Ras moves from the tragic death of Princess Di to another doomed royal — Lady Macbeth, famous for her inability to remove the blood of her murderous plot from her hands as she descended deeper and deeper into madness.
Ras puns on the dual meaning of plot — a plan and a grave.
Just ask Elmer Fudd
Prey/pray wordplay is pretty basic here, as is the contrast between predatory gangster behavior and meek Christianity.
“Whips” and “chains” are rap slang for “cars” and “jeweled necklaces.” They were also key terms in the institution of slavery, though their meaning there was more straightforward.
The irony of these terms as slang for now coveted items, suggests that modern blacks are “imprisoned” by their fealty to capitalism and consumerism, just as they used to be held captive by slavery.
Ras is as much a gangster-revolutionary-poet as he was in 1996, when he released his radical and belatedly acclaimed Soul on Ice. But in the 2000s he’s a bit more successful, and flaunts his wealth with the occasional diamond on…the underside of his foot.
A sideways Paul Simon reference?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I_T3XvzPaM
A reference to Jay-Z’s classic track Heart of the City, which itself referenced the Chris Rock one-liner from the film Boomerang, “First the Fat Boys break up and now this!”
EPMD broke up twice — in 1993 and 1999. They are currently back together.
