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I am, cause I thought now my tightrope like a sidewalk, blat! Janelle Monáe (Ft. B.o.B & Lupe Fiasco) – Tightrope (WondaMix)
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Reference to the famous Rene Descartes quote in which he says, I think, therefore I am

Lupe says that he is at the level he is at because he broke free from the mainstream way of life and simply thought for himself! He stresses the key here is simply allowing yourself to think

As a result his tightrope which is supposed to be a dangerous place to walk has become a sidewalk(supposedly the safest place to walk)! This means that what average non-thinkers would find extremely challenging comes easy to Lupe. A bit like rapping!

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227

12 years

I agree with all of the above but want to expand and suggest another meaning for “now my tightrope’s like a sidewalk.” I think it’s vital to keep with the theme of Lupe’s whole verse–to think outside of the mainstream–while distinguishing a tightrope from a sidewalk.

He was confined to the restrictions of a tightrope, which forces you to follow a single, narrow, predetermined path that does not allow for any deviation. This symbolizes blindly following the mainstream, without allowing for any deviation from the norm. But since he “thought” (as nicely explained in the above comment), he is no longer bound to such restrictions. This narrow-to-broad expansion due to Lupe’s “thinking” is synonymous with comparing the restrictions a tightrope imposes and the freedom a sidewalk allows.

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But I surpass that, I dropped out of they math class Janelle Monáe (Ft. B.o.B & Lupe Fiasco) – Tightrope (WondaMix)
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Lupe then goes to dissociate himself from us as he is in a higher math class menaing he has a limitless approach to thinking hence he can achieve more

Showoff!

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Shouting, down at Babylonian accounting
Medieval mathematics equals averaging, amounting Janelle Monáe (Ft. B.o.B & Lupe Fiasco) – Tightrope (WondaMix)
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A math metaphor!

Lupe says we are old fashioned and backwards in our thinking and this has eroded the value of our potential

Basically our limited/babylonian way of thinking only allows us to achieve average results

In the previous line he refers to a chapel. Babylon was a wicked city in the Bible that God destroyed. So Lupe is comparing himself to the prophet God sent to Babylon to warn them of their destruction.

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248f52873b8aedebb7da71734c60de59

20,238

10 years

On a more prosaic note, accounting was invented by the ancient Sumerians and inherited by the slightly less ancient Babylonians. So “Babylonian accounting” could also be a legit historical reference.

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Televised revolutionaries on the chapel top Janelle Monáe (Ft. B.o.B & Lupe Fiasco) – Tightrope (WondaMix)
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The “Chapel Top” is a television which Lupe refers to as a shrine that we worship in his song Streets on Fire.

This is also a reference to The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gil Scott-Heron.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGaRtqrlGy8

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I prefer to figure eight and then Mandelbrot Janelle Monáe (Ft. B.o.B & Lupe Fiasco) – Tightrope (WondaMix)
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Continuing the geometry metaphor, Lupe says that while we all stay aligned he figure eights and mandelbrots which are both relatively complex shapes meaning he is creative and thinks for himself

Mandelbrot refers to a specific fractal, or a complex geometric shape:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandelbrot_set

The figure eight represents the symbol for infinity. Lupe continues the math motifs by saying that he prefers to be unbounded and limitless.

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Drinking of the time-honored traditions of keeping in a line Janelle Monáe (Ft. B.o.B & Lupe Fiasco) – Tightrope (WondaMix)
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In following with the theme of the song, Lupe starts a geometry metaphor

Play on words with align/ a line. He says mainstream music doesnt promote individuality but instead encourages us to follow the crowd and not stray

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Greetings, welcome to the meeting of the minds Janelle Monáe (Ft. B.o.B & Lupe Fiasco) – Tightrope (WondaMix)
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Lupe’s maxim great minds think alike assures that he and Monae will be on the same page

Meanwhile, his minds/mimes word melding (a signature Fiascoan trick) plays in with the next line

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Baptize them in the water out of Scarface pool
And feed them from the table that held Corleone's food Lupe Fiasco – Put You On Game
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Tony Montana (The main character in Scarface played by Al Pacino) had a pool which ended up being filled with blood at the end of the movie during his legendary shootout with his enemies

The Corleone’s are the fictional mafia family from the classic Godfather trilogy

Gangsta movie references don’t get better than this

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3e07ff27df87558174445a8bb91a2ab1

102

10 years

This line seems to show the dichotomy between Christians and the Evil one’s version of religion. Baptism to forgive sins is contrasted with baptism here to enter in sin while the “feed them from the table” lines seems to refer to Jesus’s Last Supper where he feeds people out of his body and blood. Here, of course, the evil feeds its apostles with food from tainted earnings of the Corleone’s Empire.

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Xavier
12 years

This could also mean that movies like Scarface and The Godfather were created for people who are “chasing the cool” to look up to. When they see Tony Montana they want to be Tony Montana and that only leads to crime and corruption aka The Game. Many rappers' and hustlers' favorite movies' are Scarface and The Godfather.

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The rivers shall flow with liquor, quench your thirst on my elixirs Lupe Fiasco – Put You On Game
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Alcohol is one of the tools used by the game to ensnare followers and keep them within its power

People often see alcohol as a way out of thier problems so here the game is offering them the opportunity to quench their thirst with his elixir i.e alcohol

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1b559aeaa5d380d7f3ca6b8fb656854f

11,327

8 years

also meaning Liquor like in F&L (bad/destruction)

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Fighting temptation, have an apple
Shakes the snakes, pimp the system
Let's get into it, tabernacle Lupe Fiasco (Ft. GemStones) – Just Might Be OK
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Religious theme here as Lupe warns us against temptation before offering us an apple, commonly seen as the fruit that led to the first sin. Lu continues the religious theme referencing when Paul shook the snake. In addition, Lu references a Tabernacle, which was the dwelling place for the divine.

When he says pip the system, he means that he will beat the system which ties into the idea that he wants to shake off the snakes, which could refer to snitches or cops. There’s also the continuation with the Apple imagery. An apple pip is another term for appleseed.

Fun Fact: Apple pips contain cyanide!

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Dan
Marked this as a stretch?
7 years

The line, “Pip the system..” could also allude to Lupe wanting to rebirth the system(since pips refer to appleseeds and seeds birth new apples, new life. Ergo, life death and rebirth cycle), since he may not see the system as just, true and for the people. Or it could possibly connect to the snakes line and mean to poison the deceitful and evil. Or both, Lu has layered writing like that.

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U8eskcqur5uoczeckcqe

176

8 years

I think its a double entendre here because there is also the temptation to each junk food for some people, so having an apple would be the healthy choice.

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Seslar Riggins
Marked this as missing something?
8 years

Fighting temptation; half an apple

-See Adam and Eve each shared the apple, thus having half an apple to each of them. You want to fight temptation, deny the half of the apple your being offered.

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Default_avatar_100

231

8 years

pimp the system bro. as in take advantage of the system the that’s trying to beat you. phrase coined by dead prez

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