The message is in yo' mind, i'm hopin' you sing along
I know you gone listen close, I just hope that you see the prob Mick Jenkins – Happy Thoughts
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Mick gives us a clear view of how our generation lives today. He states that their whole life is based on squared boxes that tell them lies and living off social media.
He also makes clear that the point of life and the truth is right there infront of us but we’re too blind to see it.
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Calypso is a type of music that was found in the West Indies, notably in Trinidad, and is characterized by improvised lyrics on topical or broadly humorous subjects.
In Greek myth this was the name of the nymph who fell in love with Odysseus after he was shipwrecked on her island of Ogygia. When he refused to stay with her she detained him for seven years until Zeus ordered her to release him.
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Once a New Yorker, always a New Yorker!“
New York is a vibrant and eclectic place. There is an incredibly diverse range of places to visit like the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. Those places will stuck in your head and you will forever remember those places.
One of New York’s biggest boroughs–Brooklyn–is also a good place to visit. That borough is a good checkpoint for anyone who is into hip hop/rap because it’s well-known for rap battles and love for music. It’s also the home of well-known musicians like Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Notorious B.I.G, Aaliyah, DJ Premier, Busta Rhymes and many more.
With all these beautiful things and places, it’s clearly impossible to take NY out of someone who lived there his whole life.
I stay in tune, travel in harmony and set the tone Rakim – Living for the City
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A rolling stone is a person who is unwilling to settle for long in one place. Rakim is that kind of person since he is always on touring and performing.
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Rakim lived and grew up in Wyandanch, New York.
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One of the rules in a Muslim’s life is to fear no man but Allah, his God and creator. There are two notable verses in Quran about fearing Allah that Rakim is clearly following since he is Muslim and they say:
This is the Devil that scares his friends by means of his rumors. If you have faith, fear Me, do not fear them.”
And for he who fears His Lord, there are two Gardens.”
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I seen it all, and I've been doing that since I was small Rakim – Living for the City
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A reference to the neighborhood he grew up in since it’s there where all exciting things in life start. It’s there where he started rapping at a young age –18.
Rakim also means that he’s never alone. He’s always with his people hanging out and chilling, mostly with with his long-time friend and partner-in-rhyme Eric B.
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Wordplay –> All eye seeing = All-Seeing Eye
When you first look at this picture, you’ll think of the so-called theory ILLUMINATI but that’s not what Rakim meant here.
There are many cultural, religious, philosophical, and cultic uses of the symbol of the “all-seeing eye,” which is also called the “Eye of Providence”but in general, the all-seeing eye is a symbol of an omniscient entity that can see all.
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Another boxing reference, alongside earlier references to Jack Johnson, Tiger Flowers, and Mike Tyson. Rope-a-Dope is a boxing tactic made famous by Muhammad Ali, where he would sit back on the ropes and soak up punches, before recovering at the end to KO his opponents.
The oppressed rising up and resisting the oppressor is also a common theme elsewhere in de la Rocha’s music, and parallels other uses of boxing to describe social conditions that de la Rocha uses to describe the resistance to capitalistic forces:
Reference to his own lyrics on Sleep Now In The Fire (RATM)