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Childs' Law Genius Users – Genius Dictionary (Archive)

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Invented by RG visionary Chris Childs (RIP) in this thread. As the thread states it is a revision of Godwin’s Law.

As an RG discussion grows longer, the probability of an Illmatic reference approaches 1.

Here are a couple of examples from the community:
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2

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Charles Mingus Charles Mingus

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Charles Mingus was born on April 22, 1922 and was raised in the Watts area of Los Angeles. He was raised by his father who raised him with the notion that classical music was the only hope in establishing himself as an intelligent black man. After hearing the Duke Ellington Orchestra on the radio on one fateful afternoon, Mingus decided to change his pursuits in a new direction, jazz music.

A turning point in Mingus' musical journey can be first identified in The Charles Mingus Quintet & Max Roach, a live concert which features Max Roach on drums. This “new musical identity” that was established on this album was further explored on Mingus' breakthrough album Pithecanthropus Erectus. This album depicts the rise and fall of man through music. It can best be summed up in Mingus' own words

My conception of the modern counterpart of the first man to stand erect- how proud he was, considering himself the first to ascend from all fours, pounding his chest and preaching his superiority over the animals still in a prone position. Overcome with self esteem, he goes out to rule the world, if not the universe, but both his own failure to realize the inevitable emancipation of those he sought to enslave, and his greed in attempting to stand on a false security, deny him not only the right of ever being a man, but finally destroy him completely.

It is these words that defined Mingus not only as a person, but as an artist. His music sought to represent those without a voice. Through all the racism and disdain he faced toward his music at a young age, Mingus believed that music will always prevail. Mingus released amazing albums throughout the years from The Clown to The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, but every album spoke to one simple idea. The crazy notion that through music we are all human.

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**[Charles Mingus](http://mingusmingusmingus.com/)** was born on April 22, 1922 and was raised in the Watts area of Los Angeles. He was raised by his father who raised him with the notion that classical music was the only hope in establishing himself as an intelligent black man. After hearing the Duke Ellington Orchestra on the radio on one fateful afternoon, Mingus decided to change his pursuits in a new direction, jazz music.

A turning point in Mingus' musical journey can be first identified in *The Charles Mingus Quintet & Max Roach*, a live concert which features Max Roach on drums. This "new musical identity" that was established on this album was further explored on Mingus' breakthrough album *Pithecanthropus Erectus*. This album depicts the rise and fall of man through music. It can best be summed up in Mingus' own words

> My conception of the modern counterpart of the first man to stand erect- how proud he was, considering himself the first to ascend from all fours, pounding his chest and preaching his superiority over the animals still in a prone position. Overcome with self esteem, he goes out to rule the world, if not the universe, but both his own failure to realize the inevitable emancipation of those he sought to enslave, and his greed in attempting to stand on a false security, deny him not only the right of ever being a man, but finally destroy him completely.

It is these words that defined Mingus not only as a person, but as an artist. His music sought to represent those without a voice. Through all the racism and disdain he faced toward his music at a young age, Mingus believed that music will always prevail. Mingus released amazing albums throughout the years from *[The Clown](http://rock.rapgenius.com/albums/Charles-mingus/The-clown)* to *[The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady](http://rock.rapgenius.com/albums/Charles-mingus/The-black-saint-and-the-sinner-lady)*, but every album spoke to one simple idea. The crazy notion that through music we are all human.

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Amethyst Rockstar Joey Bada$$ (Ft. Kirk Knight) – Amethyst Rockstar

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A nod to the great Saul Williams album Amethyst Rockstar.

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2,034

9 years

The sample in this track : Azymuth – Esperando Minha Vez : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frIWN4jbaNc (1:03)

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Subterranean Homesick Alien Radiohead – Subterranean Homesick Alien

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In “Subterranean Homesick Alien,” Thom speaks of being isolated or different from the rest of his brethren. He wishes an alien colony can take him away just so he could be a silent observer instead of an active participant in this unfair game we call life.

The song title is a take-off of Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues”, but the similarities of the songs end there.

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467

5 years

Thom said in a 1998 interview – “Actually, a lot of the song stems from the idea of when I was at school, the first essay I wrote was: ‘You are an alien from another planet. You’ve landed and you’re standing in the middle of Oxford. What do you see? If you’re an alien from another planet, how would you see these people?’ And that’s a lot of where it came from, from someone who is not involved. Laughing and recording, taking home movies back to their home planet to show to their friends."

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3 years

The song is intimately linked in content with Dylan’s like named song as the comment suggests. Getting above the melee allows one to see the unfairness and the mistreatment if anyone who points it out.

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120

3 years

My personal interpretation of the son is about feeling watched in a world that’s already horrible to you. These aliens are watching him, and he feels like the whole world is wrong. They’re all uptight. Full of themselves. Everyone’s so full of themselves. To escape his life. All these uptight people. Because he feels like he can’t share anything meaningful with them. And they’re all different, and they’re all uptight. So in reality, maybe the song is about wanting to escape a place that doesn’t feel right. Or at the very least, wanting some recognition. Even if it’s from aliens. From strangers who are watching you. From the crowd. And I think it’s interesting that this song is after Paranoid Android in the album. Because it’s like a flowing story. The crowd is watching you and you love it, they love you. But that’s fake. And you want something real. You want something grander than that. But you don’t know how to get that. You don’t know how to feel satisfied with that. And you feel hatred, and you feel regret. And you lose yourself.

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Exit Music (For A Film) Radiohead – Exit Music (For A Film)

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Radiohead was in the middle of their 1996 tour when they were approached by director Baz Luhrmann to record a song meant for his upcoming film, Romeo + Juliet.

The band was shown the final thirty minutes of the film and were instantly driven to inspiration. According to Thom Yorke, “When we saw the scene in which Claire Danes holds the Colt .45 against her head, we started working on the song immediately.”

The result was “Exit Music (For A Film)”, a chillingly gentle song that bursts into a haunting crescendo of emotion. Because of its inclusion on OK Computer, it was withheld from the film’s soundtrack and instead a remix of “Talk Show Host” took its place.

Appropriately, the song plays during the film’s closing credits.

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5,902

8 years

It’s also ‘Exit Music’ in the sense that it scores Romeo and Juliet’s deaths (or more generally, the deaths of whichever people the nameless characters are taken to apply to). It accompanies them exiting life.

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6 years

This song is also used in the Black Mirror episode “Shut Up and Dance”

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6 years

it is also used in the credits for the movie “Afterlife”

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5 years

It seems to me that this song is not about death, but rather about inferiority. In the most bitter and angriest part of the song, one can literally feel insignificant as the anticlimactic moment simply grows stronger. The listener, who understands the lyrics, feels smaller and smaller every second, and the only thing he or she can do is to tell the supreme evil being to choke while the supreme being is laughing a spineless laugh at the listener and to his or her inferiority and uselessness.

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817

4 years

I agree with the other two people that this song is about death and inferiority. It’s about being overwhelmed by everything in the world, specifically much of what is talked about on the album. Death is one of these things, and it overwhelms you and makes you feel helpless.

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obama

3 years

obama

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Bitch, touché, en garde ScHoolboy Q (Ft. Kendrick Lamar) – Collard Greens

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Kendrick uses two fencing terms here.

Touche (french word for touch) is a common everyday term used to acknowledge someone else’s accurate point, but in fencing touche is used to acknowledge a hit.

En garde is also a common fencing term that instructs the two opponents to get into a defensive position.

This is the final line of the knight/sword imagery that he set up in the previous lines. King Kendrick on his Hamlet kick right now. Also, Lupe Fiasco had a smiliar line in Yeezus' Touch The Sky

Also a homophone on the words (a) God ~ (en) garde!

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264

9 years

‘I’m more than a man, I’m a god. Bitch, touche, en guarde’. Double entendre. One meaning referring to his previous mention of having a sword in his hand and acting as if he’s playing fence mentioning ‘touche’ and ‘en guarde’. Touche being this definition ‘(in fencing) used as an acknowledgment of a hit by one’s opponent.’

The other is after proclaiming to be a God he’s saying ‘touche, en guarde’ (touche on God), following up on what he just claimed. Touche being the other definition ‘used as an acknowledgment during a discussion of a good or clever point made at one’s expense by another person.’ So he’s pointing out the genius in his double entendre with ‘en guarde’ and ‘on god’.

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Ayo, I walk through the valley of the shadow of death J. Cole (Ft. Kendrick Lamar) – Forbidden Fruit

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This is a reference to Psalm 23:4

Even though I walk through the darkest valley I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, the comfort me.

The actual meaning of this passage is to praise God even in your darkest moments. In Cole’s version of the verse he portrays his hood as a “shadow of death” where it may be difficult for him to retain his faith. As hard as it may be the theme of this song and the reference to “keeping a cross on my chest” a few lines down implies that Cole does still have faith in a higher power.

While Kanye – release date mate of Cole’s – played on this in his breakout “Jesus Walks,” this is more likely a reference to Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.”

As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

As Cole mentioned before that he studied Makaveli, this could be a reference from 2Pac’s song “So Many Tears” where he starts song with lyrics:

I shall not fear no man but God
Though I walk through the valley of death

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This is a reference to Psalm 23:4

>Even though I walk through the darkest valley I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, the comfort me.

The actual meaning of this passage is to praise God even in your darkest moments. In Cole's version of the verse he portrays his hood as a "shadow of death" where it may be difficult for him to retain his faith. As hard as it may be the theme of this song and the reference to "keeping a cross on my chest" a few lines down implies that Cole does still have faith in a higher power.

While Kanye - release date mate of Cole's - played on this in his breakout ["Jesus Walks,"](http://rapgenius.com/Kanye-west-jesus-walks-lyrics)  this is more likely a reference to Coolio's ["Gangsta's Paradise."](http://rapgenius.com/Coolio-gangster-paradise-lyrics)

>[As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death](http://rapgenius.com/43182)

As Cole mentioned before that he studied Makaveli, this could be a reference from 2Pac's song ["So Many Tears"](http://rapgenius.com/2pac-so-many-tears-lyrics) where he starts song with lyrics:

> I shall not fear no man but God
Though I walk through the valley of death

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117

2 years

kanye also used this line as a opener to his jesus walks verse in his live performance on dave chapelle’s block party

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John

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4 years

Also a reference to John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, where the hero must pass through the flaming gates of Hell to cross the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” on his way to the Celestial City.

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487

5 years

this prayer is also used in a Notorious B.I.G. song called You’re Nobody Till Somebody Kills You..

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malcolm

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8 years

its paying homage to the opening line of Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio

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[Intro: J. Cole & Nas]
Freedom or jail, clips inserted
A baby's bein' born, same time a man is murdered
The beginning and end
As far as rap go, it's only natural, I explain
My plateau, and also what defines my name J. Cole – Let Nas Down

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This intro comes from the first verse of “Nas is Like” (1999):

Freedom or jail, clips inserted, a baby’s being born
Same time a man is murdered, the beginning and end
As far as rap go, it’s only natural I explain
My plateau, and also, what defines my name.

Both J. Cole and Nas say it at the same time, hearing more of Nas in the beginning and you hear more and more of J. Cole. Like J. Cole takes over the torch from Nas and he even talks in this song about the Nas comparisons.

By saying these lines with Nas, Cole also paints a picture of a fan singing along the words of an artist that they like…a lot. Cole says it with a laziness like he’s heard it a million times, but the inflection in his voice matches Nas, so it’s apparent that he practiced it like a fan would do their favorite rapper’s verse.

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136

3 years

that was real touchy abt nas 4m cole

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5 years

Another thing that you might notice if you wear headphones and listen to the track is that it begins both verses, one in the left one in the right, and then they come closer to the middle representing a meeting and Nas' approval, and then they split up and go even further to the left and right than they were before signifying a split up, where Nas no longer approves and they go their separate ways.

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Where niggas hold tech's like they mad at the ref J. Cole (Ft. Kendrick Lamar) – Forbidden Fruit

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A technical foul in basketball can be assessed in many different situations, one being when a player shows excessive disapproval to a referee’s call.