Need help thinking a song that is influenced by the history of popular music
 

This is the prompt for a paper that I am writing:
Choose any song from popular music within the past 10 years and identify three (3) influences on this song from throughout the history of popular music. These influences could take various forms, such as a certain music genre, stylistic element, or particular artist. With each element you identify, elaborate on how and why you feel this genre/style/person is informing the song.

I am having trouble finding a song that fits this prompt, one that has been influenced by the history of popular music. Do any songs come to mind for any of you? Thanks.

Yes, but the one I'm thinking of is 11 years old.

What is it?

and what would the influences on this be?

Man I would've loved to have been asked to do something like this as schoolwork.

For now I'm gonna assume when they say "popular music" that they actually mean "pop" and that's what makes this so hard to find a starting point. Off the top of my head I think you could squeeze some good milage out of:-

- "Lyla" by Oasis to explore general artist influences
- "Someone Like You" by Adele to explore emotional depth
- "Grenade" by Bruno Mars to explore general pop production and performance

You didn't just ask what outside influnces are on beauty and the beat besides hip hop right...tell me Im high.

Why can't you just do this with any song that you enjoy? I'm sure that if you like it enough you'll listen to it a reasonable amount of times to be able to understand what genres they are.

Did you not listen to it?

Apparently not Janszy....His loss,save Edan for the kool kids.

I did, I'm just having trouble identifying some of them

So, basically, you want me to do your homework for you. Musically the song is a mixture of 80s style rap and a variety of kinds of rock from the 60s through the 80s. Lyrically it contains a gazillion references to classic bands and albums. Listen to it some more, read up about it, read the lyrics and I'm sure you can come up with enough to write your own paper.

You know, if you've got an ear for music, you could pick up on the influence of any popular song today inspired by an older era of music. You're making this overly complicated. I think you'd take away more from this assignment if you did the research yourself, rather than asking strangers on a forum. That's my advice to you.

But. Janz and Roxy are both excellent people to reference for something like this if I were in your shoes.

He!ll take nothing less than an A- sir.