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The gunman saw her as nothing more than a faceless target but she was a person with plans and people who loved her.
How can anyone be so ruthless?
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On the day she was killed.
I wanted to protect and support her
Never mind I'm just 12 and a quarter
I had dreams beyond our border K'naan – Fatima
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Fatima was his neighbor and in his naïvety (shown by him adding quarter years to his age, something children do to sound older), he dreamed that he could protect her and that they would one day move to a peaceful land.
You spit hate against bosses; hungry fucks are moralless Nas – Carry On Tradition
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Referring to how underground rappers and new school rappers will try to start beef with popular and old school rappers in order to get fame.
This could be a subliminal shot at 50 Cent, because 50 took shots at a lot of legends in his first album, Get Rich or Die Tryin':
Now here’s a list of MC’s that can kill you in eight bars:
50, umm.. Jay-Z and Nas
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Reference to Somalia, K'naan’s birth place.
T.I.A, hooray
T.I.A, hooray
T.I.A, hooray
It means, This Is Africa, hooray K'naan – T.I.A.
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This line is marks a contrast in the verse, the beginning of the verse was all about the negative aspects of Africa and how violent it is. Then this turns around and ironically celebrates Africa and its violence, showing that the Africans don’t even know or care about how fucked up their continent is.
Also notice that at the same time ‘hooray’ is said there is a sample of the words ‘Simmer Down’, sampled from ‘Simmer Down’ by The Wailers.
That's what my commander say Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Bishop G & Nikki Jean) – Little Weapon
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The dogs are a metaphor for people. They refer to people as dogs to train the child soldiers to feel no empathy for their victims.
Lupe uses the word “dog” here, because in the parts of the world where Child Soldiers are especially prevalent, calling someone a “dog” is seen as a major insult as dogs are considered dirty creatures.
He bought it with the money he got from his chores
He robbed the candy shop, told her "Lay down on the floor
Put the cookies in the bag, take the pennies out the drawer"
Lil' Khalil got a gun he got from the rebels
To kill the infidels and American devils
A bomb on his waist, a mask on his face
Prays five times a day and listens to heavy metal
Little Alex got a gun he took from his dad
That he snuck into school in his black book bag
His black nail polish, black boots, and black hat
He gon' blow away the bully that just pushed his ass Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Bishop G & Nikki Jean) – Little Weapon
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This segment describes various ‘little’ children who have obtained firearms, and highlights how even though the media has assured us that Child Soldiers only exist in 3rd world countries, they exist in the west too, just in a different form.
This low-pitched intro is sampled from his track “Heat Under the Baby Seat”, which was featured on his 2006 mixtape Fahrenheit 1/15 Part III: A Rhyming Ape.
You bout to drop a real classic
He said, "Cole, a lil' birdy told me on the low you got a Illmatic”
Nobody touching Nas, nigga it’s more like Villematic J. Cole – Villematic
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Nas’s debut album, Illmatic, is regarded as one of, if not the best rap album of all time. Cole disregards the comparison, but it’s pretty close.
Ville refers to Cole’s hometown of Fayetteville. (you can see Fayetteville on the Rap Map)
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He asks Fatima, his love interest, what the guy who killed her said before he stole away her life. As we later find out she was shot dead.
This is also a double entendre because “young man” also sounds like “gun man”, and not only that but “stole you” away also sounds like “blow you” away.
This is also shown by the fact that in later iterations of the hook he actually does change the wording to “What did the gun man say, before he blew you away?”
This is the wrong lyric. In the last refrain of the chorus, after the reveal that Fatima was murdered, “the young man” is replaced by “the gunman”.