You ain't ballin' like I am (Nah)
And I stay countin' stacks
Bitch, I'm ballin' like a gym (Beep, beep, beep, beep) Chief Keef – Got Them Bands
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Gyms are the places where basketball games are played. In hip-hop, the comparison between ballin' in a basketball game, and ballin' (showing off your riches) is very commonplace.
Keef uses this metaphor to (yet again) show off how many stacks he has. See Kobe for more examples of this
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As our blog post explains, painter, Jean-Michel Basquiat, is one of the most referenced artists in hip-hop music.
By watching him paint, he’s talking about letting the girl watch him write his lyrics, because he’s a true artist.
Basquiat painting titled Philistines
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After Pusha kills you, you’ll need a minister for the funeral ceremonies that will take place.
Notice at how the beginning of this verse started with Pusha praying to God for his enemies to die, then ends it with more religious imagery with the inclusion of the minister. It seems like his prayers really were answered.
We also hear a larval form of Pusha’s signature YUUGH that his new records are known for.
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3D film techniques make the picture on the screen pop out, as if they were actually three-dimensional. The only difference being that ‘Ye doesn’t give us as many headaches.
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We both got problems, he never confronted his
Under the bridge I wrote, some shit to stay afloat Common (Ft. Femi Kuti, Roy Hargrove & Vinia Mojica) – Time Travelin' (A Tribute to Fela)
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A reference to the character Bruh-Man from the sitcom Martin. Bruh-Man lives above Martin and often comes down the fire escape to visit him.
We know Bruh-Man comes from the floor above, but we don’t really know any specifics like we don’t have specifics about where Quam is from in Africa.
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Q-Tip sees himself as one of the leaders in hip-hop’s ascension back to greatness, as he is actively trying to help the game. So if you’re going to be a hypocrite who makes “fake” music then claims to be keeping it real, Tip suggests you just own up to the fact you’re a sellout rather than try and come up with more lies.
He’s also saying if you are fake, stfu: Don’t talk 2 me. I don’t wanna hear that B.S. Don’t make no music.