Hes acting recklessly in the shadow of a massive empire. Not necessarily a physical one such as a government but possibly one such as a social norm or an expected course of action.

It is also significant that Aes is ‘acting a savage’. The Romans used the word Barbarian to refer to anybody who was not Roman, who they perceived to be uncivilized. By acting a savage, Aes is not conforming to the ‘empire’, or the normal way the road is used, which is for cars. Car drivers often see bikers as being more reckless (savage) than themselves.

These lines serve to shed light on the father’s background. His parents never sang lullabies to him, therefore he doesn’t know any. Instead he sings the songs of Stevie Wonder, songs which he relates to and have much more meaning for him than any lullaby would.

Slug uses a tactic here which is quite common in his writing. He deliberately allows for ambiguity, and changes the focus of the verse completely with the last line. In this case, Slug is poking holes in the perception of society that drug dealers are bad people. This song clearly shows that a drug dealer can be a much better father to his son than any person with an honest job. This is an uncomfortable truth, and Slug uses it to show that people cannot simply be judged by what they do for a living.

Playing with the common phrase in hip hop “word is born”, Aes extends the metaphor to an actual birth. Like Siamese triplets with potential to enter into highly respected professions, Aesop’s words are strange, unusual and capable of many different directions. He ends by suggesting that listeners should not take his words at face value/first glance, but allow the multiple meanings to become clear over time.

Rip Van Winkle is a short story about a man who took a walk away from his village and fell asleep on a mountain for 20 years.

Poppy fields are quite common in Western Europe and have become a symbol of war remembrance after some parts of World War I was fought on these fields. The poppy fields are also a reference to the scene in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz where Dorothy falls asleep. It’s reinforcing the previous Rip Van Winkle reference, and it’s a metaphor for complacency by heads, brought on by the constant barrage of rappers who claim street, but are really pre-packaged pawns of the record labels, who’ve been told what image to portray to increase sales (‘orchestrated’ is the key word).

All of this links to the next bit of the line, as a gauntlet) is a form of military punishment where a man is forced to run between two rows of armed men who hits him. Describing New York City as an orchestrated brick gauntlet gives an image of the violence-ridden streets with tall buildings on either side.

Aes is suggesting that, while he stands innocently by, the die-hard fans of hip hop are falling into a state of sleep (like in Rip Van Winkle and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) due to the state of the game. This is being done in the birthplace of hip hop, NYC, with the poppy fields serving as a reminder that this music can sometimes lead to the death of those involved in it.