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I lay 'em out like a Tempurpedic BET (Ft. Black Thought, Eminem & Yasiin Bey) – 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards - Cypher 3
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Tempurpedic is a brand of high-end mattresses

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like Here's Johnny! BET (Ft. Black Thought, Eminem & Yasiin Bey) – 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards - Cypher 3
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Johnny Carson was the host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, a television program similar to the one Black Thought is now a part of. Carson was introduced each night by Ed McMahon with the line “Here’s Johnny!”

The line was then made even more famous by Jack Nicholson in the film The Shining

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Dear Diary, my fans still swear by me
Even though I'm Late Night now BET (Ft. Black Thought, Eminem & Yasiin Bey) – 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards - Cypher 3
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Earlier in the year Black Thought’s group The Roots became the house band for the television program Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, a move which many people considered “selling out”

However, The Roots have a large base of loyal fans that still respect him and think he is one of the best rappers in the world

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I'm like Martin Luther King, you like Rodney BET (Ft. Black Thought, Eminem & Yasiin Bey) – 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards - Cypher 3
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Martin Luther King Jr. and Rodney King are both important historical figures especially for African Americans: Martin as a heroic figure and leader of the civil rights movement and Rodney as a black man who was beaten up by white police officers, an incident which later started the L.A. Riots.

Like MLK, Black Thought is skilled with words while his opponents are only known for being beaten, like Rodney.

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2009 BET Hip Hop Awards - Cypher 3 BET (Ft. Black Thought, Eminem & Yasiin Bey) – 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards - Cypher 3
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In hip-hop culture a cypher/cipher is just a group of rappers taking turns rapping over a beat

This quasi-corporatized Cypher featured Mos Def with a verse from his mixtape song over “Brooklyn We Go Hard”, Black Thought (of The Roots) with a verse about his feelings, and Eminem providing a dash of WET

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6 years

It’s not a Black Thought verse about his feelings, it’s a part of his verse from his song “Doing It Again” off of their How I Got Over, album

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5 years

Em let’s us know that Slim Shady is still there and he doesn’t need drugs for that.

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Ab7bb0c838c2fbcba405ed224205aaaa

103

2 years

Eminem,Black Thought and Mos Def
Three Lyrical Gods #3_GOATs

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Take that motherfuckers The Notorious B.I.G. – Gimme the Loot
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Sampled from “What They Hittin' Foe” by Ice Cube

It’s left ambiguous whether the robbers killed the cops, or vice-versa.

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And if she's resistant: blakka, blakka, blakka The Notorious B.I.G. – Gimme the Loot
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“Blakka” is onomatopoeia for a a gunshot – if you bogart your goods, you’ll be killed.

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Noah McCann
4 years

“Blakka” may also be an onomatopoeia for the sound an actual door knocker makes when used normally.

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Bitches get delgnarts The Notorious B.I.G. – Gimme the Loot
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“Strangled” is blurred in the official release, like “pregnant”

Fortunately uncensored versions are available online

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E893a2b99848c6bead83b319c95a5828

456

3 years

Recommend replacing asterisks with “strangled” so that the text is searchable. The surrounding asterisks indicate a special remark.

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Before you find out how blue steel feel The Notorious B.I.G. – Gimme the Loot
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You guessed it, he’s talking about his gun.

Bluing steel is a chemical process used to make guns extra-resistant to rust. It’s not as expensive as other finishes like chrome plating, but it means you aren’t cocking some cheap replica, Saturday-Night-Special shit.

It has also been the name of a a film or two (although the lyric is not likely a reference to either).

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Nn4
2 years

I think this is possibly referencing Nine’s track “Peel” where he says “Gimmi that crown you wearing or feel blue steel.” Would make a lot of sense as a rebuttal

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Default_avatar_100

31

4 years

ironically, when biggie got shot, the gun was blue steel

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Lucas
Marked this as restating the line?
6 years

He’s talking about Lead, its a metal that has blu-ish color instead of the typical grey and its used to create bullets.

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Crazier than a bag of fuckin' angel dust The Notorious B.I.G. – Gimme the Loot
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PCP’s most common street name.

For how crazy angel dust can make you, see Big Lurch.

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Ovrafshrrul

959

2 years

A hyperbolic description highlighting the savagery of this speaker. Angel dust is is the street name for the drug Phencyclidine (PCP). People who take PCP become extremely violent and aggressive, and some users have been known to commit crimes, even to the extent of murder and suicide. Seeing that angel dust has this awful aftereffect, one may say that the criminal who speaks is ruthless, heartless, and violent while committing crimes.

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