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What is this?
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3 square meals and a cot (small bed), the average life of a convict.
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Caviar (fish eggs extracted from certain types of fish) is a very expensive delicacy. It was originally harvested by Russian and Persian fishermen in the Caspian sea.
Along with the reference to Odessa (which could refer to the city in Ukraine) but is more likely to refer to “Little Odessa”, i.e. the Brighton Beach neighbourhood in Brooklyn which is known for its Russian speaking population and is associated with the Russian mafia.
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https://twitter.com/LupeFiasco/status/516305700591796224
In the movie Deep Cover, Laurence Fishburne’s character says “I want two of those masks” when he’s in a high end store.
Lupe is touching on the duality of his public personas in Hip-Hop being both a conscious Emcee and a mainstream artist.
When you’re king of African music you’re the King
Because music is the king of all professions Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Ayesha Jaco) – Prisoner 1 & 2
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Fela Kuti (a deceased Nigerian musician and political activist) states that he is a king and other great musicians are the real kings because music touches the lives and souls of the people around the world more than any other profession.
If it was up to me, I would never unlock these niggas
Wouldn't rehabilitate, man, I would just box these niggas Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Ayesha Jaco) – Prisoner 1 & 2
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Guards must have both eyes wide open and watch the prisoners as they are under constant threat of violence and death if the tables get turned and the prisoners get the upper hand.
If it was up to this guard he would never let them get out and keep them in cells forever and throw away the keys, that’s how much he despises them.
Note:
engarde is a fencing term (from French) which is a warning to be on your guard because you are about to be attacked.
“en garde” also sounds like on God. Must be serious.
Here Lupe warns us to watch these niggas, by swearing upon God.
In the prison stripping niggas phone rights Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Ayesha Jaco) – Prisoner 1 & 2
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The prison guards are part of the system along with the poor lice (po lice)
Lice are parasitic insects feed on the blood of their hosts. The prison industrial complex consumes the incarcerated, producing large profits for stockholders.
The police arrest, the courts convict and the guards incarcerate. The prisoners are both literally being stripped and humiliated, as well as being figuratively stripped of their rights.
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What is this?
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Due to the numerous anomalies and flukes in Lupe’s lyrics, rhyme scheme, etc., no one can copy it with success. Lupe uses odd sounds, flows, and references, making them work together in a way that other rappers do not.
Wordplay – fluke as well as meaning an unlikely chance occurrence is also a type of fish. A reservoir being a large lake could hold a lot of flukes.
“Anomalies by the colony” is a reference to The Matrix series of films in which Neo doesn’t know that he’s “The One” (the anomaly).
Neo lives in a colony called Zion. The soundtrack of the film contains a track of that name by…Fluke.
Lupe is saying not only is he an anomaly, but he is a whole colony of them.
(Wear it like a scarlet letter) Lupe Fiasco (Ft. Terrace Martin & Troi Irons) – Body of Work
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He’s not going to tell the secret. “Scarlet Letter” refers to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s eponymous 1850 historical novel of Puritan Boston.
It tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.
In the novel Hester Prynne is made to wear a scarlet (red) letter “A” to signify that she is an adulteress. As a result of her behavior, she is treated as a social outcast.
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