Huh? Y'all eat pieces of shit? What's the basis? Kanye West – Jesus Walks
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They be askin' us questions, harass and arrest us Kanye West – Jesus Walks
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This line is extracted and reinterpreted from Psalms 23:4:
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.” (Psalms 23:4)
The line is also used famously in “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio, and many other rap songs.
Kanye’s clever wordplay punctuates the line. “Chi where death” sounds much like “shadow of death”.
The line references the infamously high rate of murder and gun violence in Chicago (the Chi) where Kanye was raised. It’s so prevalent and has been there for such a long time that it’s become the place where Death is always around, but Kanye believes that God is still with him, just as he was with David.
That your idols become your rivals
You make friends with Mike
But got to A.I. him for your survival Drake – Thank Me Now
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Lock all your windows, then block the corridors OutKast – B.O.B.
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Big Boi compares the damage he and André will bring through their raps to the damage Hurricane Floyd was predicted to bring to Florida around the time this song was written. You lock your windows in preparation for a hurricane, and Big Boi suggests you do the same when OutKast comes to your town.
Floyd was supposed to hit FL very hard, but luckily the end result was much less severe – no deaths were reported and the damages clocked in at less than $50 million.
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This is a reference to Eric B. & Rakim’s classic song “Microphone Fiend”. Big Boi understands that rappers live by the beat and you’re only funky as your last cut, so he always has to grind to stay on top.
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A reference to the title of the album on which this song appears. As for the meaning of “Stankonia”? In Big Boi’s words:
“Stankonia is whatever’s the funkiest shit ever. It could be that purple, or that funky-ass music.”
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Kanye needs Jesus like schools need educators and Kathie Lee Gifford needed Regis Philbin to be successful
Well, without teachers, a school would be useless – so that makes sense – but Kathie Lee seems to be doing alright for herself on the Today Show, which makes me think that Regis is totally dispensable
The producers of The Today Show tried to get Kanye to change “Kathie Lee” to “Kelly” when he preformed the song on the show. Of course, he didn’t listen to the white man..
This line references the one before it – Kanye isn’t trying to argue with others, he is just saying that he needs Jesus and is rapping about his truth.
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Kanye should NEVER listen to the white man. Period.
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The Kathie Lee part does make sense, as he says “the way kathie lee needed regis”