This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at La Verne chapter.

*Disclaimer, article contains profanity.

As I mentioned in a previous article of mine, I am a huge fan of Jhene Aiko. She is a queen and so beautiful inside and out. As you may know her new song, “Triggered,” dropped in the beginning of May, and it has everyone in their feelings. If you don’t have this song on repeat yet, or you aren’t singing your lungs out and crying during your car rides, then girl, what are you doing?

I feel like we all needed this song though. Her song speaks on so many levels of being hurt, and makes you relate to the pain with the beautiful melodies and lyrics, as do most of her songs.

She says “You are my enemy, you are no friend of mine, mothafucka” — I felt that. In tough times, with whoever it is you may have loved, it becomes hard to see them as an equal anymore. As they might’ve been putting you through so much and causing so much pain through their lies, or even their own betrayal, it just results in a different type of hurt.

Into the chorus, she sings “You muhfuckin’ right, I’m bitter, You muhfuckin’ right, I’m triggered” and she is being so vulnerable that at this point it’s clear she’s stating facts of her own state of mind. It gets hard to admit that we are acting out a certain way because we are feeling a certain way.

The song gets a bit intimate with her next verse:

“Wanna fuck you right now

I just turned the lights out now

And you know when the sun go down

That’s when it would all go down

Been a minute, been a while

Ain’t let nobody hit it since you hit it

You know you always know what to do wit’ it

But ain’t no me and you without you in it”

In this verse, I feel like she is being honest and also having a sense of hope that this failed love could come back again– to come back sooner. To having that disconnection from someone that knew all your places and knew you inside and out can really throw you off and make you feel a bit incomplete. Like who else is going to know how to make you feel that certain way or do it right with you in intimate times?

My favorite verse of all is when she said:

“Might catch a case in this bitch

Don’t let me catch you face-to-face in this bitch

Tryin’ my hardest not to disrespect you

After what you did, man, what you expected?

You muhfucker, uh”

It sucks to be hurt and feeling more things than the other person might be feeling because it was so easy for them to just walk away. So, yeah I may be feeling mad and sad because you hurt me in the worst ways. Not only that I don’t want to see your face anymore or anywhere I go, but you don’t want to be in my life so stay the fuck out of it or I will lose my shit. Like who gives you the right? And it gets hard to be civil and not talk bad about this person to your closest people because damn, they for real hurt you.

Towards the end of her song:

“Tryna let the time fly (yeah)

Tryna let the time go by

Tryna let the time heal all

Tryna let the time kill all

Of our memories

All you meant to me

All that history

All that’s history

I’ll calm down eventually

Fall back eventually, please

Call me back eventually

Fall back into me, yeah”

She is being real that time is the only thing that will help heal and forgive everything. Everything is so fresh as the wound is big and deep, and in time it will heal on its own. And with time there is some hope that they will come back eventually– realizing a big mistake.

Jhene’s beginning of her ending lyrics:

“I’m triggered, when I see your face

Triggered, when I hear your name

Triggered, I am not okay”

We all know the feeling of when someone brings up a name of an ex lover that we just haven’t healed completely from. That feeling just sinks deep and then gets your mind racing about all the possible things that would’ve happened if things were done differently. Or if we just never met.

All things considered Aiko closes out with saying:

“You need to stay out of my way.”

I hope you enjoyed my analysis of Jhene Aiko’s latest song, “Triggered” and how personable this song is to the reality of heartache.

And that’s just how its got to be. It sucks to be without that person anymore, but life is different now. Things changed and to continue there has got to be no interruption and no falling back into this person anymore. They got to go even if that means cutting all loose ends. This song touches hard and we all been hurt and feel that pain and been in that state of mind before. You do not have to deny it, but let it be your truth and create peace with it.

Lets Talk About Jhene Aiko’s Song, “Triggered”

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