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That sound like bullshit from out a bull mouth Wale (Ft. Lupe Fiasco & Rick Ross) – Poor Decisions
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In a game of cards each person is dealt a specific collection of cards, called “hand”. Here the hand is being compared to the talents and abilities that you inherit at birth.
Some people use their surroundings as an excuse not to make something out of their lives. They focus the negative without realizing that they too have abilities (whole hand) that they could be utilized to make a better life.
Going back to the previous lines, the “bull” could also be the system, that puts down the people and denies them a well suited job even if they have the adequate skills (the whole hand).
In a clever line using both the literal and figurative meanings of bullshit, Lupe argues that this is straight up bs, coming directly from the source.
Also, bullshit is the name of a card game, where every time someone suspects you of bluffing your cards, they say “bullshit.” Lupe is really going crazy with these card references.
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This is a criticism of African-Americans that we’ve seen all too often. Many grow complacent and pass up opportunities to get out of their predicament, because of their focus on material items.
You’d surprised at the amount of competition for brand ownership that takes place in very unlikely places.
Here label could also refer to music companies. So a potential rapper is giving up his music career because he was too busy blowing his money on shoes.
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Wale was raised in the late 80s and the early 90s. Now we may have gotten more or less used to the association of hip hop and jewelry, in that era the big chains and jewels were new and gold covered rappers like Slick Rick were novelty acts that attracted a lot of attention.
This upbringing serves as an explanation for today’s culture of materialism, because the cultures and role models of those days no doubt had a major affect on today’s rappers.
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What is this?
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He continues with religious lines. If belief in a God is not going to motivate you to do good and live a straight life, then at least take a look at the odds of what you are trying to do. He is also carrying on the card wordplay… Seeing that poker is a game of odds literally.
The chances of you “making it” as a drug dealer are very low, and you are more likely to end up dead or in jail. The chances of you getting into college are much higher.
He’s basically asking you not to use atheism as an excuse to do wrong, because even statistics say that a person of high morals does better in society.
This concept is very much in tune with the Pascal’s Wager, which was an argument developed by Blaise Pascal of seventeenth-century France that considers the entirety of human existence to be a cruel game, where every human bets his/her life on whether God exists or not.
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A black person, especially a poor one, generally faces more challenges in life, and often the harsh circumstances make him/her turn to other “darker” means of living, like drug dealing or prostitution.
Sugar-coated colored edibles
Instead of buildin' up a habit in them vegetables Wale (Ft. Lupe Fiasco & Rick Ross) – Poor Decisions
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4 and 5 are important years in terms of forming eating habits that could influence your life long health.
Additionally, 4 to 5 PM is the time when kids make the most important food decisions, as at this time they have their evening snacks, which could range from teeth ruining candy to immunity boosting vegetables.
This fits the theme of poor decision making, and the candy vs veggies decision could represent any important decision in life where you have to choose between quick gratification and the more difficult path that will ultimately reap its rewards.
Compare the amount of processed food in this weekly shop for a family in North Carolina (costing approximately $330)
with this weekly shop for a family in Cairo, Egypt (costing approximately $65):
from the book: What I Eat, by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio
Additional nuances:
“4, 5” could be a .45 caliber weapon. This is fits in well with the topics of the song, and the decision would be between a gun toting drug dealing life that provides easy money, and a life of hard work and ambition.
The sugar coated edible could refer to an easily digestible radio friendly song, something Lupe tries not to make. This ties into the previous line of “that ain’t why they watchin' me”, implying that there’s more to his music than the typical things that artists use to attract followers.
Young thugs havin' no balance Wale (Ft. Lupe Fiasco & Rick Ross) – Poor Decisions
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A low bank balance is the motivating factor for many broke people who go into illegal activities. Ross mourns the talent lost in these young thugs who choose the wrong life.
Balance takes on another meaning as well. The dangerous circumstances around them also creates an unstable life with no balance.
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In Speed Racer, the 2008 car racing film based on a Japanese Manga with the same name, the title character drove a car called the Mach Five.
Now rappers like to brag about their expensive cars, but Rozay takes it a step further by declaring that he has access to a car that doesn’t even exist.
Its kind of like saying he has the batmobile.
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