For a birthday present when he was three
I gave my son Hannibal an elephant
He gave me Rome for mother's day

from Nikki Giovanni – Ego Tripping (there may be a reason) on Rap Genius

Referring to Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca’s invasion of Italy during the second Punic War.

Carthage was famous in the ancient world for the use of elephants in its military. The speaker is positioning his/herself within a larger historical and social context about the history of the world in the attempts to give black people more credibility to being major forces in the development of the ancient and modern world.

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