Garrett Merz

ENG II
Nate Hellmers
6/23/20

Rhetorical Analysis of Two Songs

Puff Daddy, a rap icon of the 1990’s, is not the first person that comes to mind when

thinking of classic rock. However, Puff beat the odds when he wrote his wildly successful song

“I’ll be Missing You” which remixes The Police’s original hit, classic rock song “Every Breath

You Take.” The Police’s single, originally released in 1983, was immediately a smash hit

topping the Billboard 100 charts for 8 weeks straight, UK singles chart for four weeks straight,

and still found on all of our parents classic rock playlists today (Udiscover.) Not many covers or

remixes of the song every successfully emerged until the late 90s… thank you Puff Daddy! Puff,

also known as Diddy, released the song in 1997 in which it won a VMA and Soul Train Award

for best R&B/Rap video (IMDb.) The song was an all-time hit and still remembered by 90’s kids

being played on the radio 24/7. These two songs both present two different types of negative

rhetoric that back up two different claims. Although there are similarities in rhetoric within the

two pieces, the differences outweigh the similarities.

The pair of the music video and lyrics for the Police’s original song, “Every Breath You

Take,” relies on a dark rhetoric to tell an envious story. The slow and relaxed vibe of the

instruments is deceiving, the lyrics and dark ambiance of the video tell a completely different

story. The music video takes place in what seems to be a pitch black, abandoned warehouse and

shows the entire band all playing instruments or singing. While the music video shows angry and

serious expressions of the band, Sting (the lead singer) sings about jealousy he has because
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somebody is dating the girl he loves. Sting literally says that she belongs with him and he will

always be watching them… pretty creepy, right? The lyrics and music video utilize Pathos with

the dark lyrics and creepy facial expressions to make their claim that he is jealous and angry with

the person who stole their girl. The Police essentially are making the audience think about the

feeling of envy that corresponds with leaving a lover for somebody else and what that may do to

a person. Furthermore, the audience receiving this claim are younger aged people, between 15

and 22. Around this age, younger people are still finding themselves and who completes them,

breakups happen too often. This is a dark and envious message The Police have conveyed

however, the remix of the song by Puff is less intimidating.

Puff Daddy’s remix, “I’ll Be Missing You,” is a dark yet, lighthearted story told with the

images and lyrics present during the music video. Although both songs use Pathos to make the

audience feel dark emotion, they present two entirely different claims. Puff Daddy is seen at the

beginning of the music video crashing a motorcycle and then transitions into him wondering

open fields wearing an all-black suit. The visual display of the motorcycle crashing paired with

the all black suit gives the viewers a feeling of mourning death and sadness from losing

somebody important. This appeals to an audience that has gone through losing an idol before and

in this case, the rap community. During the 90’s, the rap community went through a long period

of violence where many young, legendary artists lost their lives. At the end of the video we find

out the song was dedicated to Biggie Smalls who was shot to death in his escalade on the streets

of LA. The image of biggie smalls speaks to any person that follows rap music, no matter how

old they are. Biggie is a legend that died too young, this was an event that made everybody come

together to stop the violence.

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Although both songs tell a sad story through their music video and dark lyrics, Puff

Daddy’s appeals to all of those involved in the rap community. The song gives off an immense

amount of emotion, sadness in particular. Puff’s version greatly differs from the original hit song

by The Police, which uses a more sinister ambiance in their visual and lyrical effects. However,

there is still a sense of sadness in The Police’s lyrics. Watching your loved one leave you for

somebody else causes anger and jealousy, yet there is still a sense of dejection within that

experience. Both songs are able to relate because they both use Pathos to make the viewer feel

the emotion of sadness throughout the short flick of each song. Similar to The Police’s video,

Puff Daddy is also seen performing in a dark, abandoned warehouse. This action symbolizes

escaping reality, most likely due to the sadness both artist felt at that point in their life.

Work Cited

Peacock, T. (2020, May 20). Every Breath You Take: Behind Sting And The Police's Signature

Song. Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/every-

breath-you-take-sting-police-song/

Puff Daddy Feat. Faith Evans & 112: I'll Be Missing You. (n.d.). Retrieved June 26, 2020, from

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7220538/awards