The Prime Meridian is 0 degrees longitude. Its opposite, 180 degrees, is the general path of the International Date Line, which is used to calculate time zones. When one crosses the IDL going in the opposite direction to the earth’s rotation, one can actually “travel back in time.”

“All riled up” is the first of a series of puns on Bill O'Reilly’s last name.

Since 1996, O'Reilly has hosted a show called The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News. From 2007-2008, “The Factor” was the most-watched cable news program in the country.

Nas puns on the name with “Fear Factor,” another popular TV show, painting O'Reilly as nothing more than a scaremonger.

Priest is from Brooklyn, New York, and that’s where people take no notice of the desperate drug addicts — they are just part of the background. Killah Priest compares them to Osama bin Laden who has been charged for numerous crimes, but nobody was really going after him, until 2011, when he died.

He’s trying to be himself even though it doesn’t make his family happy.
This points out the ridiculousness of the argument that being gay is “a choice”–why in the world would a kid from a family like this choose to do or be something that would disappoint, shatter and alienate his family if he were free to choose otherwise?

There’s wordplay here with the idea of gays being “flaming”. No matter how gay you are, the hate you get for being gay will make it very hard for you to come out.

This follows the lines “Daddy says people go to hell for being/what he is and he certainly believes him.” The message is that the boy is resigned to the idea that he will go to hell, because the idea of hell pales in comparison to the situation he’s in now. Being gay from an intolerant religious family, being forced to conceal your true self and unable to love as you choose, is hell on earth.

For the last 20 years, Somalia has had an ongoing civil war.

Sadat X samples from R.A.’s “50,000 Heads”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp86fDmycbA