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Jay plays on the typical question of “why the long face?” He replaces the “long” with “lonely” to give the character’s depression an even more exaggerated feeling
He’s not just sad, but he feels alone in his situation – no one, not even his mother, can relate to him
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‘Lama sabachthani’ were Jesus Christ’s alleged last words, as he sacrificed himself on the cross, in the biblical story of his crucification.
It roughly translates to ‘Why have you forsaken me,’ and in context, was quoting Psalm 22, which prophesized the Messiah’s demise
Jay uses this as a metaphor, asking both why God has not helped him from this depression, and to compare his suffering to a suffering of biblical proportions.
This is למה זנחתני in Hebrew.
Tell me you don't feel that, show me to the way out Jay Electronica – Dear Moleskine
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What is this?
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He’s been feeling depressed every day, so when looking at one page of his diary, it can explain his feelings for the entire year, because he feels every day is the same as the last.
This relates back to the title of the song; and the theme of a depressed person’s writings in their notebook. .
So I spark another L then I go to the pad Jay Electronica – Dear Moleskine
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His solution for his recurring depression and his regression to the past is writing in his Moleskine, or his diary, to get his feelings out.
In the end, this is a song about how he copes with depression, namely smoking weed and writing lyrics.
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Dr. Phil McGraw is an american psychologist, who has his own self-title TV show.
He often speaks of the problems in America, and the ways they can be solved.
Of course, Phil has never made this statement. Instead, Jay uses him as a symbol to represent white America, who Jay believes to place blacks as underdogs, making it difficult for them to support themselves without either joining the army, or selling drugs.
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Gambino is ‘fly’, which means that he’s good at rapping, desirable, and girls want him. This line references Pixar’s 2009 hit movie, ‘up’, because it is about a flying house.
Basically, Glover is calling himself as fly as a floating house, pretty damn fly.
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Also a play on the expression “like a bat out of hell”. The phrase describes anything moving extremely fast, either in a reckless panic, or in a badass manner. Jay uses the latter meaning to describe himself.
This line could also be interpreted as;
Straight outta Hell, full speed like I’m Batman.
While in the Batmobile, Batman is known for driving at very fast speeds, with flames shooting out the back of the car.
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The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
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What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
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