Furthering the prior imagery with the use of ‘Scarlet,’ as well as a pun on Nathaniel Hawthorne, this line envisions blood running in the streets. The idea is that while some people do make it out of poverty, violence still consumes much of our landscape.
There are those who do not make it out, and they are like a thorn in the crown of the rich, something that spoils our notion of success. For every moment of watching the throne, we must remember also the crown of thorns.
Sounds strangely and cryptically violent, but this is really an allusion to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, in which those guilty of adultery were branded with a scarlet letter A.
I’m out on the prowl, looking for that Holy Grail of success, like both Sean Connery in Indiana Jones
and Mr. Holy Grail himself
Shawn Carter.
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This statement is traditionally called ‘The Word of Triumph’ and is theologically interpreted as a cry of victory. Jesus has now completed what he came to do.
The Greek word translated is tetelestai, an accounting term that means “paid in full”, so the line is also considered a reference to him paying the debt of sin owed by mankind.
Cash ruling everything around me, Wu I’m mean! Big Teach (Ft. Mr. Varnell) – Stanzas Down (Trap Teachaz Anthem)
With my lyrics, I’m firing heavy artillery at you verbally – clappin' on ya – just like Eric Clapton (lol, pun alert) as a member of hard rock forefathers Cream.
Of course, C.R.E.A.M. is the famous acronym for ‘cash rules everything around me.’
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In the urban jungles, it’s survival of the fittest – dog eat dog – and therefore Mike likes his chances over yours.
This line implies that the 50/50 odds of dying in the jungle are better than the 100% chance of the spiritual death of bowing before a king. “They’ll take us out if we bow to our knees” is a double entendre. In one meaning, you can bow before a king who will knight you and “take you out” of the jungle. In the other, you can bow down before the king who will “take you out” via beheading symbolizing a spiritual death
This line cannot be understood without the previous one. Mike is clearly communicating his desire to have a fair shot at success in life–even just a fair shot at staying alive. He’d rather give up this “civilized” life and live in a “savage” world where everyone is on an equal playing field. A place where one’s destiny is determined by the law of the averages.
More than that, he’s saying that he’d rather kill or be killed because it leaves a better chance of survival than what he’s left with in America.