Tech is referring to the late Big Pun here, who was widely recognized for packing ridiculous amounts of multi-syllabic rhyming into his verses (see here). Sabbatical is a long break from work, hence Pun’s death could be seen as a sabbatical from rapping.

Both Immortal Technique and Big Pun are New York Latino rappers and thus are often compared, Tech quickly dispels this by referencing one of Pun’s most famous lines

Dead in the middle of Little Italy little did we know
That we riddled some middlemen who didn’t do diddly

-Twinz (Deep Cover ‘98)

Vicodin is a painkiller composed of Paracetamol and Hydrocodone. Because Hydrocodone is an opiate (similar to Heroin), Vicodin is often abused as a recreational drug due to its intensely euphoric high. Overdosing (by let’s say, 20) can be fatal, and often includes extreme drowsiness, shallow breathing, weak pulse etc.

Because of these extreme (and unnatural) effects, Monch draws a parallel with Ortho Tri-Cyclen (commonly referred to as “the pill”), which is a contraceptive used to prevent pregnancy, and thus literally disturbs the natural cycle of life.

Here, Pharoahe examines certain elements of the 80’s that were characteristic of their time.

• Wine Coolers were a cheap alcoholic drink that was sold since the early 1980s made from wine and fruit juice. Because most of the flavor in the wine is obscured by the fruit and sugar, the wine used in wine coolers tends to be of the cheapest available grade – thus being the most efficient option to get drunk in poor black neighbourhoods.

• Woolies is a slang term referring a blunt mixed with coke or PCP.

• The Facts of Life was an American sitcom that originally ran on the NBC network, and was one of the longest running sitcoms of the 1980s.

• The 1980s also saw the rise of the crack epidemic, in which there was a surge of crack cocaine use across America. It is often theorised that the President at the time, Ronald Reagan, and his administration facilitated the distribution and trafficking of crack.

• David Dinkins was the 23rd Borough President of Manhatten from 1986-1989, and was also the first and only African American to be the Mayor of New York City.

• Toolies, aka tools which is slang for guns, refers to the spike in violent crimes across NYC during the 1980s due to the crack epidemic. The Bloods, Crips and MS-13 gangs of L.A. also arrived in the city in the 1980s.

As a result of all these issues troubling Monch, he contemplates shooting himself (spin the cylinder and let it draw blood) in order to escape existence (dissolve into the abyss), instead of dealing with these problems with no apparent foreseeable end.

The Chupacabra is a mysterious legendary blood sucking creature rumoured to inhabit parts of the Americas, with the first sightings reported in Puerto Rico.

The combination of these prescription drugs is causing Pharoahe a lot of dysfunction, going so far as being unable to think properly. Therefore he is being warned of this “Danger”.

“Danger, Will Robinson!” is also a catchphrase from the 1960’s American television series Lost in Space.

Zoloft is an anti-depressant taken for anxiety, depression & panic attacks, while Lactobacillus acidophilus is a type of bacteria that aids human digestion. The combination of these is known to cause an increase in:

• Anxiety
• Pain
• Headache
• Nausea