d-boy is the individual kid on the block that has to make sure that the block is boolin & for whoever is new on the block to go thru neighborhood Test.

He’s basically referring to Dough Boy from Boyz n The Hood

What’s the meaning of “d-boy”

This line doesn’t sound as significant after Chopper

I always thought this line was ‘they axing it like the UK’ in reference to how the deodorant brand known as Axe in the US is called Lynx in the UK. So the American name has essentially been axed by the UK.

Though the reference would seem odd on its own, the context of deodorant & fragrances plus how Lupe likes the be enigmatic with his lyrics made me always think this was what he meant. Accented makes sense too though

Also, peep the nice alliteration in this line: Doing, Dirt, Devil, Dust

Lupe is saying he gives topics (quotes) since his bars always have a very deep meaning .
So the quotes I.e what to wrote songs about to “Ghost” that is your favorite rapper that listen to him in silence to bite quotes or hint just like vampire and yet not show in the mirror, that is stealing and reusing his quote /tap knowledge from his songs to remake there own and resupply to you there fans.

For what it’s worth, for the longest time there’s also been speculation as to which tracks Lupe (ghost)wrote for Jay Z’s Black Album – if at all..

“notes” could also mean paper money

Ghosts refer to the rappers, whereas the living are the listeners. So metaphorically, Lupe is channeling ghosts to relay his messages to the living. Perhaps he does so because the living have a tendency to listen to the truth if it comes from something mystical rather than a real source.

I think these two lines have more to do with if you’re a ghost meaning you’re a transparent or fake rapper then record labels have people write their music for them but at the same time those people will sometimes help the real rappers/living come up with their stuff. not even lupe writes all of his lyrics to his songs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupe_Fiasco%E2%80%99s_The_Cool#Track_listing Which is apparent in the song writing section.
Also when lupe was approached by record labels they asked him what he wanted to do write or rap (most people only pick one) and he chose both so he may be referring to himself “the writer of the quotes"
then you look at the whole line “writer of the quotes for the ghosts” going back to my previous statement about ghosts being fake rappers they will steal his own material which also references the previous line about the “biter of throat” referencing a “rhyme biter”

The ghosts aren’t the “ghost writers” but the rappers themselves. They’ve become this way after saying exactly what everyone had told them to say. Wether it’s chasing “the cool” or any negative influence in general.These lyrics are given to the living, only to be a detriment to they’re own soul’s survival.