"Like a playa' piano/ya on a roll.
Got sixteen keys/not an ounce of soul."
Sixteen Keys was MC mOS's (Marcus Parker) first release following his ejection from the Peachtree Gospel Choir. The release was a return to Parker's Folk Hop roots and his readoption of the MC mOS stage name. Marcus Parker had primarily been involved with Historicist Gospel acts, singing with the Suntown Gospel Choir between 2058-2062 and singing with the Peachtree Gospel Choir between 2061-2064. However a dispute over the choir's creative direction caused Parker to fired by the director. Following this incident, he ended up signing with Folk Hop legend Uriel's (Lana Daniel) Pinnacle Records. Daniels involvement with the single's writing and production, as well as the album's, was not particularly unexpected, both due to her long relation with Parker, part of the reason why she picked up the artist, as well as her public distaste of the Historicist movement. The track itself is a diss track, referencing the other 15 members of the choir and the choir director. The song expresses frustration with the failed imagination of the choir, as well as with the creative limitations of Historicist music.
The song stirred some controversy on release, as many casual listeners who were not familiar with the background of the song mis-characterized it as having anti-synth themes. Marcus Parker has since clarified this point, in an interview with
Groove Zine, and insisting that "[he] bear
no ill will towards our silicon sisters and metal brothers." Despite this clarification, the song has still become popular with some anti-synth circles.