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Still black man holds nine, Gotta chill star C-A.L.L.A.H
Be the light of Shamar, work hard Shamar C-Cipher-A.L.L.A.H Cannibal Ox – Iron Galaxy
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These lyrics allude to the 5% Percent Nation aka The Nation of The Gods and The Earths, a religion and belief system that many rappers prescribe to.

“Star” is a symbol of understanding and children.

“C” is understanding, so C-Allah is to understand God.

It could also be a reference to The Nation’s leader or “father”, Clarence Smith, aka Clarence X, aka Allah (Arabic for God).

Shamar is just Vordul’s real first name.

“Cipher”, represented by the letter “O” in the Supreme Alphabet, means a full circle, or completion.

So in other words, if Mega works at studying the religion, he will be a fully actualized “God.”

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108

2 years

NGE isn’t a religion: it’s a culture, or cultural movement.

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stay twizzy, wrap phillies
And crack dutches Cannibal Ox (Ft. El-P) – Ox Out The Cage
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“Twizzy” is slang for “twisted” which is in turn slang for being high/intoxicated

“Phillies” and “dutches” refer to cigar companies Phillies and Dutch Masters, respectively. People often crack open the cigars, dump out the tobacco, fill them with weed, and wrap them back up.

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Wrapped in subliminal thoughts of criminal ways Cannibal Ox (Ft. El-P) – Ox Out The Cage
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A “subliminal” thought is a hidden or unconscious one. Thanks to early experiences of crime, Vordul’s mind is sometimes drawn to crime without him even thinking about it.

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We're at 7th Avenue, New York, the city of crime Cannibal Ox (Ft. El-P) – Ox Out The Cage
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7th Avenue in New York City runs right through Manhattan. In Midtown, it is the home of the Garment District/Fashion Avenue, Carnegie Hall, and Madison Square Garden. It runs right up to Harlem, the home neighborhood of Cannibal Ox, where it is called Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard.

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Fucking with the o plus the x Cannibal Ox (Ft. El-P) – Ox Out The Cage
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As well as spelling “ox”, O-X has a meaning derived from the Supreme Alphabet of the Nation of Gods and Earths.

We’ll let Vast Aire explain (from an interview with Stylus):

O-X is me and him. Cipher unknown. “O” is cipher on the mathematic table, and “X” is unknown, like Malcolm X is “Malcolm Unknown”.

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Mixed in the vein cold trying to escape Cannibal Ox (Ft. El-P) – Ox Out The Cage
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Intravenous drugs like heroin are injected directly into veins, and are often used to escape a cruel, “cold” world

Vast Aire explains the meaning of The Cold Vein:

The Cold Vein is a metaphor that we came up with for adversity. Whenever shit gets real dark… when Luke lost his arm and he was hanging on to that little thing… he was in the Cold Vein there. When the light bill is due and Christmas is due too, that’s the Cold Vein. Anything that’s an obstacle or a problem, especially survival, that’s the Cold Vein

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That's Mega popping as-salaam lecture
Send a message for those starving in the Mecca Cannibal Ox (Ft. El-P) – Ox Out The Cage
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Mecca is the holiest Islamic location in the world, while “As-salaam” is “peace” in Arabic.

The Allah School In Mecca, located in Harlem, is the headquarters of The Nation of The Gods and the Earths. Vordul may be referring to Harlem here.

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Broke out the cage and blazed an ice cold bowl of sage Cannibal Ox (Ft. El-P) – Ox Out The Cage
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Vordul broke free of his restraints and smoked a nice bowl of weed to celebrate. The cage could simply mean jail or could be a more metaphorical reference to breaking free of the ghetto life.

Sage could also be used to refer to salvia divinorum, also known as Diviner’s Sage or Seer’s Sage. The plant is known for its brief but intense hallucinogenic properties, making it unlikely that he would be patrolling the streets under its influence.

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4 years

also note the use of blazed and cold which are quite opposite to each other

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100

10 years

Just got out of jail and is already back to his old ways.

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I cut my wrist and play piano 'cause I'm so depressed Tyler, The Creator – Bastard
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This entire album focuses on Tyler’s depression (stemming from the lack of a father). For the beat, Tyler plays a sad, simple piano melody, which is a reflection of his suicidal depression

This “emo” motif would later be used in the song “Splatter.”

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And flow like arachnids on water spouts Cannibal Ox (Ft. El-P) – Ox Out The Cage
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A reference to the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” nursery rhyme

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout
Down came the rain, and washed the spider out
Up came the sun, and dried up all the rain
and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again

Vast’s flow is like the itsy bitsy spider, he just keeps going

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