Wednesday, September 24, 2008
"The only time I will depend is when I'm 70 years old"
Lil Wayne will not depend on anyone. However, when he is old enough, he may require Depends brand adult-diapers
"Mel Gibson flow, Lethal Weapon, book em Danny"
Lil Wayne is saying his rapping is a lethal weapon. Lethal Weapon is a movie starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. However, the "book em Danny" add on is actually a conflation of Danny Glover's first name and the Hawaii-Five-O catch phrase "Book em, Danno."
"Sleepin' on a nigga"
to "sleep" on a rapper means to ignore him. The connotative meaning of the word is that he who is ignoring is doing so willfully and deliberately in spite of the merits of the rapper he is "sleeping" on.
"Last year they had the Grammy's, and left me in Miami."
Lil Wayne was not nominated for a Grammy Award. His recording studio is in Miami.
"I will take a desher as the lord as my witness."
Frankly, I am not even certain this is what he says. I have no clue what this could possibly mean.
"give thanks like a pilgrim"
Early American Puritan settlers, the Pilgrims are famous for celebrating the first Thanksgiving
"Tied to the fucking Birdman like a lug"
probably this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugger.
"Birdman" is the alias of Cash Money Records owner Bryan Williams, Lil Wayne's surrogate father.
"I am a missile like a scud"
Scud missile--Iraqi missile used in the first Gulf War. Lil Wayne is apparently saying that, like a Scud missile he is destructive and so on.
"I know that ain't fair...Cash Money Millionaire."
I don't remember which Big Tymers song this was from.
"The Carter 3"
This song was originally intended to be on Lil Wayne's sixth studio album, The Carter III. However, it was leaked from the studio and thus released as a mixtape. Therefore, this line is retrospectively inaccurate.
"Led Zeppelin"
Heavy metal rock group from the 1970's. Led Zeppelin is most likely being used as a metaphor for either Lil Wayne's penis due to its shape, or a bullet, due to the the word "Lead" being featured in the band's name.
"call me Kevin Federline"
"that crazy bitch" refers to "the game." Lil Wayne is claiming he is married to the "crazy" "game" in the same way Kevin Federline was married to singer Britney Spears. Spears' eccentricities were portrayed as evidence of insanity.
"Fuck em fuck em fuck em even if they celibate"
Playing off two different meanings of the epithet "fuck," Lil Wayne originally means "fuck em" to mean "To hell with them," but later expands the meaning to mean "have sex with them."
"Little Wayne's the president."
Probably referring to Lil Wayne's position as president of Cash Money imprint Young Money Records.
Monday, September 15, 2008
"Toby"
"Toby" being the slave name of the character Kunta Kinte, the patriarch of the black family described in Alex Haley's novel "Roots"
"Obi"
Obi Wan Kenobi. Character in 1970's film Star Wars in which the character Obi Wan Kenobi, played by Sir Alec Guinness, teaches a young protege a magical religion known involving a mystical element called "The Force"
"Leave that ass leaking like rapper demos"
In other words, Notorious B.I.G. will leave his sexual partner while she is leaking various body fluids. This flawed analogy hinges around the fact that when rappers' music is released unofficially, it is referred to as a "leak". However there is no possible resemblance between the way a rappers' demo "leaks" and the way liquid might "leak." Even an explanation claiming that both leak "quickly" is logically flawed.
"note for the plaintiff: your daughter's tied up in a Brooklyn basement"
In other words, while Notorious B.I.G. is being arraigned on charges, someone will deliver a note to the plaintiff explaining that if he doesn't drop the charges, his daughter will be murdered, presumably in accordance with Notorious B.I.G.'s orders.
"menage-a-trois"
Sexual encounter involving three participants. Probably, in this case, Notorious B.I.G. means himself and two women.
"dookie"
"dookie" literally means excrement, or "shit" but "the shit" is a slang expression meaning "the man"
"I put.....bought a Coogi."
In other words, Notorious B.I.G. buys different brands of designer clothes for women depending on what part of the United State they are from. However, every good looking woman with an attractive butt is bought Coogi brand clothing.
"Starsky and Hutch"
Title characters in 70's police drama about undercover officers, the two men worked closely together despite significant, seemingly irreconcilable differences in character and approach to police work.
"talk go through us"
In other words, Notorious B.I.G. and his friends ignore abusive and incendiary dialogue
"underroos"
children's underwear. In other words, "Poppa", or The Notorious B.I.G. has been smooth since he was a child.
"Pink gators"
Gator skin boots. It is unclear whether Notorious B.I.G. is claiming to wear these himself, whether his Detroit players wear them, or whether he will buy them for the unnamed woman to whom he seems to be speaking.
"niggaz don't think shit stink"
as in "doesn't think his or her shit stinks" meaning, believing oneself to be above the shortcomings of the common person. Notorious B.I.G.'s implied message here is that their shit does, in fact, stink
Sunday, September 14, 2008
"36 more deadly chambers to take you through"
In the movie 36th Chamber of Shaolin a young student studies Kung Fu at the Shaolin Monk temple in order to learn how to defeat a tyrannical local government. He must pass through 36 "chambers" or areas of study, in order to become a master.
"Suuuuuuu"
How residents of the Park Hill neighborhood where the Wu-Tang Clan claims origins call to one another
"don't know the time, check the hour on your sundial"
In other words those who "don't know the time" or aren't clued in to what the Wu-Tang Clan is doing with their hip hop music, are out of date, as evidenced by their anachronistic timepiece.
"To blow like that shit up your nose"
In this case, to "Blow" means to "become immensely popular and successful"
"Agent Orange, killing you slow"
Agent Orange was a chemical weapon during the Vietnam War, the purpose of which was deforesting the heavily canopied Vietnam jungles. However, the chemical produced lasting aftereffects among soldiers, including illness, and birth defects.
"Iron Lung/Twisted Metal"
Method Man refers to himself as "Iron Lung" (distinct from Iron Lung breathing machines) by way of bragging about his ability to smoke marijuana. Twisted Metal is the name of a video game in which players participate in a demolition derby, fitting the motif Method Man has established in this verse of destruction. It also refers to him being high as the "Metal" of his "Iron Lungs" is, "Twisted", "twisted" being slang for "messed up" or "high"
"grow like a fetus with no hands and feet to complete us"
This is indeed how fetuses grow for a large part of their gestation. The metaphorical implications are unclear
"Sixteen bar nickle sell more copies than Kinko's"
Kinkos is a nationwide chain of copying services. The rest of this bar is unclear. Rza seems to be saying a sixteen bar verse of his will sell many copies. However, this verse is 20 bars long, and the word nickle seems ambiguous in meaning.
Nickle is often used as metonymy to represent a nickle-plated automatic pistol. However this meaning seems contrary to the general purpose of the bar.
Nickle is often used as metonymy to represent a nickle-plated automatic pistol. However this meaning seems contrary to the general purpose of the bar.
"I've got the golden egg plus the goose"
in the fable of the goose that laid the golden egg, townspeople, upon learning that a goose lays golden eggs, cuts the goose open to get at more eggs. Dead, the goose is unable to lay more eggs.
Rza is claiming that he has both the golden egg and the goose itself. In other words, he has the desired riches as well as the means to continue producing riches.
Rza is claiming that he has both the golden egg and the goose itself. In other words, he has the desired riches as well as the means to continue producing riches.
"Ruler Zig-Zag-Zig A, leg leg arm head"
Rza is spelling his name out in 5% Islamic divine alphabet. Ruler=R. Zig-zag-zig=Z. Allah=A. Rza has also chosen to represent the word Allah in acronym as Arm, leg, leg, arm head, the circular makeup of the human body.
"rap souflee sautee for the day"
Rza seems to be unconcerned with the fact that souflees are baked, not sauteed
"great hero Jim Thorpe."
The Native-American athlete Jim Thorpe was a baseball and football star as well as an Olympic hero.
"MC's get stuck on ink blots"
Rorschach ink blot test purports to interpret a patient's psychological state by the description the patient gives of figures he or she sees in blots of black ink.
Rza seems to be saying that MC's (or rappers) try to read too much into their lyrics (whether the Mc's own lyrics or the Wu-Tang Clan's lyrics is unclear)
Rza seems to be saying that MC's (or rappers) try to read too much into their lyrics (whether the Mc's own lyrics or the Wu-Tang Clan's lyrics is unclear)
"order from pink dot"
In other words, order (or humanity) emerges from a vagina (metonymized by the color pink).
cf. Gustave Courbet's painting "L'origen du monde" or "The origin of the world," which portrays a woman's exposed vagina
cf. Gustave Courbet's painting "L'origen du monde" or "The origin of the world," which portrays a woman's exposed vagina
"The Riddler"
Batman villain The Riddler committed crimes while taunting the superhero with riddles purporting to give away his plans and locations.
"my grandfather"
Ol' Dirty Bastard seems to be claiming that the indian who sold Manhattan was his grandfather. It is unclear whether he is threatening to knock out his grandfather or threatening to knock out an unspecified third party under the pretense that much as his grandfather was crazy to sell Manhattan for a small amount of money, so too is Ol' Dirty Bastard crazy.
"the indian that sold Manhattan to the white man"
The area where the New York borough Manhattan is located was sold to Dutch settlers by the Indian tribe that inhabited it for the modern-day equivalent of $1000
"I U.F.O. you Wright Brothers"
Ol' Dirty Bastard is creating an analogy in the context of the world of flight wherein his foes are positioned as the relatively primitive Wright Brothers, whereas Ol' Dirty Bastard is compared to the highly advanced technology of an Unidentified Flying Object, or U. F. O.
"like a thousand doves"
Action films director John Woo often used doves in the midst of his elegantly choreographed fight scenes.
"My momma serve free lunch from the church"
Ol' Dirty Bastard's mother, despite bearing Ol' Dirty Bastard illegitimately, is committed to charitable endeavors.
cf. incident where Ol' Dirty Bastard despite being a multi-millionaire rap music superstar attempted to cash a welfare check on MTV
cf. incident where Ol' Dirty Bastard despite being a multi-millionaire rap music superstar attempted to cash a welfare check on MTV
"The touch of skunk, I be fucking bitches by the chunk"
In other words, "When I smoke marijuana, I tend to have much sex with women."
"moonshine drunken monk"
The drunken monk is a popular figure in Kung-Fu action films. The drunken monk is a master of Kung-Fu despite his constant inebriation. In fact, his drunkenness allows him to master the Drunken Style of Shaolin Kung-Fu in a way a sober man could not.
Ol' Dirty Bastard is comparing himself to this sort of practitioner. However his "craft" is hip hop music, not Shaolin Kung-Fu.
Ol' Dirty Bastard is comparing himself to this sort of practitioner. However his "craft" is hip hop music, not Shaolin Kung-Fu.
"tree top of the trunk"
a marijuana cigarette can be referred to as a "tree". Ol' Dirty Bastard smokes them in their entirety
"a natural disaster that's impossible to manage"
Gza is comparing the impact of the Wu-Tang Clan's most recent release to an unmanageable natural disaster. Such a disaster would be, by definition, devastating.
"dart"
The Wu-Tang Clan refers to particularly incisive or cutting hip hop lyrics as "darts", or in longer form "poisonous darts"
"I splash the paint on the wall, it formed the mural"
Despite staking a strong claim to "concrete" or visual wordplay earlier, the Gza is now making a claim to the value of his "abstract" or "expressionistic" use of language.
cf. Abstract Expressionist works of Jackson Pollock or Willem DeKooning
cf. Abstract Expressionist works of Jackson Pollock or Willem DeKooning
"You couldn't add it up"
"You" are incapable of comprehending the make-up of the Wu-Tang Clan's hip hop music, especially when applied to "your" own attempts at rapping.
"Tragically that style deter-iate rapidly"
In other words, cheerful upbeat rap music (defined as the commercial status quo) is not artistically sustainable. "Deter-iate" is a phonetic spelling of the Gza's intentional mispronunciation of the word "Deteriorate"
"Struck a match to the underground, industry ignited."
Potentially a reference to the Guy Fawkes bomb plot, the Gza metaphorically implies that by "setting a match"--the excitement caused by his group's rap music--to the underground rap scene, the Wu-Tang Clan has "started a fire"--a level of excitement about their hip hop music--that has spread to the mainstream record industry.
double LP
The LP, or "Long Playing" 33 RPM record on which this song appears is actually composed of two discs worth of material.
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