While swinging through New York, the two of them happen to swing by a billboard of something called Rogers: The Musical. This is a fictional, in-universe Broadway musical that is based around the life of Captain America, also featuring the other members of the Avengers.

The musical first appeared in the Disney+ show Hawkeye, which premiered November 24, 2021, about three weeks ahead of the release of No Way Home. The reference emphasizes the interconnectedness of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and also sets the show and the movie within a similar timeframe.

In the first moments of the show, Clint Barton (Hawkeye) and his family attend the premiere of the musical, where we see a performance of the song “Save The City,” a rendition of the time the Avengers first assembled.

In the 2008 Marvel superhero film, Iron Man, genius inventor Tony Stark gets kidnapped by terrorists and is held hostage in a dark cave where he’s forced to build a deadly weapon. With only a box of scraps at his disposal, he instead builds an armored suit he uses to escape his captors. This becomes the inspiration for a better-developed suit later in the film.

The story of Tony Stark is analogous to Neelam’s experiences as a Black woman living in the United States. Growing up in a society of systemic racism and sexism, she is forced into a disadvantageous position where she has fewer opportunities than her white peers. This means she’s had to do more work with fewer resources just to get ahead in life, similarly to how Tony Stark built powerful technology with less-than-ideal parts.

Dhalsim is a fictional character appearing in the Street Fighter franchise, a series of fighting video games. He is a yogi master with the unique ability to stretch his limbs, attacking opponents from afar; he is literally reaching. To “reach” also means to exaggerate unfounded claims. The idea of J. Arrr losing in any way is unfathomable.

Robert Townsend is an American actor, director, comedian, and writer whose illustrious career spans across decades, back to the mid-70s. Often considered a pioneer in independent filmmaking, he has throughout his career worked with lots of top talent in Hollywood, including the likes of Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman. He is best known for his directorial work, perhaps most notably the 1987 special Eddie Murphy Raw.

The line references the 1993 superhero comedy, The Meteor Man, in which Townsend plays the titular character. In the film, we follow protagonist Jefferson Reed, a school teacher turned superhero, who fights to protect his community from the local gang, “The Golden Lords.” J. Arrr, on the other hand, is surrounded by literal gold, symbolizing the sheer amount of wealth he has accumulated.

Helen Keller (1880-1968) was an American author, educator, and advocate for disability rights, becoming one of the greatest humanitarians of her time. Due to an illness at the age of two, she lost her sight and hearing, so she literally did not have “vision” due to her blindness. Similarly, Chris Soul’s critics cannot “see” what he aims to achieve with his music.

Arguably, though, she was a woman of great vision, considering her many great accomplishments, despite her challenges. Among other things, she developed skills far beyond any other similarly disabled person, she was the first blind and deaf woman to graduate from college, she wrote over 500 essays and speeches, she tackled many social and political issues, and she co-founded the ACLU, a non-profit organization working to defend and preserve individual rights and liberties in the US. Her hard work and determination is an inspiration to many.

On July 11, 2018, Tobe Nwigwe shared an Instagram post reacting to DMs from legendary musician Erykah Badu saying she likes all of his music. 18 days later, he released the song “I’M DOPE” as a response to the praise.

In February of 2021, Tobe Nwgiwe appeared alongside Erykah Badu in the third episode of the Facebook Watch series, Forward: The Future of Black Music. Each episode of the show highlights Black artists, pairing up an established artist with a rising artist. The two artists are both from Texas, so there is a connection there.

Shadrach and Meshach are two Israelites who appear in the Biblical Book of Daniel, alongside fellow Hebrew slaves Abednego and the titular character. They were all taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar II, the king of Babylon, during a siege of Jerusalem. When refusing to worship a false idol, holding onto their belief in the one true God, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace. All three came out unharmed and rose to great prominence after the event.

“Fire” is used here as a slang term for a firearm, relating to the literally fiery tale of Shadrach and Meschach. Similarly, “piece” is also another word for a gun. A “scrap” refers to a fight or any type of altercation. Fat always keeps a little something on her, just in case things get heated. As we learn in Tobe’s verse, her weapon of choice appears to be The Scorpion EVO 3.