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A basketball metaphor – Vast’s rap flows are strong and fierce like a basketball player fighting for position “in the paint/key" (the painted area under the basket)
Throwing elbows (which basketball players do in the paint) could be a metaphor for nice lines or shots at other rappers
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.
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What is this?
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Latchkey kids are left alone during the day when their guardians are at work. This gives the child a strong sense of independence and self-reliance, though some worry that the loneliness, boredom, and fear can lead to low self-esteem, behavioral issues, depression, etc.
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A seance is a meeting of people to try to communicate with spirits.
This links back in with the imagery that he has laced the track with, the idea that his dark, twisted fantasy involves more than just reality, it requires intervention from the supernatural in order to propel it forward.
The use of ‘kids, no parents’ implies that Kanye is speaking now to the younger generation, who’s minds and ambitions can be moulded much easier than those already stuck in their ways and doomed to a certain way of thinking. It’s probably one of the most potent ways that he describes his vision for the record. He wants to tap in to the youth, but he knows that that is probably a fantasy in itself, certainly during the previous verse he was at a loss at to how to achieve his goal.
Run and you'll never escape, so just fall from grace
Damn... JAY-Z (Ft. Bilal) – Fallin'
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This was a tag-line to City of God, a 2002 film about organized crime in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
There are few winners on the street. Ice Cube’s classic “The Nigga Trapp” detailed it perfectly:
The ghetto is a nigga trap, take the cheese
Soon as you do it here come the police
Invented and designed fo' us to fail
Where you gon' end up, dead or in jail
What is this?
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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.
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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.
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.
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.
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The back of a classic taxi, with the dividing plexiglass between the driver and the passenger, does resemble a confessional booth.
It’s probably more likely that city residents pour out their hearts to their cab drivers than a priest.
There is a reference here to the HBO program Taxicab Confessionals, where passengers were unknowingly filmed talking to the producer/cab driver.
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