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Heath Ledger said the nights gon' be dark Wale – Contemplate
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Heath Ledger is the late actor who played The Joker in the film “The Dark Knight”. He died from an accidental overdose on prescription medication.

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Paint a picture to show the deaf what it's like to listen
And speak the words and tell a blind man what he missin'
For all my niggas doin' time man up in prison
Felt you had to resort to crime, man fuck the system J. Cole – I Get Up
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The famous phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words” refers to the notion that an idea can be conveyed with just a single still image.

Therefore, J. Cole’s words will paint a vivid picture in the minds of everyone, including those that are visually impaired, or blind.

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I know I can't afford to stop
For one moment, that it's too soon to forget Yasiin Bey – Ms. Fat Booty
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This is a sample from the song ‘One Step Ahead’ by Aretha Franklin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cIWu5m8UmA

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Ynyu16gd7y

356

11 months

the song ‘surround sound’ by JID uses the same sample. he used this to pay homage to mos def, you can listen to surround sound and the rest of “the forever story” here,
surround sound:


the forever story:

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Default_avatar_100

10

9 years

Possibly referring to the fact that chasing women is futile in most cases and that he has a goal he cant afford to take his eyes of for one moment because he may end up right back in his cruddy past lifestyle

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85c2b7cb3e1c7e5ddd64c636dc69ace5

109

9 years

The hook refers to persistence. If MOS DEF stops being aggressive about wanting her and showing her, he might lose the chance to get the girl so to speak.

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God, it's the year of the underpaid employee
Spittin' forty plus a week
And tryin' to rape Earth on my off time Aesop Rock – 9-5'ers Anthem
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Aes drops the metaphorical language and goes in: this whole time, he’s been talking about exploited workers.

Not only is Aesop referring to the exploitation of workers, but also the depletion of earth’s resources by means of consumerism.

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1358289987_90169_exquire

105

11 years

I think you mean “depletion”, not “repletion”. Also, I believe “raping Earth” is a reference to workers trying to party the face of the Earth away in their off time. Hell, they work 40 hours a week, so that’s all some people want to do.

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Hacksaw, slack-jawed, like they short a chromosome Das Racist – You Oughta Know
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People that lack chromosomes often end up with physical and mental deformities such as “slack-jaws”. This is a continuation of the evolutionary talk of the previous two lines.

“Hacksaw” refers to the 1980s professional wrestler, Hacksaw Jim Duggon, who played the role of a buffonish redneck. So he was something of a “slack-jawed” yokel.

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Jay put a stamp on the nigga but wouldn’t mail him
If he couldn't sell him, so what that tell him, huh? J. Cole – Cost Me a Lot
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Jay-Z signed him (put the stamp on him) but wouldn’t let him drop an album (wouldn’t mail him) until his buzz and fan base got better (if he couldn’t sell em) but Cole didnt really agree with that thinking. It shouldn’t be about sales (so what that tell him), unfortunately it is.

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Ignorant Thoughts
7 years

Jay-z co signed Jacob the jeweler but didn’t hit him up in jail when get got jammed but he can’t make any money off of him now (jay put a stamp on “the nigga”) he wouldn’t word it like that if he were talking about himself.

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Default_avatar_100

43

10 years

The line should actually say, “What that tell ‘em”. What he’s saying is, Jay-Z has co-signed other rappers before, saying that they’re good, but Cole is the first one that he actually signed. Cole is asking the public, what else do they need to know? Jay endorsed him and actually signed him because he knew he would sell records.

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And D-boys is the only Alphabet Boys I know Lil Wayne (Ft. D. Smith) – Shoot Me Down
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Alphabet boys are considered as police or affiliations to the police; DEA the drug enforcement administration; the FBI, federal bureau of investigation; the ATF, bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms or explosives etc. So basically he doesn’t talk to the police. D-boys is also short for “dope-boys”, highlighting his affiliation with drug-dealers as well

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And if I ever do stop touring they treat me like a foreigner
Don't believe me, ask Lauryn B.o.B (Ft. T.I.) – Not Lost
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If B.o.B takes a break from the music industry people will forget about him and treat him like a foreigner, or someone unknown.

Referring to Lauryn Hill, who has been heavily criticized in the media and the industry after taking a break from recording to raise her children.

This a play on Jay-Z’s line in the Lost (Remix) with Coldplay where he says “don’t believe me, ask Michael.“ He also says this line in his song "Most Kingz”

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It's gonna take the man in me to conquer this insanity (Oh, no, no, no) 2Pac – Keep Ya Head Up
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It takes a real man to solve these problems.

So many crazy things are going on in Pac’s life (e.g. his friend just lost his family), and he’s going to have to really “man” up emotionally to maintain through these “insane” times.

Pac uses two Bob Dylan’s song titles in sequence – “The Man in Me” follows “Blowin' in the Wind,” used two lines earlier.

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F62720de41d221d1dcfc1e06294b9c48

174

6 years

It’s gonna take God’s Spirit to deal with this because I can’t alone (the whole man in me)

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If you die, tell them that you played my game
I hope your bullet holes become mouths that say my name Lupe Fiasco – Put You On Game
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The disciples come and go but the game still remains…

A reference to an artist’s image of the Amidou Diallo shooting, in which there were 41 screaming mouths all over the victim’s body, representing the 41 gun shot wounds.

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Default_avatar_100

8

8 years

The bullet holes are “mouths that say my name” because they tell the story as a mouth would they identify you as another victim of “the game”.

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Default_avatar_100

6

10 years

This also seems to be a reference to a quote from Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar
“Over thy wounds now do I prophesy—
Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips
To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue—
A curse shall light upon the limbs of men.”

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Default_avatar_100

83

10 years

Lupe has stated the the fictional figure the game has bullets for teeth, blunts for fingers, crack pipes for lungs and other such genius metaphorical manifestations. He is built of the things that destroy people.

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