Too many people come into music to just get quick satisfaction and leave, much like how a rapist works. This affects other other rappers who actually work hard to achieve, and cripples their faith, much like how a rape victim is disheartened by said act, and may lose faith in God.

“Rape the culture” can be expanded to mean that they utilize black culture in their tunes, but only take from it, never giving back. This is a use similar to the Rape of Africa by the Europeans during the colonial era.

The next line may imply that too many rappers lose their faith once they start being successful.

Common is a raw rapper, he doesn’t mince words. He compares himself to a drug (cocaine), and tells the hustlers to get prepared for him/ prepare him (Baking soda is used to prepare crack cocaine, and help make it usable) and support him.

Tell the substitutes (who are generally inferior skill-wise) and persons who are always longing for a break that the break is over. It’s time to go to work on Hip-Hop.

Notice the pause after this line, the break.

Notice also the reference to Nas, following the Jay-Z reference in the line above. This is not the first time that Com has played these two artists off one another.

He believed Hip-Hop needed to be fixed-up at the moment.

He’s all about progress. He can’t go back to his critically acclaimed album Resurrection (which was released in 1994), but he can move forward.

Also, Joe’s first album Everything, released in late 1993, contained the track Finally Back. Remember the previous line?

Notice the constant spiritual references and references to movement back and forth. As you’ll see, he considers himself a messiah of rap.

Reference to the movie Lost In Space. During the movie, the family which it stars become lost in space after a terrorist attack during a mission to save humanity.

He took his music out of a restricted mindset (space), and he’ll be attacked by some because of it. Also, some people will think they’ve lost touch with him because of his message and mindset. Wordplay on out of space to make it sound like outer space. He also took it to a whole other level.

He has similar passion as what Jesus would’ve needed to take on the sins of the entire world. In Christian theology, The Passion is a term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion. Hence the movie, Passion of The Christ.

He also dares people to come at him (cross him). Also possibly means he’ll die for his art. This is a double entendre with “passion” in the religious and common meanings, as well as “cross” since the Cross was the instrument of Christ’s passion.

Chiropractors deal with mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially the spine (the back).

After his previous album left many fans disappointed, he came back to take care of them with a classic album and this hardcore rap.

Paints an epic picture of a man caught in the middle of a war, possibly referring to the trials and tribulations of Hip-Hop itself. Notice he says ‘with’ and not ‘of’, insinuating he was the one causing the chaos and gunfire. Power.

People wanted to know the direction Hip-Hop was going in, his response was that is was being run in a direction by Chicagoans.

Of course this was evidenced in the coming years by the influence of Chicagoan rappers and producers such as Common himself, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Rhymefest, Twista, The Legendary Traxter, No I.D. and others.

For a brilliant personification and explanation of Hip-Hop’s motions, check out Mos Def’s “Fear Not of Man.”