23 votes and 11 comments so far on Reddit
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
After each hook you can hear ‘ooh’s’ and ‘ahhh’s’ this is an indication of someone being mesmerized by an event or a spectacle.
Lead the leaders, that's how you file it, then clobber it
Low on energy, find peach cobbler then gobble it, yeah
It's food in them drums and boxes
If you beat 'em up then they'll drop it
And they'll rapidly flicker till they disappear
Blinking gradually quickens 'til they isn't here Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Crystal Torres) – Adoration of the Magi
Low on energy, find peach cobbler then gobble it, yeah
It's food in them drums and boxes
If you beat 'em up then they'll drop it
And they'll rapidly flicker till they disappear
Blinking gradually quickens 'til they isn't here Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Crystal Torres) – Adoration of the Magi
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Lupe alludes to gaining “health” back in two separate video games.
In Metal Gear Solid, when attacking a Guard who has either been knocked out or killed, they can potentially drop a pre-packaged meal called a ration to restore health. If food dropped is not taken, it will disappear after a short time.
These lines also serve as a reference to Double Dragon, where barrel drums and boxes were commonly used as objects that hid health items.
I love you like I'm Mexico, say yeah
Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Nikki Jean) – Madonna (And Other Mothers in the Hood)
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
A country where the dominant religion is Roman Catholicism, Mexicans are fully devoted to the Virgin Mary a.k.a. Our Lady of Guadalupe. She is perhaps the most significant religious figure for the Mexican people.
Died like Ricky on his mama couch, right there in his mama house
Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Nikki Jean) – Madonna (And Other Mothers in the Hood)
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Reference to the film Boyz in the Hood, when Ricky gets shot he dies on his mother’s couch.
Madonna (And Other Mothers in the Hood)
Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Nikki Jean) – Madonna (And Other Mothers in the Hood)
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
fell asleep on my mama thighs
Blockin' out the noise that destroys little boys Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Nikki Jean) – Haile Selassie
Blockin' out the noise that destroys little boys Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Nikki Jean) – Haile Selassie
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Hydrant open wide, on the side of the colonized
Swimmin' in the street, Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Nikki Jean) – Haile Selassie
Swimmin' in the street, Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Nikki Jean) – Haile Selassie
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
This reflects happiness on a hot day in Chicago. Here, people usually (illegally) open up fire hydrants to stay cool; bringing a lot of amusement to the neighborhood.
Lupe dropped a similar line here.
5 years
Lupe commented on a reddit post for this line.
Its the closest Chicago and Urban youths may get to the “beach” theme this whole song plays on. “Colonized” refers to the Caucasian Settlers colonizing America. “Swimming in the streets” would be kids playing in the hydrant. This is parallel to the Osprey Diving despite the fierceness of the waters or Poseidon (or fierceness of the hydrant)
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Nikki references Japanese media franchise Ghost In The Shell —it’s worth noting that Lupe is a big fan of Japanese culture. However, she puts a spin on the title saying that she needs a new body (shell) for her soul (ghost).
The line ‘Tattoos all on my coast’ further expands on the shell/body metaphor, as tattoos would be found on the shell of a body and sea-shells are often found along the coast of the ocean.
"Then until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior
Is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned
That until there no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation
Until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes."
- Selassie Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Nikki Jean) – Haile Selassie
Is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned
That until there no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation
Until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes."
- Selassie Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Nikki Jean) – Haile Selassie
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Lupe is quoting Haile Selassie I’s War speech; demanding equality and peace at the U.N. Conference in New York City on October 4, 1963.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Blanka is a character from the video game series Street Fighter. His skin is green as fuck just like Gambino’s weed.
Subjectively, by comparing his weed to the green character, Bino is stating that the marijuana strain is just as strong as Blanka himself.
He also could be demonstrating a color oxymoron: in Spanish, “blanca” is white.
1,240