They say I got a problem
This liquor keep on callin'
My name's Wale (Hi Wale!)
I'm a hiphopaholic
Hip Hip Anon must miss me Wale (Ft. Amy Winehouse) – Rehab
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Starting his verse with a role play of a “12 steps” meeting.
Though you shouldn’t get it twisted the liquor is a reference to his flows.
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What is this?
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Pfizer inc is the worlds largest research based pharmaceutical company.
Referring to the fact that our generation has been pumped full of medication like ritalin,zoloft,wellbutrin etc.
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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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What is this?
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This is the first of several historical readings on the album that reference the time period of the American Civil War, and can also be found in Ken Burns’s brilliant documentary Civil War, which you can watch on Netflix here.
This is from Abraham Lincoln’s Lyceum Address (read it in its entirety on Genius here), in which Lincoln praises America as a superpower, but warns of its potential for destruction from within. Patrick extends the meaning of the quote to refer to the individual: it isn’t other people that destroy us, it’s ourselves.
Fun fact: You might think Okey’s tenor a tad nasal for the magisterial strains of Lincoln’s poetry, but not so. According to leading Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer,
Lincoln’s voice, as far as period descriptions go, was a little shriller, a little higher… People said that his voice carried into crowds beautifully. Just because the tone was high doesn’t mean it wasn’t far-reaching.
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1997 was when Chris Palko died and Cage was born
He released his first projects “Agent Orange” and “Radiohead” in 1997 to success and acclaim.
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Possible reference to the Jet-Li film Unleashed, with his collar on, the main charcter “Danny the Dog” acts like…well a dog.
This would make sence since The Zombies are big fans of movies
Check it out
I was there in the centre of St. Petersburg Square Canibus – Merchant of Metaphors
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Describing a Russian invasion of Communist china. The Great Bear and Dragon representing the former and latter respectively.
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This is a personification of America. These “Scars” are the current less than ideal economic position of African/Native Americans caused by years of subjugation and oppression.
This world my heart my soul, the things that I don’t know- the world is part of my soul, everything is connected, we all are one. I feel pain even in knowing that there’s things going on that I don’t know (the tears they soak on through)
Things I’ve done.. My unforgivable youth- I always feel responsible for everything that’s been done here in America even though I haven’t participated in any of it. Especially since we’re taught in our youth to worship the very people who tortured, stripped and killed more people than Hitler
The tears that both the Native Americans and slaves from years of humiliation and oppression will continue to soak through the Earth. Because we inflict damage on the creatures of this world, we inadvertently hurt ourselves and our future generations.
I think Roses is definitely on the right track here but the line
“But tears they soak on through”
I think this is alluding to the trail of tears. The tears and remnants of the Native Americans who had to walk it are gone but the scars left are perhaps the national parks that the government has setup for reparation and remembrance.