Phillip Drummond was the wealthy dad on Diff'rent Strokes

Rugged Man had a lot of troubles with Jive Records and he wasn’t able to find a record deal in the mid 90’s when no one would work with him.

He’s also (intentionally or unintentionally) sabotaged every opportunity he’s had because he prefers poverty. As he says in “Midnight Thud”:

I don’t wanna be rich, trust me, I’d rather be poor.

Busby Berkeley is a choreographer, known for his elaborate dance routines with all the showgirls.

It’s not clear why this used to be one of R.A.’s nicknames — perhaps because he surrounds himself with women?

Its a shame that how America’s view on homosexuality has caused gays to feel alone and without a way to be themselves free of judgment.

Ali’s use of the word “us” implicates himself in the cruel system and acknowledges his own role in perpetuating it. It is an act of great bravery, where a lesser lyricist might have said “shame on them.” This was a nod to some of his earlier more homophobic lyrics – his way of apologizing, taking responsibility, and signaling a change. Ali even wrote an article about it for the Huffington Post.

In an elegant metaphor, Speech says that he believes God should be the driving force in his life, not merely an emergency backup for when things go wrong.

In an interview with Songfacts, Speech explained that he wrote this song after his brother died, shortly after the two of them were together at their grandmother’s funeral:

…that song was probably the first step of me recovering from the loss of two people that are just extremely close and dear to me.

He means he’s about to leave, but this is something of a malapropism since the act of dispersing usually involves a crowd heading in different directions as opposed to just a single person.