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Individuality is suppressed in this culture and conformity is emphasized.

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What is this?

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Show respect to the founders of the rap game. Now that the hip-hop industry is just a corporate venture owned by the white man, there’s no love shown for the rap legends that passed.

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“Gum” being shorthand here for “bread and circuses” – stupid shit to keep the poor occupied and appeased.

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What is this?

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European countries would dominate and exploit nations for profit (British/South Africa diamonds etc.) claiming that they were savages and needed to be civilized. What is your definition of livin' properly?

However, when Lupe says “break em off a little democracy”, he’s specifically talking about the U.S., as it the imperial actions they have done in several nations around the world that is more recent. President Woodrow Wilson believed it was America’s duty to make the world “safe for democracy”. So America comes into these countries and gives them “democracy” and along with it comes the rest of modern American society.

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Paul Reubens a.k.a PeeWee Herman was arrested for masturbating in a dark adult theater in Florida.

His mugshot:

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It’s true. Guns are extremely easy to get your hands on in the United States. Watch Bowling For Columbine, a documentary by Micheal Moore about gun control and how many more gun murders there are in the U.S. every year than in the rest of the world.

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A little ghetto gangster kid who uses a gun to kill some dudes who beat him up.

Lupe also shows the fatal consequences of refusing to let go of past disagreements – ‘Cause he don’t let go of none of his past beefs’

Lupe Fiasco – ‘Letting Go’ – lyrics & meaning

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Lupe is referencing school shootings, such as the Columbine shooting in 1999. The kid is a goth kid who gets picked on. This could also be referencing how Marilyn Manson was partially blamed for the shooting because the kids listened to him.

This is the first of two situations in this song showing how victims of bullying can turn into killers. The first is white, the second is black – showing how bullying and violence can happen across races and cultures.

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A kid in the middle east recruited to the Taliban or other radical Islamic group.

Note the contrast between praying five times a day and listening to heavy metal. Does he really believe in what he’s doing or has he been brainwashed into it?

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A kid who is infatuated with guns, robs a candy store clearly not for the pennies or cookies, but because it’s “cool.”

The first 3 verses (concerning little Terry, Khalil and Alex) were later used on “Little Weapon”.

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