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John Starks was a New York Knicks shooting guard for most of the 1990s and an NBA All Star in 1994, the year this track was released. The Beastie Boys respect his game.
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What is this?
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Current United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently got to meet Stevie.
Similar to lyrics from “Dreamin'” by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five (“Hey Flash, do you think we’ll ever meet Stevie?/I hope so”)
Find that I can groove with the beat when I let go
So put your worries on hold
Get up and groove with the rhythm in your soul Beastie Boys – Pass the Mic
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M.C.A. is on a Buddhist path toward enlightenment.
Letting go, letting be, or embodying the Buddhist term “nonattachment” greatly reduces and even alleviates suffering. Non-attachment in pursuit of enlightenment is the goal of Buddhism. Letting go of our tight-fisted grasping is in our own self-interest, as it helps erode our wellspring of dissatisfaction and anxiety.
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M.C.A’s real name is Adam Yauch.
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The flute sounds of a James Newton’s “Choir” sample gets things started off here.
The idea that “feeling” a song is important to ‘MCA’, is both endearing and inspiring. He cares that you’re experiencing the lyrics, the beats, and the message. Here, is a watercolor painting inspired by the late, great Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch. In part, inspired by this lyric.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/66530616@N08/8492665522/in/photostream
Newton sued the Beastie Boys for copyright infringement based on the musical composition of the opening flute line. The court found no infringement. It held that the composition – a three-note sequence sung above a finger-held C note to be played in a slow, without-tempo measure while overblowing the background C note – did not have enough protectable expression to be infringing. Newton v. Diamond, 388 F.3d 1189 (9th Cir. 2004). The court did indicate that the copyright in the sound recording might be infringed, but the Beastie Boys had paid for the right to license the sound recording.
Source: Tom Muller, causeyoucantyouwontandyoudontstop
That, y'all, it's like that, y'all
I don't really give a fuck about it at all Kanye West (Ft. Kid Cudi & Raekwon) – Gorgeous
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50 has done his homework here so make sure you do yours.
These lyrics reference tv/movies, there are extremely thick metaphors, and an original take on the extensively explored topic of heroin addiction in Baltimore.
Baltimore love is heroin addiction – so entwined is the port city of B-More with the big H. In this song, 50 writes from the point of view of the drug, writing to all of it’s users.
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The jailed protagonist of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues“ can hear the whistle of a train from a distance outside his cell and its sound forces him to recount the crime that put him into his cell.
But I shot a man in Reno,
Just to watch him die,
When I hear that whistle blowin',
I hang my head and cry
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Expensive items excite Nas, and money helps him achieve orgasm. American Gangster was set in the 1970s, and the Chevrolet Camaro was in it’s second generation, a hugely desirable car that featured in several movies.
Nas also uses clever wordplay by comparing his immense inner ambition (drive) to the horsepower of a Camaro.