Breakdown of "Who Killed It"...
First The LYRICS:
look here see, pretty mike shanked two face al
over some gal
find the body dead in the aisles
death by strangulation, microphone cord a dirty broad
guess theyll never play it again Sam
damn that was my jam
now she's on the lamb
she made it out wit 200 grand
what a scam
while these two compete on who's the star of the show
golden legs there makes off wit the doe
I read the paper there wit joe da butcher
he said "one glance is all it took ya, she's a real looker
they say her old mans a bootlegger
transporting in any weather and at this rate we'll never get her"
fellas think its time to call it a night
all this talk of this mystery dames gettin me tight
thought I saw her in my eyesight, right
hate to spoil the party
what are you guys havin? the same?
waiter another round for the gang
its strange how I always felt outta place
joe da butchers my ace, but in comes freckle face
so I said see you later
fore hurt him and his two ugly thumb breakers
met them in louisiana wrestling gators
and any idiot can tell there involved wit the caper
so I pulled the revolver on my waist up
between the patrol car and the grey truck behind the streetlamp was a silouhette
white gloves and a real long cigarette
whattya ya know all this time she's got me in her scope
she spoke says " the devils got you guys be the throat
your conspiracy theories won't work without evidence
that's the reason why eric b is not president"
ya see?
look here see, I know you got soul your trying to hide it
how did you kill a man out in cypress?
one eyed charlie
he only hangs with the criminal minded
says you guys did it doggystyle is he lyin?
she says " walk this way ill tell you a childrens story
we hit the bodega got her a few 40s
we jumped in my ride
we drove and she cried
twist off the cap there and opened her mouth wide
swallowed it
whole bottles half empty
drinks like a fish, now she's past tipsy
truth came out as we got to her suave house
chopped and screwed her mouth and sat me on the couch
I said its gettin late cmon give it to me straight
who's ya sponsor lady?
she says bill gates
whattya born 77? 78?
she says "nah it goes way to an earlier date, slave times
claims the slaves said rhymes but she fell in love wit some fella named clive
who?
clive campbell from sedgwick ave, the bronx
now she shows me the cash
I said who's clive? don't play wit me skirt!
she said clive campbell.....he's kool herc
Ahaaa Ahaaaaa
listen up sweetheart, now we gettin somewhere
as she's talkin she starts vanishing in thin air
but before she drops the money bag on the floor and died
she said if you really love me, ill come back alive
----------------------------------------------------
SYNOPSIS
Now lets get some things straight since its a story there's characters, setting and plot
the plot is who killed hip-hop?
the setting is 1930s the golden era; the manifestation of jazz, mobsters, bootlegging and organized crime
the characters are nas the detective and his partner joe da butcher
freckle face who is joe da butchers connection to the underworld
and hip-hop who is the girl in the story a.k.a. the gal
now what happens is pretty mike and two face al kill each other and the gal runs off with the money
pretty mike and two face al are B.I.G. & Tupac and its a psuedonym for Hip-Hop maximizing its commercialism which is why the gal runs off with the money
the murder of two face al is directly referencing tupac dying first
now this all occured at some club where the classic jams go on sung by the gal
that is why nas says damn that was my jam because she will never be singing there again
the setting is further portrayed through the uses of a microphone cord as the murder weapon and the fact the body was found in the aisle
Now, Joe Da Butchers represent the average hip-hop listener
His name simply breaks down to joe a.k.a. the average joe schmo and da butcher part is a reference to "chewing the fat" which means just kicking simple convo chillin
Now after joe mentions to nas that he realizes he's falling for her nas hits the bar a lil aggitated.
He realizes its the same scene at the bar but says fuck it and drinks are on him. That represents nas going commercial and he admits it, but tries to counteract that by saying "but I always felt outta place" which means he sold out but still puts out real Hip-Hop.
The symbolism in the bar scene is that joe the da butcher is nas partner but his southern connects (freckle face and company) are involved wit this crime
joe is none the wiser a.k.a. the average listener supports southern music regardless of all this south trash talk (jeezy,ludacris,lil jon,rick ross)
nas gets a lil ticked off and heads outside and realizes the gal has been trailin him the whole time
that's basically saying that even though he didn't know it, Hip-Hop HAS been followin him for a while
next thing she steps out the shadow and he says "all this time she had me in her scope"
in her scope = interscope
nas starts the story saying "death by strangulation" but "death" = Def(Jam)
Basically he was saying that Def Jam started the "killing" (when it commercialized hip-hop) and now interscope
runs it
at this point he is saying the Crackers took control of the art hence the reference to "Conspiracy Theories" behind this "whodunit"
"that's why Eric B is not president" pretty much sums it up
so Def Jam chokeholded the game and then other labels like universal picked it up.
at this point nas has some evidence so he starts interrogating the broad
"I know you have soul quit tryin to hide it" is obviously saying that hip-hop has soul but its obscured by the commercialism
NaS uses the interrogation wisely by bringing up cypress hill and snoop dogg referencing the classics just flippin the phrases
If you can't figure this out then your pretty fuckin stupid:
She (Hip-Hop) supposedly killed a man in cypress - Cypress Hill "How I could just kill a man".
(Alternate Meaning/Possible Reference: When "she" {Hip-Hop} supposedly killed a man in cypress it could also be a reference to the beginning of the The Bridge Wars and the Death of DJ Scott LaRock. The Bridge Wars was a Hip-Hop rivalry during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, that arose from a dispute over the true birthplace of hip hop music and retaliation over the rejecting of a record for airplay. The Bridge Wars originally involved The South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions, led by KRS-One, and Marley Marl's Juice Crew, hailing from Queensbridge. The rivalry resulted in DJ Scott LaRock being killed in the South Bronx, Cypress Projects....but I think there's a Cypress Projects in B.K so i'm not sure.....Nevertheless the The Bridge Wars was the beginning of the BEEF Era when Hip-Hop started gettin' Violent over lyrics)
And one eyed charlie (krs-one) who only hangs with the criminal minded (BDP) said they did it doggystyle (snoop dogg) but obviously referencing sex
at this point she puts everything in perspective for nas IN ORDER because nas was out of chronological order by mentioning 92 then 91 then 88:
so she begins by asking him to "walk this way" (run dmc) and she will tell him a childrens story (slick rick)
this is starting out raw hip-hop in the 80s
"got her a few 40s" is now referencing the west coast era domination as well hoppin in the "ride"
at this point hip-hop started losing "it" because it was being bombarded by commercial gangsterism and losing its origins
The getting "tipsy" part refers to hip-hop totally losing control and becoming almost completely pop (the bad boy era). It can also be a refference to J-Kwon and the beat he sampled which NaS is rappin' over.
"as we got to her suave house chopped and screwed her mouth" is now moving on to the south moving on in at the close of the shiny suit era and is cleverly flipped to nas getting oral sex by hip-hop he finally gave in
after he fucks her, she spills the beans and tells him that Bill Gates sponsored her to destroy hip-hop through means of downloading and extreme piracy
Remember, hip-hop's father was a bootlegger and now her sponsor is one of the largest helpers in the creation of bootlegging
at this point she just breaks down and admits she is IMMORTAL because no regular human could be alive in BOTH slave times AND the Present.
she says she came from that era and had many lovers since but her one true love was kool herc (pioneer of hip-hop, some say sole creator)
But then she obviously fucked him over and fell to the pressure of the root of all evil, money (the 200 grand) (by the way 200 grand in 1930 is worth MILLIONS)
At this point the gig is up and she begins to fade away magically but lets NaS know it's his inner spirit that really keeps hip-hop alive.
She really didn't need the money in the End
Later, QD.
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Originally Posted by toonz
