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As Jay-Z said in Hola' Hovito:

Yeah you shining, but the only thing you’re leaving out
You’re a candle in the sun – that shit don’t even out

Frank contrasts to show that even something as precious as one’s daughters and sons, are finite in comparison to the world, much like a candle’s flame is a mere fraction to the flames of the sun.

This is the 2nd time Frank has used the “candles in the sun” idiom, the first being in unreleased song “Rocket Love.”

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Opening in on a situation that elaborates on a rough patch in a marriage, the rumors and accusations are heavy like boulders.

Regardless of the situation and how it got to this point, the truth is behind the couple. They only have each other and can only move forward.

Frank speaks more on the faults of modern marriage in his popular song “American Wedding.”

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Here begins Frank’s take on the traditional American spiritual song, He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.

The couple has the ability to conceive a child and furthermore, “create” the child’s world, as they give the child life not only as it’s born, but as they raise it. How they choose to raise their children will affect them as they can easily be influenced by their parents at a young age.

“Juicy Fruit” is slang for a girl’s vagina.

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“Voodoo” is a short and somber track pondering the trials of the world, marriage, relationships, and family, released by Frank Ocean via Tumblr on January 29, 2012, devoid of much fanfare.

In an economical manner, Ocean tells the story of a couple making love (“in her juicy fruit” & “in his pants”), getting married, and having a child (“wedding band” & “on her hands”). The song begins with a broad musing on the existential theme of “All we got is each other; the truth is obsolete,” ultimately leading to an intimate application of this: the protagonist holding his entire family “in his hands.” The chorus interpolates the classic African American spiritual “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” first published in 1927.

“Voodoo” opens and continues in the background of the closing track of Ocean’s debut studio album channel ORANGE, titled “End.”


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The Oprah Winfrey Show ran for 25 seasons before finally concluding in 2011. Even though they’ve enjoyed long runs, the people Ab-Soul is referring time’s are over for good.

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Clever wordplay from Ab ties these lines together. A hex is a curse, the symbol of which is ironically shaped the same way as the Star of David, a holy symbol. The Star of David is a Jewish symbol, hence Soul pronouncing ‘is real’ like ‘Israel’, a Jewish state and ‘jewels’ like ‘Jews’. Having jewels in high places refers to his mental aptitude, i.e., knowledge and wisdom.

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Essentially those who do great in life, such as astronauts, get a lot of attention. A lot of these persons however are distant, quite literally in the case of astronauts, from the issues of the world and also culture. Also a reference to Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa, which was very important to the development of Hip-Hop and its culture. Bambaataa referred to earth as “our rock”.

But what would a Mos Def line be if it weren’t political?! He’s also talking about being high off crack cocaine, which is marketed largely to poor blacks. Also, the crime sentences for crack cocaine possession vs. powder cocaine possession are much worse.

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Playing off the previous line, Jean talks about the forbidden things in a relationship, much like the n-word is off-limits to many. They act too childish, keep to themselves and don’t talk to each other enough. Note the nice play on words because intercourse refers to both sex and talking.

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Unfortunately they’re never on the same train of thought except, quite literally, for when they’re having sex. That also seems to be the only time they get along with each other, no pun intended.

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Ultimate! Ultimate! One of Ghost’s favourite cuts from Bulletproof Wallets. Unfortunately the OG version didn’t make the album due to sample clearance issues:

“‘Flowers,’ the first ‘Flowers’ that we had on it that came out on the mixtapes before the album dropped, we couldn’t use that sample either.

Put yourself on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNwbJQpQZNY

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