Thread by @nfreduagyeman

Cupid's Crooked Bow
———
This track is on the #NoWhereCool album—that monumental piece of art, that definite rap album loved by all—critics, rapheads, & laymen alike. Cupid's Crooked Bow is the love interpretation of #NoWhereCool.

https://twitter.com/Tokersi/status/1642356784080863232?t=yHh17VPQyA2rcNvBDmdtfA&s=19

M.anifest is a virtuoso in album making—messaging, interpretation of title into each track with each track addressing a different angle of the title, & track arrangement.

The GodMC enlisted the support of Nomisupasta (Nomi-super star) on this track.

nomisupasta.com

One thing with Mdot's collaborations is that, they're more focused on complementarities & synergies. The collaborator should first & foremost be appropriate for the track, should enhance the sounds & message & overall quality of the song.

It's not about who's on top, who's riding the waves at the time & who will sell, commercially, the album, even if they're not fit for track. This focus is testament to his anthem "Art Comes First".

This has seen Mdot feature many least known artistes, some of whom way before they became household names. His two recent projects—the #MTTUAlbum & #TheEpilogue—are classic examples.

———
Intro: Nomisupasta

Ulimenemene m'ntuwam
Uphosisa, udeuziphosele emlilweni
Qha ke, uthando alupheli
Move in closer to me to my heart
———

Nomisupasta used code-switching, which is alternating between two or more languages. This device is used in many parts of song. According to Google Translate, which is sometimes wrong, this Xhosa intro means

"You are a liar, my friend
You make a mistake, you throw yourself into the fire
However, love never ends"

If we accept this, remotely, as the correct interpretation, then we are off with a love story imbued with tension, stretching at its seams with the lovers locked in by their

fingertips hanging on & hoping to not let go.

It's obvious one of them is being described as a liar but the last line, "However, love never ends", shows that irrespective of how one of them is behaving, the love still exists & they're determined to hold on.

Love isn't a switch to put off once you're fed up or done.

Hence, move in closer to me, to my heart. She's calling him, bringing him closer. Love is beautiful.

As an aside, Xhosa is spoken as a first language by approximately 8.2m people and as a second language by another 11m by the amaXhosa ethnic group mostly in South Africa, particularly in Eastern, Western, & Northern Cape & Gauteng, & also in parts of Zimbabwe & Lesotho.

———
Verse 1

Wo na wo se wo nsuro dangerous
That be why you chose to hang with us
You ignore what you saw on the tour bus
Met your confidence with compliments you were all flush
Plus you google us, our circles not google plus
And i made you blush with my schoolboy crush

Mind wanders, i wonder is she facetious much
I know better than to rush
———

This quadrilingual song—Xhosa, English, Twi, & pidgin—opens its first verse in Twi with a narrative of how the two lovers met. "Wo na wo se wo nsuro dangerous"—you were the one who claimed/said you aren't afraid of that which is "dangerous" (transliteration).

Semantically, "you chose to hang out with us because you weren't afraid of us". You ignored all the signs, all the seemingly dangerous & reprehensible acts you saw on the bus. This is a groupie thing—the lady came on board the tour bus to hangout with the team/the musicians.

The line "You ignore what you saw on the tour bus" (imagery) has a multiplicity of rhymes, as "ignore" rhymes with "saw" & "tour".

The one she's currently with, the one she's accusing of being a liar but still loves, met her confidence with compliments—

ignore everything she saw going on on the bus. So he met that confidence with compliments (commendations). She blushed (flush) from the compliments. There's an alliteration on the "c" as in "compliments" & "confidence", both of which are half-rhymes.

"Plus you you google us, our circles not google plus"—in addition (plus), you searched for us to know more about us (Google has become a verb synonym for "online search"), but their circle isn't Google plus (their social circle isn't on social media).

It isn't mainstream or easily accessible online.

Google developed and ran a social media network called Google Plus, which was scrapped in 2019. "Circles was a core feature of the Google+ Social Platform. It enabled users to organise people into groups or lists for

for sharing across various Google products and services" (Wikipedia).

techtarget.com/whatis/definit…

The use of "Plus" at the beginning and end of the line is referred to as Symploce. In addition, Google is used twice & each use has different meaning (Antanaclasis). The first meaning is "online search" (you google us) & the second use is the social media network (Google plus).

In addition, "circles" is used as a pun. When she googled them, she found out that their "circles", friendship group/groupies, isn't their "Google Plus Circles" (see previous explanation for "Google Plus Circles").

There's an internal rhyme in the line—"Plus you google us, our circles not google plus", as "us" rhymes with "plus". In fact, there are multiple rhymes as the first word rhymes with the middle word which also rhymes with the last word—"plus", "us", "plus".

Also, "plus" (2x) rhymes with "dangerous", "us", & "bus".

He made her blush with his compliments, which is a result of being his crush—someone he's infatuated with. The use of "schoolboy" is an adjectival metaphor.

It shows the innocence & naivety—pretentious or otherwise—of his actions. Perhaps he couldn't control his laughter, he was hiding his face, he was blabbering, doing too much to impress her. That's, he pleasantly unsettled her with his actions.

The use of blush emphasises the line "Met your confidence with compliments you were all flush". The line "And i made you blush with my schoolboy crush" also have internal rhymes on "blush" & "crush". "Blush" rhymes with flush, both mean the same thing, & also with "crush"& "rush"

His mind wanders (lost in thought) & he wonders (is curious), given his actions, her blushes, her mindless attention to what is going on in the tour bus, if she's a jovial, humorous, flippant (facetious) person. Someone who takes & makes jokes & takes things lightly.

However, he pauses. He wants to takes his time & find out—he knows better than to rush.

It's ironical, because that shows that his "schoolboy crush" act were just the uncontrolled manifestations of love.

He can act maturely when needed. Just as he's decided to do (not to "rush", rhymes with "flush", "blush", "crush", & nearly with "much").

———
Eternal sunshine of the spotless and mindless
Before long we so far gone in the same address
Sweet fornication on a golden mattress
Midas touch when i caress her breast
I confess to promiscuous one night stands

But she's impetuous, still let's me get in her pants
She dey online for the tweets, pics gossip and bants
———

From here onwards, the rapper steps up the wooing vibes. He refers to the lady as "eternal sunshine of the spotless & mindless". The slight variation of this line—Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind—is the title of a Michel Gondry movie that featured Jim Carrey & Kate Winslet.

It is also a line in Alexander Pope's poem, Eloisa to Abelard, in the 14th verse of the 25-verse poem,

"How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;"

"Eternal sunshine" refers to a mind/person that does not concern themselves with, or worry about/brood over, past experiences & let things go quickly; they live in the moment & are always happy. They let go of unpleasant experiences or situations & do not hold onto anything.

The preferred reference will be Alexander Pope's poem given the similarities of the subject being addressed.

Mdot use of "spotless" & "mindless" are indicative of how unencumbered & free-spirited the lady is. She's mindless of the things they were doing—something most women

would have fretted or initiated a quarrel over, or accounted for & left the bus. "Spotless" rhymes with "mindless" (lack of mind or consciousness).

Before long they had hooked up under one roof—living together ("same address" is a synecdoche for "the same house"). This shows that they have moved many steps further in their talks. "Long" rhymes with "gone" (internal rhyme).

And then they're arms in arms on their golden mattress, breaking one of the two most difficult to keep ten commandments, which means none of them is married (sweet fornication—oxymoron).

The rapper describes the movements of his hands/fingers on her breast (which rhymes with "spotless", "mindless", "address", "mattress", "caress", & "confess") as "Midas touch" (hyperbole & allusion).

In the Midas Touch Greek myth story, anything Midas touched turned into gold (allusion). Today, it means everything one touches becomes successful (hyperbole).

Thus, the rapper is insinuating that his caresses on the breast (internal rhymes—"caress" vs "breast") is having the desirable effects. In the bosom of a loved one, reasoning sometimes ceases.

The rapper confesses to past deeds—of engaging in promiscuities (having more than one sexual partner at a time) & one-night stands (having a one time sexual encounter with someone).

This could be indicative of the intentions of the rapper—to keep this lady serious or to bed her & leave. In fact he adds that even though she's impulsive, rash (impetuous), she allows him to "get into her pants" (metaphor for sex & "pants" is a for "sex").

The last word of the line "Midas touch when i caress her breast", (breast) rhymes with the second word in the line "I confess to promiscuous one night stands" (confess).

As an aside, if you read the last word in the previous line ("breast") with the last word of this line ("stands"), you'll get the effects of the rapper's Midas touch—"breast stands".

The lines "I confess to promiscuous one night stands/But she's impetuous, still let's me get in her pants", rhyme at two different places—in the middle (promiscuous & impetuous) & at the end (pants & stands).

Her disregard of unimportant things, & because of her nature as an "eternal sunshine of the spotless and mindless", allows her to function effectively online, especially on Twitter—where she comes for tweets, pics, gossips, & bants (rhymes with "pants" & "stands").

"Bants" means "banter", a synonym for "agenda" (social media lingo).

There's an alliteration & consonance of the sibilant "s" scattered across the lines—"sunshine", "spotless", "mindless", "so", "same", "address", "sweet", "mattress", "Midas", "caress", "breast", "confess",

"promiscuous", "stands", "she's", "impetuous", "still", "let's", "pants", "tweets", "pics", "gossip" and "bants".

———
In love with my acid rap but leaves nothing to chance
She holds hands, enjoying this vagabond's romance
She dey laugh at my scandalous chants
A penny for your thoughts a dollar if you will pole dance
Pardon me i’m just a vagabond man
———

Acid rap is a "subgenre of hip hop music, fusing rock-based beats and lyrics involving subjects such as death, drug use, evil, paranoia and sex".

Though she's in love with his voice & music (acid rap), she leaves nothing to chance (or is prepared for all eventualities or to do all that's required to keep the love burning).

Also, Acid rap is the title of a 2013 Mixtape by Chance the Rapper. Consequently, the rapper alludes to Chance the rapper's Mixtape while also showing that the lady is not leaving everything to the mere expression of love or to chance (double entendre).

She holds his hands & enjoy his romance (internal rhyme "hands" & "romance"). The rapper refers to himself as "vagabond"—wanderer, a nomad with elevated unpredictability in his life. Wanderer is how you can describe a rapper who's always on the road.

This line creates an image of the speaker's provocative behaviour and the woman's amused response. She laughs at his scandalous chants (imagery & metaphor & a hyperbole on "chants")—his stories of one night stands, promiscuities, & his moans & groans on the golden mattress.

A penny for your thoughts is what we say when we want to know what someone, who's looking pensive, is thinking. "A penny for your thoughts" means tell me what you're thinking—what's on your mind? That's, share your thoughts with me or poledance & let me put the dollar on you.

This line signifies the things they're doing to solidify their love—they leave nothing to chance (rhymes with "hands", "romance", "chants", & "dance"). They are determined to work on the love.

And if she finds what he says too crude then pardon him, he's a vagabond child—a vagrant leading an unsettled life. It's easy to spot the joviality in the use of "vagabond". However, the idea of the rapper seeking "pardon" for his words & actions is ironical given the provocative

words, unconventional behaviour, rebelliousness, & the candour & the lady's amusing responses presented throughout the verse.

———
Chorus: Nomisupasta

You could have nothing at all
No shoes on your feet
Sihlel'elwandle at the beach
Your hustle is sweet
There's something special about you
There's something special about you
———

The lady comes back in to restate her love for the man. She's reinforcing the love she described in the intro. She adds that it won't matter if he had no shoes on his feet (rhymes with "sweet"), they are going to the beach—"Sihlel'elwandle". Because his hustle is sweet.

She compares his hustle to a walk on the beach. Sometimes uncomfortable, with the sand swallowing your feet & making the walk uneven, but it's always, always, enjoyable. There's something special about him. When the love is genuine, everything about it is enjoyable.

———
Verse 2

I no dey do pick up lines to pick up dimes
Her phone on silent many calls she only picks up mine
When she bore the code silverado, pick up time
Concoction, liquor up, now we both make fine

Against dey we for pray, cast and bind
Emphasis all caps, bold, underline
Both guilty of crime of the love kind
We draw from emotions, it’s art and design
———

The rapper doesn't do "pick up lines" to "pick up dimes". A dime is the smallest amount of money or a tenth of a cent. The rapper does not waste his "pick up lines" on people who aren't worthy of it. This means that the lady means a lot, is worth a lot, to him.

"Dimes" rhyme with "lines". There's also the alliteration on the "p" sound, which adds to the musicality of the line.

Though people are buzzing her line, she only "picks up mine" (rhymes with "dimes" & "lines"). This is suggestive of loyalty & devotion to the love.

And when "she bore" (pidgin—when she's angry), the resolution "code" is to pick her up in a Silverado (the Chevrolet Silverado is a pick up truck). Thus, there is a word play on pick up. One is direct & the other is imaginative.

When she's angry, he knows that it's pick up time (rhymes with "dime") with his pick up truck (in his silverado). It's a code to have fun.

There are therefore four uses of "pick up" in the first three lines with different meanings (antanaclasis).

The fifth is an imaginative association in the physical manifestation of "silverado":

1. Pick up lines — introduction phrases used to initiate a romantic conversation
2. Pick up dimes —picking up worthless things
3. Pick up mine —receive/accept my call

4. Pick up time —time to go for a ride/for rendezvous
5. Silverado —pickup truck.

When she's angry, he picks her up to lighten her up. They go to a pub, have some drink, & get tipsy—"Concoction, liquor up, now we both make fine".

"Liquor up" is a metaphor for drinking & "we both make fine" is pidgin for "we are both tipsy". This line, & others, have an alliteration/consonance on the "c/k" sound, as in "concoction", "liquor", & "make". Others: "code", "pick" (4x), "caps", "cast", "crime", & "kind".

They understand that there are those who don't approve of their love & against these people they must "pray, cast, & bind" (rhymes with "find"). "Against" is used as a pun—first, as a noun for all those who are wishing them ill (as in "Against united adɛn dɛn na ɛha mo" —#MTTU).

Second, it's used as a preposition, as in let's pray against those who wish them ill).

This is so important that it should be emphasised by writing it in all caps, bolden, & underline (rhymes with "bind" & "fine" & alliteration on the "l" sound)—the entire line is a

metaphor for focus. In official writing any one of them is enough. Not even two are to be used together. So to use all three—caps bold, & underline—shows how important this is.

They're guilty of the crime of the love kind (rhymes with "bind", "fine", & "underline"). What crime do you commit with love? You steal each other's heart. Unless you're Whitesnake who sang "Guilty of Love", it's ironical to describe love as a crime—

the love kind of crime (oxymoron). Like love committing a crime (personification).

He says "we draw from emotions"—we take our love from emotions. Love is emotive. Also, literally draw from our emotions, we create from our emotions.

It's art. It's design (which rhymes with all the end words of the previous lines). That's, love is an art. Love is design. You draw the love you want. You design it the way you both want.

———
When she mad she guilt trips me for many miles
Pick her up in a beamer now she beaming smiles
She dey dream of miles bitches brew
Who woulda knew
Deɛ okyi, random women sending me nudes
But dem just be interludes
We still a good match, no be format

If we both broke an oath whatchu call that
Ɔse me voice na ɛyɛ wo dɛ, so here are some more raps
Relax
———

The line "when she mad she guilt trips me for many miles" emphasises the line "when she bore the code silverado, pick up time". When she's angry, she makes him feel guilty (emotional manipulation) for many miles (metaphor for a long time, taking him on a mental journey of all the

things he's done; also alliteration on the "m"—mad...me for many miles). It could also literally mean that when she's angry, he takes her on a "guilt trip" (or a trip/joyride) for many miles to unwind & calm down—it'll take many miles of driving to restore her to herself.

He picks her up in a "beamer" (slang for BMW & a pun) & this unlocks her jaws & sends her beaming with smiles (rhymes with miles). The use of beamer & beaming has both an alliteration of the "b", consonances on the "m" sounds, & an assonance of the "ea" vowel sound, which is also

repeated in "dream" in the next line. We also see the repetition of the "pick up" phrase in this line.

"She dey dream of miles bitches brew"—the rapper could perhaps be using "miles" as a metaphor for flying & "bitches brew" as a metaphor for cleansing balm or a palliative care.

Anyone who's a frequent flyer understands what "miles" means & represents. Hence, "miles" might be a metaphor for flight & it's something she dreams about. It has a palliative effect on her actions & demeanour. And who would have "knew" (rhymes with "brew".

The rapper took poetic license in the use of "knew" over "known").

"Bitches Brew" is also an allusion to an album by Miles Davis. The album is considered as an important influence on jazz rock & as one of jazz's greatest albums which influenced many crossover artistes in the 70s

What she hates (deɛ/nea okyi, Twi) is when random women send him nudes (rhymes with "brew" & "knew"). This is an irony, as all through the verses we are showed a lady who isn't concerned about many things & has an "eternal sunshine of the spotless and mindless" character.

The line made use of code-switching.

But this also makes us human—emotions. Irrespective of who we are there are a or two thing that affects us. However, either the rapper considers the "nudes" as "interludes" (rhymes with "nudes", "brew", & "knew"),

i.e brief intervening event of no significance, or her reactions to the nudes are as brief as "interludes".

They are just hiccups & they don't affect the fact that they're a good match. His show of love, his compliments, "no be format" (pidgin for "not deceptive".

"Format" is the piles of lies & half truths—the bundle of actions & words—plied to convince someone to give us, or do, what we want. For instance, in matters of relationships & sexual encounters, it's the bundle of what we say (including the compliments we give)

& do to get into a woman's pants, mostly for a brief period—one night, one week, one month. Though "format", to some extent, can be described as pickup lines, "format" can extensive, elaborate, & intended to deceive or present a false persona).

And the rapper doesn't consider his actions as format/pretence.

The rapper asks that if they both broke an oath, what will you call that (rhymes with "format"). This somewhat implies that while he receives nudes from random women, the lady

have also done something, which isn't apparent in the verses.

Ɔse me voice na ɛyɛ wo dɛ (she says she's in love with my voice), if so here are some more raps (relax). The rapper is willing to do the things she likes for her.

———
Bridge: Nomisupasta

My feet touch no ground
I move through cities, people, spirits, ever closer to you
———

The lady seems to confirm that she's constantly picked up by her "boo" either in the Silverado pickup or the beamer, hence her "feet touch no ground" even as she moves "through cities, people, spirits"; she's ever closer to him.

The presence of "spirits" in this list might unsettle some people but in Africa, spirits and people intermingle, which makes this line unambiguous.

She might also be referring to moving closer in "spirit" & "emotions".

If you love someone in your heart, they are always with you wherever you go. You overcome the physical barrier of time & space & become the embodiment of each other. They don't need to move to get closer. They are just there. Always.

———
Outro: Nomisupasta

There's something special about you
There's something special about you
I feel it in the way you move
I feel it in the things you do
There's something special about you
There's something special about you
Ever closer to you
———

The repetition of "there's something special about you" (the refrain) adds more positivity to the love & posits the love within an emotive context. One could feel the emotions oozing from these lines. You can visualise it on her face as she says them.

And she senses these specialness from the way he moves, the things he does ("do" rhymes with "you" & "move" (half rhyme)). And this brings her closer to him.

The lines "I feel it in the way you move/I feel it in the things you do" employs anaphora.

The use of anaphora, the repetition of "I feel it" at the beginning of the successive lines creates a sense of intimacy and personal connection between the lady and the rapper. "You move", "you do" & "to you" are double rhymes.

Finally, the title. @Tokersi presented a good description of the title. Cupid is the Roman god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. His Greek counterpart is Eros. He's presented as a young boy with bow & arrow.

https://twitter.com/Tokersi/status/1642430651558232064?t=Lww9xLENBDc4_vfB98F15A&s=19

Anyone who's shot by his arrow becomes "filled with uncontrollable desire".

But the rapper described this bow as crooked. Bows are smoothly curved & give direction to the arrow. A crooked bow is imperfect & misdirects the arrow. Simply, love isn't perfect.

If you're looking for perfection, don't look for it in love. And this is subject of the song. It captures the infatuation, the desire, the love, the bonding, the secrets, the mistakes, the willingness to keep going, the acceptance of mistakes, the expression of love.

This is the circle of love. You mature after every rotation but the issues don't change primarily.

ADDENDUM I

So you see how Google Translate does a bad job at translation (2 out of 3 correct)? Someone reached out with the translation of the "intro".

See the picture attached for the complete breakdown of the lines.

The man lies through his teeth but she still loves him.

ADDENDUM II

I left a word out in this

In fact he adds that even though she's impulsive, rash (impetuous), she allows him to "get into her pants" (metaphor for sex & "pants" is a *metonym* for "sex").

https://twitter.com/nfreduagyeman/status/1642439306466799616?t=nSup73PcycR_qCqRC6Xzdg&s=19

ADDENDUM III

Listen to #CupidsCrookedBow here

open.spotify.com/track/3hIhifWP…

.@threadreaderapp, unroll