emotion put into each song that combines R&B and gospel is moving in itself. The melodies soothe your mind, and Caesar's voice, soft like butter, creates a powerful effect separate from his lyrics. 

The traits that define gospel music, harmony, hymn-like melodies, and ideas of spirituality reach the hearts and minds of people worldwide. Similarly, smooth themes of the power of the voice, strong basslines, and consistent drums define the world of R&B. And while both genres of music have demonstrated their strengths on their own, we see through the voice and mind of Daniel Caesar that when both genres are combined, the listening experience can be compared to that of tasting the sweet nectar of the gods. Daniel Caesar’s music is a fluid merging of two genres that create melodies the brain has no comparison to.