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Ororo Munroe, make it rain, not with bills, I make it change Lupe Fiasco – Yoga Flame
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Lupe makes a reference to the X-Men character Ororo Munroe here, known for her ability to control the weather. He’s equating himself with her

Furthermore, “make it rain” refers to the popular meme of flinging dollar bills into the air and letting it flutter down like rain. Here, however, Lupe is not doing what other rappers talk about doing, he is doing something more noble, like inciting change in America.

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12 years

Lil Wayne is constantly talking about making it rain. Lupe would prefer to change the game, society, the way his people think, than spend his money objectifying women.

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and keep believing
In Jesus, and one day that you see him
'Til then walk in his footsteps and try to be him
The devil is alive I feel him breathin' Kanye West (Ft. Adam Levine) – Heard 'Em Say
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A reference to Kanye’s previous hit off The College Dropout, “Jesus Walks”, in which he openly endorsed Christianity and asked for “God [to] show [him] the way ‘cause the Devil try'na break [him] down”

Kanye touches on the devout religion of the grandmother first and closes out with the disbelief of the younger generation.

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Seasons are aging: earthquakes, wars, and rumors John Legend & The Roots (Ft. Common & Melanie Fiona) – Wake Up Everybody
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Common’s rhyme here recalls Jesus' warning in Matthew 24:6-8:

"And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."

OK, not exactly very upbeat, but… I’m quoting him directly!!

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I want us to get by but we're more then consumers
We're more than shooters, more than looters John Legend & The Roots (Ft. Common & Melanie Fiona) – Wake Up Everybody
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Common wants us to be successful as a people (notice the play on words with “by” and “buy”, tying in with “consumers”), but he believes Blacks must first find a way to break the stereotype that they are nothing but materialists, thugs, and looters (the latter being embroiled in the public consciousness forever thanks to those depicted taking advantage of the disaster of Hurricane Katrina who promptly stole TVs and radios out of abandoned stores)

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Meghan
6 years

more THAN consumers

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Created in his image, so God live through us John Legend & The Roots (Ft. Common & Melanie Fiona) – Wake Up Everybody
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Another reference to the belief that humans were created in the image of God Himself, as per Genesis 1:26, as well as the Five Percenters theology that members of the Black race can become GOD themselves once they reach their highest truest potential

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Got that F&F on me, Lupe Fiasco – Mean & Vicious
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F&F stands for 1st & 15th, a record company founded by Lupe and his longtime friend Chilly Chill Patton, who was later convicted of attempting to distribute heroin and was sentenced to 44 years in prison

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Do you believe in Hell? Babylon greed for wealth Nas & Damian Marley – Strong Will Continue
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Many people nowadays no longer believe in Hell, the afterlife abode of really bad people like Hitler who are destined to burn in fire for eternity.

Babylon is the name of an ancient empire that once ruled the world and were known for both their intelligence and lewdness.
Western society, with its greed and lust for wealth, is also referred to as Babylon in the Rastafari movement. And no, greed is NOT good

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8 years

Again, Hell here is literally the Babylonian Captivity as understood in Rastafarianism.

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I fell on purpose to stay a freshman
I lose, but Lu attend the school for X-Men
So when I get my cap and gown and put the rapping down
I'll only know half my powers, but I spent half an hour Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Jeezy, Matthew Santos, T.I. & Young Buck) – Superstar (Remix)
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Lupe extends his ‘15 minutes of fame’ metaphor here. Lupe is saying that he left the limelight, so after he retires, he’ll be critically acclaimed but wouldn’t know how it would of felt to become truly mainstream. ‘Senior citizen having a baby shower’ refers to a kind of rebirth for Lupe because of this single

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11 years

I “Fail” on purpose alludes to Lupe failing, or losing on purpose to stay in school to learn more, in this case, Professor Xavier’s school for extraordinary youngsters.

So once he finally graduates, which at the time this song was initially made, he had planned on making only 3 albums then retiring, I.E. graduating early (spent half an hour), hence “half my powers”

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AaaHH!!! Real Monsters XV (Ft. B.o.B & ScHoolboy Q) – AaaHH!!! Real Monsters
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A standout track off XV’s Popular Culture mixtape, featuring show-stealing verses from TDE’s ScHoolboy Q and particularly B.o.B

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Heaven Somewhere Common (Ft. Bilal, CeeLo Green, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Lonnie "Pops" Lynn, Mary J. Blige & Omar (UK)) – Heaven Somewhere
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Easily one of the most accomplished hip-hop spirituals ever recorded, the closing track to Common’s Electric Circus is a masterpiece exploring the concept of heaven. Common speaks on a phone call made to him by Lucien Papalu, a call preceding Papalu’s eight-year prison sentence.

The ten-minute gem features vocal contributions from Omar Lye-Fook, Cee-Lo Green, Bilal, Jill Scott, Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu and, as is customary for album finales, Common’s own father, Lonnie Lynn.

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Nicolas
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5 years

This song talks about Lucien Revolucien aka Papalu a french rapper member of the native tongues who went to jail for a few years for setting his producer’s carpet on fire and accidentally killing two people in Paris. The song luck of lucien from A tribe called quest also talks about him

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