‘Fiyah bun’, i.e. ‘fire burn’, is patois used in strong denunciation or condemnation of something. ‘Babylon’ refers to oppressive figures and mentalities, particularly authoritative organisations.

River Mumma is a mermaid-like being in Jamaican folklore that lives in waterways. It is thought to be linked with various African tales of Mami Wata, which also appear, for e.g., in Guyana’s Minjie Mama. Slaves are said to have paid tribute to it for good fortune, but it is also feared as a temptress that drowns those who try to steal its golden comb. The character is often associated with golden tables that rise from rivers and float in the air. Clinton Black’s Tales of Old Jamaica recounts a tale of the table drowning slaves and oxen sent to retrieve it on a plantation owner’s orders.

‘Soon forward’ means ‘soon come’ and a downpressor is an authoritative figure who uses their power to oppress the less fortunate. On “Downpressor Man” Peter Tosh sings:

Downpressor man
Where you gonna run to?
All along that day
You gonna run to the sea
But the sea will be boiling

Finally, ‘Jah’ generally refers to Haile Selassie I, a divine figure for many Rastafari. Taken together, these lines refer to the strong condemnation of Babylonian figures by slaves, ex-slaves, modern society and presumably LongChains, who sought respite with the forthcoming River Mumma and salvation from colonialist mentalities through Haile Selassie I.

In this scene, the white slaver offers the African financial gain, the precondition being that he brings him some African ‘chattel’ to be sold as slaves. He specifically wants tallawah and bashy persons, i.e. the strong and attractive respectively. “Yuh sight me?” means “You catch my drift?” in this context, implying that the chattel are intended for hard work and reproduction. He notes that they have a lot of bickle, i.e. food, for the trip.

He also offers a quattie for children. Quattie, also known as quartile or ‘quarter real’, were coins introduced in Jamaica in 1834 and valued at three half penny (1½ pence) or ¼ Spanish reales. They were frequently used for Church offerings and the term is slang for something of no value.

The African is incensed by this “fuckery.” He refuses the offer and instead drives a cutlass through the foolish baldhead, thereby killing him. A samfie is a trickster or con-artist.

But alas, it is all but a dream. The African is actually on the slave ship! The African awakes to horror and panic as the slave ship is breaking apart at the seams and sinking.

Also referred to as “The Gong”, “Gangunguru Maragh” and “Gong Guru”, Leonard Howell is widely regarded as a foundational figure of the early Rastafari movement. He was a member of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association and encouraged blacks to recognise their self-worth, growing popular though his pan-African ideology and preaching against colonialism and its tenets. Howell believed in the divinity of Haile Selassie I, to whom Lupe dedicates an eponymous song, writing in his 1935 book The Promised Key:

His Majesty Ras Tafari is the head over all man for he is the Supreme God. His body is the fullness of him that fillet all in all. Now my dear people let this be our goal, forward to the King of Kings must be the cry of our social hope.

Bob Marley was nicknamed “Tuff Gong” as a teenager, a moniker later used as the name of his recording studio. He released “Three Little Birds” with The Wailers in 1977, encouraging optimism because “every little thing gonna be alright,” an attitude evidently shared by the aforementioned sufferers and persons in crosses. His youngest son, Damian, who features on “Kingdom,” adopted the nickname “Junior Gong.” Both Bob Marley and Leonard Howell died in 1981.

Acting as counsel for the United States Army during the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, Joseph N. Welch famously uttered these words in defense of his junior Fred Fisher to then-senator Joseph McCarthy.

Senator, may we not drop this? We know he belonged to the Lawyers Guild … Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?

At the time, the army was under investigation by the senate for suspected Communist members during a time of consistent political repression. They targeted persons suspected of being Communists or with views deemed unsavory, and fired, arrested, or blacklisted those who they viewed as disloyal.

Despite a previous discussion with Welch and disregarding the inconclusive evidence, the senator had suddenly alluded to Fisher being a Communist during a live broadcast. Fisher was previously a member of the National Lawyers Guild, which was viewed as, in then-Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr. words, “the legal mouthpiece of the Communist Party.”

JAY-Z likely views McMillan and others as having no shame in their pursuits. He also visited Communist country Cuba in 2013 with Beyoncé—to the displeasure of some government officials—in part prompting his 2013 song “Open Letter.”

JAY-Z goes on a run of pregnancy and baby-related motifs that serve as commentary on his career and his relationship with Beyoncé.

While contrasting his extensive career with a sudden pregnancy, Jay employs the ‘pregnant pause’ device (often used in comedy) giving the impression that his first thought will be followed by something more significant.

In Jay’s case, the second thought seems to be a nod to (you) his fans and his comeback on 4:44 after the lukewarm critical reception of Magna Carta… Holy Grail and how close (you) Beyoncé came to aborting their relationship due to his infidelity. Jay pleads with both parties not to abort—there’s room for more children on the baby wagon and fans on his own “bandwagon.”

He also used the pregnant pause on 2011’s “The Moon and the Sky (Remix)”:

I know we could have had it all
I wasn’t ready to go steady no not at all
Smoke and mirrors clouded my vision we hit a wall
Couldn’t see the moon and the sky behind the fog
Pregnant pause