Thread by @nfreduagyeman

Damn You Rafiki
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Damn You Rafiki follows the trajectory of #BEAR, #NoLongTalk, #KeepShining, & #GodMC. It's about a rapper making a bold statement about his rap artistry & skills set. It's an exhibition of lyrical prowess, dexterity & technical knowhow

https://twitter.com/Tokersi/status/1647508691858358272?t=VeB8ufoqzH8Niw8h3T7OwA&s=19

Rafiki is Swahili for "friend"—Damn You Friend. "Damn You" is used to express anger, especially when used in a heated argument. However, if it's used in a non-incendiary banter, it could be interpreted as playful.

In this instance, even though the use of "friend" sort of waters it down, its use is incendiary, as the rap is in full attack mode.

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Refrain

Monkey dey work baboon dey chop, you no dey see so
———

Monkey dey work, baboon dey chop is a colloquial axiom about life. This aphorism is about free riders—people who benefit at another's expense. The monkey works & the baboon chops (slang for "eats") at his expense. Someone does the hard work and another benefits at his expense.

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Verse

The u.n.i. verse smiles on you and I first
I started my verse with word play, it works
Your honor my submission, I no go rap for no purpose
My only competition me versus my old verses
If wishes were horses and unicorns were Porsches

Then I dey go the stable and dealership, no remorses
Awiase ayɛ hu, low lives on their high horses
———

"The u.n.i. verse smiles on you and I first"—this is word play on many levels. First, the "You & I verse"—our verse—smiles on "You & I"—us—first.

In this way "You & I" can loosely be described as a Diacope. Second, "u.n.i. verse" is the rapper's creative way of saying that the "universe" smiles (personification) on "you and I first". The universe smiling on us means good fortune, good luck, & good tidings befall us.

The second line is a metawriting wherein the rapper describes his writing process—he says he started his verse with word play, it works. The rapper is referring to the first line & the word play displayed in that line. And yes, it works.

The metawriting continues to the third, and at least fourth, lines. In the former, the rapper directly addressed (direct address) an invisible judge (allusion) about his objective or aim for rapping.

He claims he won't rap for no purpose, implying that every rap of his addresses issues, has an objective or purpose; he won't rap in vain. Addressing an invisible person, in this case an invisible judge, is referred to as an apostrophe.

He asserts that his only competition at this moment is him & his old verses (personification—competition between verses). That's, there's no competition external to him. All he's doing is to better himself.

Many times we've seen Mdot taking poetic license to rephrase popular idioms to suit his subject. In line five, he did exactly that by changing "if wishes were horses, beggars would ride" to "if wishes were horses and unicorns were Porsches/Then I dey go the stable and dealership,

no remorses". This is an enjambment that extends that 1628 proverb & nursery line. The rapper has modernised the proverb by extending it to cover new & desirable forms of movement, while keeping it's traditional roots.

So wishes remain being horses but unicorns (mythical creatures) become Porsches (super cars). In times past horses were the desirable things and no amount of wishing will make you have one if you don't have the money required.

Similarly, today, Porsches are a high-end sports cars that are desired and no amount of wishing will land them on one's lap. They are also as rare as unicorns.

However, if merely wishing/desiring them bring them to the "wisher", then the rapper is heading to the stable to get the horses & the dealership to get the Porsch. And there will be no regrets (remorses) or second thoughts.

Awiase ayɛ hu (code-switching—the world has become scary) as we see lowlives (people of low social status/low moral character) on their high horses (idiom—to be filled with arrogance). The world now is filled with arrogant, pompous, presumptuous people of low moral character.

This seems to align with some of Mahatma Gandhi's Seven Deadly Sins. In addition to "wealth without work", "pleasure without conscience", we can add "power (which makes us arrogant) without character".

The use of "lowlives" & "high horses" is antithetical as it balances, semantically (not contextually), a negative word (low) with positive one (high).

"Verses" are scattered all through the lines—in line 1, 2, & 4. This is referred to as conduplicatio. All seven lines rhyme fully or nearly on their last syllables—"first", "works", "purpose", "verses", "Porsches", "remorses", & "horses".

There are several intra-line internal

rhymes in this verse:
—Line 1 has double internal rhyme—"u.n.i." & "You and I"; "first" & "verse"
—Line 2: "verse" & "works"
—Line 3: "no", "go", & "no"
—Line 4: "versus" & "verses" & "only" & "old"
—Line 5: "horses" & "Porsches"
—Lines 6: "go" & "no"

And inter-line internal rhymes:
—Lines 1 & 2: "verse" & "verse"
—Lines 3 & 4: "submission" & "competition"
—Lines 4 & 5: "versus" & "horses"
—Lines 6 & 7: "go", "no", & "low"

There is an alliteration of the "v" sound in "verses" (3x), "versus"; alliteration/consonance on the "s" sound in "verse", "smiles", "started", "works", "submission", "purpose", "versus", "wishes" "horses", "Porsches", "unicorns", "stables", "remorses", etc.

The repetition of versus in the middle of line 1 & 2 is referred to as mesodiplosis. The use of "horses" in "if wishes were horses" & "high horses" is referred to as antanaclasis, as the use/meaning of "horses" differ in each instance.

The use of the double negatives in the line "I no go rap for no purpose" is referred to as Litotes.

———
Man of influence, well what is it he endorses?
He's somewhere in Ghana according to the sources
Somewhere in America some folks burning crosses
(O kkk kay)

No grind no shine no blind no bliss
A lion is a cat does that make him a pussy? (oh shit)
I've been telling these cats no joke don't push me
———

The first line is sarcasm. The rapper is either addressing someone (apostrophe), calling him by their acquired epithet,

or addressing an issue, though he seems to disagree with that title—"Man of influence"—by asking "what is it he endorses?". What is he endorsing (advocating) that makes him influential? What's he influencing? Trash? Excellence?

The rapper seems to believe that to be described as "influential" you must be influencing something worthwhile. Packaging trash or advocating nonsense does not make you influential. Does it?

The "man of influence" is "somewhere in Ghana, according to the sources" but "somewhere in America some folks are burning crosses" (allusion to KKK; imagery).

The burning of crosses is one of the tactics generally used o terrorise African Americans, Roman Catholics, Jews, and others hated by the KKK, though they've also been employed by non-KKK groups or individuals for similar purposes.

The rapper used line 4 to pivot & launch into tangential topics. In line 5, the rapper is saying that if you don't struggle/put your nose to the grind, you won't succeed—"No grind no shine no blind no bliss". That's to achieve success & happiness one must put in the work/effort.

One can either grind things to powder or use the grinding stone to sharpen the tools needed for work. That's use suffer to shine; be blind to pain to enjoy the bliss.

A lion belongs to the cat family (felidae), which includes tigers, leopards, lynxes, pumas, jaguars, panthers, cheetahs, bobcats, snow leopards, & the domesticated cat or pussycat. However, their ferociousness differ.

The pussycat is the least ferocious & the smallest of the cats, size-wise, while the lion is arguably the most ferocious. That's, do we call the lion a pussy just because it's a cat? "The lion is a cat" (metaphor), "does that make him a pussy?"

(using "him" for "cat" could be described as anthropomorphism & the entire line is a paradox). No, it doesn't. Also, a pussy is a docile, timid, and generally coward person (especially a man).

The rapper is saying that they may all be cats (jargon for rappers, acts (an anagram)) but some are lions, tigers, leopards, & others may be pussies (cats—different temperaments & ferocity) hence they—the detractors, the others—don't have to push him to find out which kind of

cat he is—"I've been telling these cats no joke don't push me". This line is a warning to these timid cats, the pussies, not to push him to unleash his ferocity. The use of cats in these two lines have different meanings (rappers vs animals) & this is referred to as antanaclasis.

The first three lines rhyme on their last two syllable (end rhyme)—"endorses", "sources", & "crosses". This is is a continuation of the previous rhymes—"horses", "Porsches", & "remorses". It can be stretched to cover all the end rhymes in the previously discussed verse.

Lines 6 & 7 rhyme—"pussy" & "me".

There's a consonance on the "i" sound in line 5—"grind", "shine", "blind", "bliss"; the "b" sound in "blind" & "bliss"; the "c/k" sound in line 3—"America", "folks", & "crosses".

The repetition of "somewhere" at the beginning of lines 2 & 3 is referred to as Anaphora. The repeat of "no" in line 5—"No grind no shine no blind no bliss" is referred to as conduplicatio & the lack of conjunctions makes it a asyndeton.

The tone of the verse is assertive and confident, with the rapper warning others not to underestimate or provoke him. The use of slang adds to the overall tone of the verse.

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I'm attracted to women that are beautiful and discreet
At bush canteen chewing on bush meat
Wondering one day will Osama and George Bush meet
My manager stressing me about features
Chasing features can feel so needless
But we dey need them, and others need we

But I go beast feast solo if needs be
I'm way up it's a blessing
Every Tom, Dick, and Zayn don't need to move in one direction
So what if most of my songs don't belong in the club?
We talking upper echelon I belong in that club
———

He's attracted to women who are beautiful & discreet (discerning, comport, prudent, unpretentious). Mdot is known for keeping his private life private & he's also said that he puts a lot of his life in his music. I'm very sure this is one of those intentional slippages.

The rapper is at the Bush Canteen (allusion to a popular eatery in Accra) and he's chewing "bush meat" (the general term for the game (animals hunted & killed in the wild) meat; imagery), while he wondering if Osama & George Bush (allusion; irony) will ever meet.

There's a homophonic pun on "meet" as in "Bush meet" vs "bush meat". This rap was written before Osama was killed by Obama's government. So, no, Osama & Bush did not meet.

Also, Osama & Bush were archenemies at the time and this creates a contrast between "good & evil".

On this fourth line, the rapper goes back to the meta-writing format but this time, it's more of the meta-creative process. His manager is stressing him about features—features for his songs or features on other people's songs? More likely the former.

But he feels chasing "features" can be needless "but we dey need them, and others need we". This line is clear that the features being discussed goes both ways—"but we dey need them" means other musicians featuring on his songs: while "and others need we" implies

he featuring on other musicians' songs/works. The use of "needless" contrasts with "but we dey need them" creates an irony and also an antithesis. The repetition of features in lines 4 & 5 is referred to as conduplicatio.

The repetition of the homophone "bush meat/meet" is referred to as epistrophe.

However, if the features don't work out, & if needs be, he'll go beast on solo projects, like this track. Many of M.anifest's Hip-Hop songs have been solo projects.

Different forms of "need" have been used from line 5 to 7 & this is referred to as polyptoton. Similarly, the use of "need(s)" in lines 5 & 6 can be referred to as antanaclasis, as "need" has slightly different meaning in each use.

In line 6 "need (them)/(we)" means we "want them" (require them/us). On line 6, "need be" means "necessary". The repetition of "need" in lines 6, 7, & 9, separated by a few words, is also conduplicatio.

He's way up, at the top & that's a blessing because not everyone (not every tom, dick, & zayn) has to to move in the one direction. M.anifest played on Tom, Dick, & Harry, which is an idiomatic way is saying "everyone", & changed it to Tom, Dick, and Zayn as an allusion to the

members of the One Direction band—Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik. He references/alludes to the band's name, One Direction, at the end of the line—"Every Tom, Dick, and Zayn don't need to move in one direction"—making it a pun.

And to emphasise that we all don't need to move in the same direction, do the same thing, as there are more than one way to the top, he asked, rhetorically, what if his songs don't belong to the club?

He's been criticised by some that his songs can't be played in the club. Here the rapper seems to suggest that there are many kinds of songs and we all don't have to make music for the club, however if you're referring to the "upper echelon", then he belongs in that club.

That's the only club he's interested in. The upper echelon is the highest rank in the military and in civilian life it's similar to bosses & CEOs. This confirms the earlier statement—"I'm way up it's a blessing".

Even in the allusion "Every Tom, Dick, and Zayn don't need to move in one direction", Malik Zayn left One Direction.

If his songs don't belong to the club, he belongs to the most important club for people who have achieved higher status in life—the league of extraordinary gentlemen. The repetition of "club" is first an epistrophe as it ends the last two lines, then an antanaclasis,

as it has different meanings on each use—the first use is "a nightclub" & the second use is "a group of people with common objectives of characteristics". "Belong" appears on line 10 & 11 and could be referred to as conduplicatio.

The rhyme scheme for this group of lines in the verse (the entire rap is one verse, no breaks, no hooks, no chorus) is "aaabbccddee"—"discreet", "meat", meet; "features", "needless"; "we", "be"; "blessing", "direction"; "club", "club".

There are many internal rhymes.

Intra-line internal rhymes are found in line 2—"bush" & "bush"; line 6—"we" & "we", "need" & "need"; line 7—"beast" & "feast"; line 8—"solo" & go"; line 10—"songs", "belong"; & line 11—"echelon" & "belong".

In addition, there are inter-line internal rhymes in lines 1 & 2—"women" & "canteen"; lines 2, 3, 4, & 5—"chewing", "wondering", "stressing", & "chasing"; lines 4 & 5—"features", "features"; & lines 10 & 11—"songs", "belong" & "belong".

There's an assonance of the "ee" sound in "discreet", "canteen", "meat", "meet", "features", "needless", "need(s)" (4x), etc.

———
When you walking with giants you should be defiant
Showing you the science the principle self-reliance
Broke former ties and formed a new alliance
I don't suit and tie, tie and dye with the mayans
Will never let nobody sit, on my happiness

Industry dey bore me I guess it's just a happy mess
Put that on my nappyness this the sounds of blackness
Back to the future who dare re-enact this
———

When you walk with giants (imagery; hyperbole), you should be defiant. When we associate with people of higher calibre,

we draw from their abilities for our own lives. This is another way of saying "show me your friends and I will show you your character" or "birds of a feather flock together". As an extension, there's a certain boldness that a person who knows what he's about carries.

They are determined to a fault, unyielding to a fault, intransigent to a fault, because they know their objective & have the required capacity & capability to carry it out. When you know the source of your strength, nothing bothers you.

The rapper used "giant" as symbolism for strength. There's an internal rhyme as "giants" rhymes with "defiant".

In the next line, the rapper says he will show us the science & principle of self reliance. Juxtaposing line 1 & 2 creates an irony.

In line 1, the rapper refers to having companionship among giants who sort of serve as a source of strength that makes him defiant to seeming obstacles. However, in line 2, the rapper is prepared to show us the science and principle of self-reliance.

Alternatively, the rapper could imply that the science/principle of self-reliance is linked to the people you surround yourself with; that these people influence you in many ways. The use of "showing you" is a direct address. "Science" rhymes with "self-reliance" (internal rhyme)

One of the ways the rapper developed his self-reliance is by breaking old ties & forming new alliances. Every stage in life requires new alliances and if the old ones can't suffice or become impediment to progress, they must be broken & new ones have to be formed.

There's an alliteration of the "f" sound & the assonance of the "o" sound in "former" & "formed". The line "Broke former ties and formed a new alliance" uses antithesis as a form of juxtaposition to balance two opposing ideas—"broke former ties" & "formed new alliances".

"Broke" is antithetical to "formed" & "former" is antithetical to "new".

In "I don't suit and tie, tie and dye with the mayans", the rapper uses the "suit and tie" (symbolism) to represent "formal"/"new"/"western" and "tie and dye" (symbolism) to represent the "traditional"/

"old"/"non-western". The rapper says he doesn't do formal/western apparels, perhaps an analogy for modern/western culture but prefers traditional dresses. Tie & dye is a form of fabric printing & the allusion to the Mayan civilisation, ancient Mesoamerican culture known for its

distinctive artwork and textile traditions, shows what attracts the rapper. The rapper pays homage to his roots.

The disregard for suit & tie for tie & dye could be an analogy for the rapper's disregard for formal work in favour for the arts or the creative enterprise.

"Tie" is used three times (including the previous line) & each use is different (antanaclasis). The first use—"broke former ties"—means bond/alliances; broke former bonds. The second use is the apparel accessory used together with suits (the flying tie or the bowtie);

& the third use means "bind", "fold tightly", "to fasten with a rope", "to form a knot". "Suit and tie" and "tie and dye" creates cultural contrasts or antithesis. The line has three rhyming words—"tie", "tie" & "dye" (internal rhymes)

& the repetition of "tie" is separated by a few words from each other (conduplicatio).

The rapper says he'll never let anyone sit on his happiness. "Sit on my happiness" personifies happiness. No one is going to prevent his happiness.

In the next line he made his thoughts about the industry known—"Industry dey bore me" (code-switching; pidgin—"The industry annoys/infuriates me"). He guess it's "just one happy mess". Perhaps, happy mess (oxymoron) for the players who are benefiting from the current structure or

who obtain some semblance of power & authority from the positions they currently occupy.

The Ghanaian music/creative industry is not functioning at optimal level. Most of the prerequisite structures needed for the industry to function at a reasonable efficiency are not in

place and the rudimentary ones that exist are practically just serving as a facade. Without a serious effort to address the underlying issues, the Ghanaian music/creative industry will continue to be little more than a shell of what it could be.

However, even though it's a mess the rapper finds some happiness inherent in it creating a semantic paradox (paradox that arises from the interpretation of the texts but which isn't obvious from the text).

There's an internal rhyme in this line—"guess" rhymes with "mess".

I admit that the last two lines are difficult to decode. Not their literal meaning but the contextual meaning. Perhaps the rapper is attributing the happiness he finds in this mess of an industry to his blackness—here symbolised by the word "nappyness", which is the fuzziness of

the black hair in its natural state. That is, "nappyness" is a metonym or symbol (symbolism) for blackness, as only the black hair has this quality.

That's, "put that on my nappyness this the sounds of blackness" suggests that one's root is important & that no matter how bad it

is, it's where home is. As messy as it is, that's what we have. "This the sound of blackness" seem to imply that this is the norm, the usual excuse, the sounds we make even when things aren't going well. There's an internal rhyme as "nappyness" rhymes with "blackness".

"Back to the future who dare re-enact this" (rhetorical question), is a reference to the popular 1985 sci-fi movie "Back to the Future" (oxymoron; allusion), directed by Robert Zemeckis. The rapper may be suggesting that he is pushing boundaries and creating something new and

innovative, like the movie did when it was released. The phrase "who dare re-enact this" could be a challenge to other artists to try and replicate this style, but ultimately, the rapper believes that his music is unique and can't be duplicated.

Given this interpretation we can reinterpret the previous line. "This the sounds of blackness" means his songs/sounds are futuristic with historical roots. That is, if you can imitate these sounds, do it & let's see. M.anifest is an avant-garde when it comes to his sounds;

he experiments & tries different sounds every now & then. For instance, the use of firikyiwa in Sumsum Praye

In his live performance of Scorpio Flow in Sharjah, he mixed in an old highlife song, Yaa Amponsah.

The Yaa Asantewa song recorded in 1928 has seen many renditions & this could be the first step towards mixing it with Hip-Hop.

afropop.org/audio-programs…

Furthermore, his rendition of Makaa Maka has a pronounced highlife sounds to it.

It is this approach of music-making, going back to the past and "futurising" the sounds that the rapper is referring to as he throws the gauntlet to others. Do it & let's see. And he's attributing it to his "nappyness", "his blackness.

The rhyme scheme is "aaaabbbb"—"defiant", "self-reliance", & "alliance"; "happiness", "mess", "blackness" & "mess". There are inter-line rhymes lines 1 & 2—"giants" & "science"; lines 2 & 3—"science" & "ties"; lines 3 & 4—"ties" & "tie"/"dye";

lines 4 & 5—"suit" & "sit" (half rhyme); lines 5 & 6—"sit" & "it's"; & lines 6 & 7—"guess" & "nappyness".

———
The throne is vacant for the taking
I know they visibly shaking they slept but now awaken
Shaking and baking hotline blinging, I'm I draking
The grass is always greener unless the cattle grazing
Rats still racing and paper chasing the bacon

No pork on my fork but red stripe like I'm Jamaican
Knife in the cork but won't wine about your ratings
Yes this native went off the reservation
Primal urge see I'm on the verge
———

The rapper doesn't see anyone on top. The throne is vacant/empty for the taking. The cats claiming to be king are late. They're visibly shaking (intimidated), seeing how the rapper has passed them to the throne as they slept.

The line suggests that there is an opportunity for the rapper to claim a position of power or success. The throne is a metaphor for "best" or something the rapper considers to be significant & important in the industry.

It is also a metonym for "King", which the rapper had already declared that they're late in laying claim (See #KeepShining).

He considers them to be asleep, a metaphor for being "unaware" or "ignorant".

And now that they've woken up, they're visibly shaking (intimidated) knowing that the throne they had considered to be safe has just been occupied. They could also be shaken by the rapper's skills set, ambition, & intention.

The use of "they slept but now awaken" shows or emphasises the hard work he's embarked on while they were having fun/relaxing.

In line 2, "shaking" rhymes with "awaken" (internal rhyme).

Also, the rapper juxtaposes "slept" with "awaken" to create an antithetical contrast, which adds meaning and emphasises the disparity between him and the others. "Visibly shaking" is a visual imagery that clearly depicts the state in which the other "cats" are in.

The third line uses wordplay, metaphors, & allusions to explore the ambitions & aspirations of the rapper. They're shaking & baking (feeling hot, sweating), calling/buzzing each other (hot line blinging—flashing; here "bling", which is the flashing of jewelleries is used as a

metaphor for the flashing lights of the phone), while the rapper is draking (reference to Drake). The line also makes an allusion to "Hotline Bling", a track on Drake's 2016 album "Views". "Shaking and baking" is also a metaphor for cooking, which

in turn is used as a metaphor for "working", "preparing", (also for energy & ambition) etc. That's the rapper is indicating that he's working hard, putting in all the ingredients required, & he's going to be as successful as Drake (music wise & also as an entrepreneur).

There are three internal double rhymes in the line—"shaking", "baking", & "draking" & four internal rhymes altogether—"blinging" in addition to these three.

"The grass is always greener on the other side" is how the popular idiom goes.

But Mdot took poetic liberties to restate it thus—"The grass is always greener unless the cattle grazing", which is also true. Whereas the original form implies that "life always seems better at the other side until you get there & realise it was as bad as/worse than where you

came from", this version suggests that "everything looks good until it isn't there anymore, or that everyone is OK with the status quo until someone makes moves to use/exploit the 'status'". The grass is greener until it's completely grazed & then there's no grass.

This is the example used to discuss Tragedy of the Commons. In a way, this emphasises the work the rapper is putting in while the others slept. "Grass is greener" is a metaphor for "luscious", "good tidings". The grass is greener but has to be used.

The grass is greener, it makes them green with envy but are they willing to put in the work?

There's the alliteration of the hard "g" sound in "grass", "greener", & "grazing".

"Rats still racing and paper chasing the bacon" (hyperbole)—"Rat race" "is a way of life in which people are caught up in a fiercely competitive struggle for power & wealth"; "paper chasing" is the the hustle/struggle for money.

"Chasing the bacon" is a Canadian family/group game where participants run a specific distance (sometimes 5km) either as a slice of bacon (bacon costume) or chase the bacon with their dog. In the end there's communal eating where different dishes with bacon are served.

The rapper in this line is referring to the phenomenon of chasing after something or working towards a goal, either the paper (metaphor for wealth) or a prize (bacon). The goal in this case is money or success, referred to as "the bacon." The line suggests that people are often

caught up in the pursuit of wealth and status, much like rats chasing after food, and are willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead. The use of the word "paper" also suggests that this pursuit of wealth is often tied to money and financial gain.

The line has an internal rhyme on "racing", "chasing" & "bacon". The first two are double rhymes.

"No pork on my fork but red stripe like I'm Jamaican" (simile on "like I'm Jamaican) —There's no pork on his fork (internal rhyme) but instead he has Red Stripe, like he's Jamaican.

Red Stripe is a Jamaican beer. The use of "No pork on my fork" (metaphor) suggests that the speaker is avoiding distractions and staying focused on their goals, just like someone following a halal or kosher diet. It requires dedication.

The "the Red Stripe" in the last part of phrase is a metaphor for the goal. The "Red Stripe" is jamaican beer. Its use here to counterbalance the "No pork on fork" shows that the rapper is focused on his goal, which reinforces his individuality, his idiosyncrasies.

Even in the midst of pork eaters, you'll find no pork on his fork but instead a specific brand of beer that could be difficult to come by. That's in "No pork on my fork but red stripe like I'm Jamaican", the rapper uses a play on words to suggest that the speaker is

staying true to their beliefs, and avoiding distractions. This builds on the rapper's dedication to his goal developed in preceding lines.

There's an alliteration on the "o" & "k" sounds in "pork" & "fork", which also functions as internal rhyme.

"Knife in the cork but won't wine about your ratings"—The rapper has a knife in the cork (imagery), about to open the wine (metaphor for himself up), but he won't whine (homophonic pun with "wine"—bitterly complain) about the industry's (your) ratings.

To be who you want to be, to be unique, one must not be bothered by criticisms or negative feedback (ratings). The metaphor of the "knife in the cork" suggests that the speaker is willing to take risks & open themselves up to criticism, much like a knife opening a bottle of wine.

But he won't "wine" (whine) about negative feedback or low ratings. This means that the rapper is confident in his abilities and not easily discouraged by criticism.

There's an alliteration of the "i" sound in lines 6 & 7—"stripe", "knife", & "wine".

"Yes this native went off the reservation/Primal urge see I'm on the verge" (enjambment)—"An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is semi-sovereign subject to regulations

passed by the US Congress administered by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the U.S. state government in which it is located". The natives refer to the native Indians & the reservation refers to the land they hold, recognised by the laws of the US government

The rapper uses this metaphor to show that even though he might be a native—autochthonous as the other rappers—he's not/cannot be limited to the reservation (a metaphor for the limited/limiting artistic scope the other natives (acts, cats, rappers) are used to).

He's a native, an autochton, but he's not limited to the reservation. He's off it.

"Primal urge see I'm on the verge" employs personification that gives human qualities to his desires. Our primal urge as humans is to be free, to escape slavery & bondage and explore.

It's this exploration that expanded human habitation and spread/scattered humans all over the earth. Every tribe/ethnic group has a migratory history. When we read about discoverers either of Christopher Columbus or the pilgrimage of Mansa Musa or the migration of the

Anlos, we see humans yearning to explore, to break boundaries, to satisfy their curiosities. These yearnings are primal—primitive, coded into our very DNA at the point of our creation. It's at the base of our existence, our being. We all have it.

Believe it or not, a slave's desire to escape bondage & slavery was described/considered a mental illness. In 1851, Samuel A. Cartwright referred to the tendency for enslaved Africans to flee captivity as "Drapetomania" & considered it as a form of mental illness.

The rapper is not prepared to be limited by the "reservation", the informal/unspoken restrictions of the music industry. There's a whole world out there to explore, Damn You Rafiki! And he's on the verge, on the line, on the brink/threshold—

"on the precicipe of something monumental" (#MTTU). What will he do next? Let's see in the next set of lines. But he's the bird spreading its wings, about to take off.

There's an assonance on the "c/k" sound in first three lines—"vacant", "taking", "shaking" (2x), "baking", "awaken", & "draking"; and in other lines of this group—"cattle", "bacon", "pork", "fork", "Jamaican", & "cork". In addition there's the "a" sound (alliteration) in—

"vacant", "taking", "shaking" (2x), "baking", "awaken", "draking", "bacon", "racing", "grazing", "Jamaican", "paper", "chasing", "ratings", "native", & "reservation".

There are also inter-line internal rhymes, lines 1 & 2—"taking" & "shaking"; lines 2 & 3—"shaking" & "shaking", "baking", & "blinging"; lines 4 & 5—"greener" & "paper"; lines 6 & 7—"pork" & "fork" & "cork".

There are end rhymes on 8 of the 9 lines—"taking", "awaken", "draking", "grazing", "bacon", "Jamaican", "ratings", & "reservation". One thing about these rhymes is that most of them have widely different spellings and only rhyme phonetically.

In these 9 set of lines, the rapper employs imagery, metaphors, wordplays, & allusions in the midst of alliteration, assonance, & consonance to musically tell of his ambitions, stake a claim, and make his intentions clear about his career and life.

———
I don't flock together with others I'm not a bird
Fuck feathers see my wings eager and ready to spread
Atwitwi on these niggas, one word, swerve
I no dey talk, proudest when penning these lines
You know, quiet people got the loudest minds

Chale you married to the game she my concubine
King Solomon of rhyme with wisdom I'm conquering time
My time has come, dumb dumbs bumping their gums
If M.anifest ain't number one he's second to none
———

"I don't flock together with others I'm not a bird" (imagery)—The rapper seems to continue with the "bird & flying" metaphor initiated in the previous line—"Primal urge see I'm on the verge"; however, he uses wordplay to switch the focus in an attempt to disappoint our

expectations, creating a Volta—which (in literature) is a rhetorical shift or dramatic change in thought and/or emotion. The rapper changed the idiomatic expression "birds of a feather flock together" to "I don't flock together with others, I'm not a bird".

This emphasises his uniqueness ("I'm not a bird", metaphor), his difference, his intransigence to stick to a path ("I don't flock together", metaphor) different from everyone else. This is what he's been saying in previous lines—

"No pork on my fork but red stripe like I'm Jamaican/... /Yes this native went off the reservation".

It's this same confidence & firmness of purpose that led him to say "Every Tom, Dick, and Zayn don't need to move in one direction/So what if most of my songs don't belong in the

club?/We talking upper echelon I belong in that club". He understands that there are many paths to, and forms of, greatness. There's no need to follow the same path. We all don't have to do the same thing. Greatness is great enough for great many people.

Greatness isn't discriminatory of paths or destinations. It's all-encompassing.

"Fuck feathers see my wings eager and ready to spread"—there's an irony inherent in this line & also when this line is juxtaposed with the previous line.

The rapper had stated in the previous line that he isn't a bird & he introduced this line with "fuck feathers"—to hell with feathers, but the latter part of the line he says "my wings eager and ready to spread",

which concurs with the last line of the previous set—"Primal urge see I'm on the verge". This creates an irony as wings are made up of feathers and they spread before take off. To spread his wings is an expression indicating preparation for flight.

The use of "eager" (enthusiastic desire) together with spread creates an imagery of an eagle's wings spreading. I'm not sure if this was intentional or it was coincidence. And yet, there's no coincidence in creativity as the creator source from his subconscious—the ether of life.

Alternatively, the rapper isn't using feathered wings to fly. He's flying on the wings of a plane or in a jumpsuit like a skydiver.

There is an alliteration on the "f" in lines 1 & 2—"flock", "fuck", & "feathers".

"Atwitwi on these niggas, one word, swerve"—He's doing burnouts (atwetwe, which is onomatopoeic in Twi) on these cats, these niggas, & he's dodged/swerved them. The word "swerve" is often used in driving contexts to describe a sudden change in direction, but here it is used

metaphorically to suggest the speaker's ability to adapt and improvise. Also, in that zero-sum game of two cars hurtling towards each other, at least one driver have to "swerve" for both to survive, else both lose.

Additionally, we will see this line doesn't rhyme with any other lines, which is a surprise (some types of surprises are referred to as "swerve" in pidgin). Hank Lazer referred to the turn in poetry, that is the volta mentioned earlier, as a "swerve".

Given that this line could perhaps be serving as the fulcrum around which the turn in the rap's focus revolved, was Mdot using the imagery of a car doing burnouts & tyre burns, & a direct reference to swerve, to inform us of the change in the rap's focus? Is this an Easter egg?

"I no dey talk, proudest when penning these lines"—The rapper says that though he doesn't express it, he's proudest when he's writing (or was writing these lines). That is, he let his lyrics, rapping skills, do the talking. As mentioned in the reinterpretation of #KeepShining,

Mdot had said that his pen game is a problem for a whole generation to worry about. And I think it's absolutely true given how people are tripping over themselves to discredit lines they don't really understand.

https://twitter.com/nfreduagyeman/status/1644993262028038146?t=fosGS1vgJsZa6jkXkNJPZg&s=19

"You know, quiet people got the loudest minds"—This is an axiom in popular use. It uses contrast to emphasise its message—"quiet" & "loudest", which creates a paradox. However, like all paradoxes, there's truth hidden in it. Quiet people think deep & evaluate/assess/analyse a lot

to the point of overthinking. They also generate a lot of caustic insults, one-line responses, ripostes & comebacks that they never share. They say little but think a lot.

There's an alliteration on the "p" sound in lines 4 & 5—"proudest", "penning", & "people".

"Chale you married to the game she my concubine"—To be married to the game/something is to be in bed with it. "To put work above all else in life. Dedication to a job, craft or building one's skill. Hustling, paper chasing."

The rapper is saying that you may be married to the game, but it's her concubine. He gets all you're getting from being married to the game (metaphor) by just having it as his concubine. He has many other capabilities, projects, businesses, & "the game" is just one of many.

As an aside, this song was on Nowhere Cool released in 2016. In 2021, Sark released Married to the Game (feat Cassper Nyovest) on his No Pressure album.

"King solomon of rhyme with wisdom I'm conquering time"—The use of "King Solomon" (allusion to the biblical Solomon) is a metaphor for wisdom, depth in thought, & power. That is, he's knowledgeable about, & the king of, rhymes, as Solomon was also a King of the Jews.

With wisdom, he's conquering time (personification) just like kings conquer other kingdoms to extend theirs. Conquering time refers to the art and act of deliberately living ahead of time. This implies that the rapper has the wisdom to do things ahead

of his time, to experiment with things that will later become the fad, or do things people will currently disregard but will come to appreciate in the future.

There's an internal rhyme as "rhyme" rhymes with "time". There's also the alliteration of the "c/k" sound in

"conquering" & "King" & the assonance of the "o" sound in "Solomon", "wisdom", & "conquering".

"My time has come, dumb dumbs bumping their gums"—He's the King Solomon of rhyme & his time has come but the dumb dumbs are bumping their gums.

To bump your gum is to talk foolishly or nonsensically. On the Hennessy Cypher Challenge, Mdot raps "Speak your piece and stop flapping your gums".

On the Tim Westwood Freestyle he raps "Pros and cons of being a pro amongst amateurs/Dumb it down/Are you kidding when I'm so mature?"; on GodMC he raps "We some intelligent niggas that cannot dumb it down". In sum, M.anifest says he'll not water down his lyrics just to meet

some expectation such as getting his songs in the night clubs (when he's already a member of the greatness club—upper echelon) or making it relatable to everyone (if relatable is, to them, synonymous with dumbing down).

In this line, he's saying the dumb guys are bumping their gums. They are unable to make any sensible comments about him. The assonance of the "u" sound in "come", "dumb", "dumbs", "bumping", & "gums" adds to the level of dumbness.

It's also present in "number" in the succeeding line.

There's an internal rhyme on four words—"come", "dumb", "dumbs", & "gum". Also, different grammatical structures of "dumb" is used (polyptoton), first as an adjective ("dumb") & then as a noun ("dumb").

Because "dumb" rhymes with "dumbs" & are spelt the same but means different things in each use (somewhat), we can refer to this as antanaclasis.

"If M.anifest ain't number one he's second to none"—The rapper is saying that if he's not number one, he's second to none.

That's there's no one ahead of him. He's staked his claim to the position. This will be emphasised in the latter part of the rap with the lines—"Only two rappers in Africa/Me and no one in particular".

There's an internal rhyme in this line—"one" & "none". There's also the contrast of numbers—"one" (first) & "two" ("second").

There's the alliteration/consonance on the "m" sound in the last four lines—"married", "my", "Solomon", "rhyme", "wisdom", "time" (2x), "come", "dumb", "dumbs", "bumping", "gums", "M.anifest", &"number".

The rhyme scheme for this set of lines is "aaxbbccddee"—"verge" (from the last line of the previous set of lines), "bird" & "spread"; "lines & minds"; "concubine" & "time"; & "gums" & "none".

There are a few inter-line internal rhymes, such as lines 1 & 2—"together" & "eager"; "others" & "feathers"; lines 2 & 3—"feathers" & "niggas"; lines 3 & 4: "these" & "these"; lines 4 & 5—"proudest" & "loudest"; & lines 7 & 8—"rhyme" & "time".

———
Marquez for your Pacquaio season
Copycats are Suarez, they bite for no reason
My heart dey turn cold like a witch's left titty
No gidigidi GH dey come las gidi
Looking fly in chocolate clothes, custom dashiki
Monkey dey work baboon dey chop damn you rafiki
———

"Marquez for your Pacquaio season"—This line is an allusion to the Manny Pacquaio and Juan Manuel Vazquez rivalry, which could be described as the greatest rivalries in boxing. They had four fights between them, the first one was a draw.

The next two were won by Pacquaio in controversial fashion as Marquez fans claimed/blamed everything from conspiracy to poor judging. The fourth fight was held on December 8, 2012. The winner would win the WBO's "Champion of the Decade" commemorative belt.

Marquez knocked out Pacquaio in the sixth round.
syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/1809016-pa…
The rapper is saying that he is the Marquez (metaphor) in the game, knocking people out when the expectations on them are highest.

Also, he's as unyielding & tenacious as Marquez & he picks his spot to return their "serve".

"Copycats are Suarez, they bite for no reason"—The sports references/allusions continues in this line. Mdot describes people who imitate or copy others—the copycats—as

Suarez (metaphor), the Uruguayan player and the archnemesis of Ghanaians, who bite players for no reason.

Suarez is famous for three biting incidents. The first bite was against PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal while playing for Ajax in 2010.

The second biting was against Chelsea's Branislov Ivanovic, while he was playing for Liverpool in 2013. And the third was in 2014 World Cup against Italy's Giorgio Chiellini.
talksport.com/football/12387…

The rapper is thus saying that these unoriginal competitors provoke & attack for no reason. Alternatively, bite is a slang for copying or imitating something or someone without permission.

Thus, the rapper is using bite to describe how these rappers steal relentlessly & thoughtlessly (without reason). On Post Azonto Blues, he says "Plagiarism and sadism on a major rise". Thus, the use of Suarez is to throw off people. Talk of latent double entendre.

"My heart dey turn cold like a witch's left titty"—His heart is becoming cold; that is, he's becoming unsympathetic, numb, & insensitive & the level of coldness is like witch's left tit/nipple (simile). "As cold as as a witch's tit" is simile for something that's very cold.

A witch has a cold heart & because the heart is located on the left side of the breast, the left titty is described as the coldest.

"No gidigidi GH dey come las gidi"—The rapper used code-switching to introduce Twi & Pidgin. He used a Twi onomatopoeia, which could also serve as an antanaclasis, as the meaning changes slightly in each use.

"No gidigidi" means "no raucous, no disorder", Ghana is coming at full speed/vim/throttle or with great enthusiasm (Ghana dey come gidigidi).

Las gidi is the nickname for Lagos. Gidi in Yoruba means "Real" (Gidi gidi in Yoruba also means "really", for emphasis), so Las Gidi means the Real Lagos. This means that "gidi gidi" has meanings in Twi & Yoruba. However, there seem to be multiple reasons Lagos is called Las Gidi

The line means, no rush, Ghana, a metaphor for the artiste, is coming to Lagos. It shows work, movement, & urgency, given the contrast between the boisterous & busy Lagos to the relatively laid back Ghana.

There's an internal rhyme in the line—"gidigidi" & "gidi". There's also an alliteration on the hard "g" sound in "gidi gidi", "gidi".

"Looking fly in chocolate clothes, custom dashiki"—Chocolate Clothing is a fashion house in Ghana that specialises in custom clothes using African prints. It's creative director is Kwaku Bediako Oduro. Their focus is celebrating authenticity & uniqueness.

chocolateclothesglobal.com/pages/about-us

"Dashiki is a colorful garment that covers the top half of the body, worn mostly in West Africa". The rapper is saying he looks stylish/dapper in his Chocolate Clothing custom made dashiki. This line is a prop/shout out to the design house.

He's also using this to suggest that he is proud of his cultural heritage.

"Monkey dey work baboon dey chop damn you rafiki"—The rapper repeats a line in the refrain, as previously discussed. This line is a criticism of people who take advantage of others without doing any work

themselves, suggesting that the speaker is frustrated with those who don't put in the effort to succeed. It emphasises the line—"Copycats are Suarez, they bite for no reason".

These set of lines have the aabbcc rhyme scheme—"season" & "reason";

"titty" & "gidi" (slant/near/half rhyme); "dashiki" & "Rafiki". There's the "q/k/c" alliterative sound in "copycats", "Pacquaio", "Marquez", "cold", "like", "looking", "chocolate", "monkey", "looking", "work", "clothes", "custom", "dashiki", & "Rafiki".

The inter-line internal rhymes include, lines 1 & 2—"Pacquaio" & "no"; lines 2 & 3—"bite" & "like"; lines 3 & 4—"gidi" & "titty"; lines 4 & 5—"come" & "custom"; & lines 5 & 6—"custom" & "damn".

———
I get love in Nairobi and Jozi
Phonies ignore me now they think that we homies
Chics pay me attention like they owe me
My vim dey new dimensions ask the old me
(monkeys play by sizes) don't rile me up
If u no be my size then don't size me up
———

"I get love in Nairobi and Jozi"—He's loved in Nairobi (Kenya) & he's loved in Jozi (Johannesburg, South Africa).
From the East to the South, the West African rapper gets his flowers. There's an internal rhyme on "Nairobi" & "Jozi".

"I get love in Nairobi and Jozi"—He's loved in Nairobi (Kenya) & he's loved in Jozi (Johannesburg, South Africa).
From the East to the South, the West African rapper gets his flowers. There's an internal rhyme on "Nairobi" & "Jozi".

"Phonies ignore me now they think that we homies"—The fake friends & their pretentiousness (the phonies) ignored him but now (now that I've succeeded) they think they're friends (homies). The rapper indirectly is saying, "naa bro! The status hasn't changed".

There's a internal rhyme on "phonies" & "homies".

"Chics pay me attention like they owe me"—Beautiful girls (chics) pay him attention like they owe him (simile). He's using "pay" as a pun—first, to settle a debt owed & second, applying the mind to something.

There's an internal rhyme—"me" & "me". The repetition of "me" can be described as conduplicatio.

"My vim dey new dimensions ask the old me"—His energy/enthusiasm (vim) has improved and it's at a higher level (dimension). This can be testified by his old self (allusion).

He juxtaposes "old" & "new" (antithesis). This speaks to improvement, growth, & hard work. The phrase "new dimensions" could refer to the artist's evolving style or approach to their craft. M.anifest has experimented with sounds & has moved from one experimentation to the other.

"(monkeys play by sizes) don't rile me up/If u no be my size then don't size me up"—"Monkeys play by sizes" is an expression (metaphor) used to imply that people of similar characteristics, strengths, move together.

The rapper is saying that monkeys play by sizes so don't annoy him (rile him up). Don't get him angry, you're not his size, because if you do the consequences might overwhelm you. This expression is similar to "birds of a feather flock together".

He adds that if you aren't his size (noun: his mate, his equal in status) then don't size him up (verb: don't judge him, don't measure him). "Don't size me up" reinforces the idea that the artist does not want to be judged or evaluated by others based on superficial

characteristics like appearance or status.

The repetition of "size" is antanaclasis (used with different meaning in each instance). It's also conduplicatio, as they occur a few words apart. "Size" & "size" rhymes internally.

The rhyme scheme is "aabbcc"—"Jozi" & "homies"; "me" & "me" & "up" & "up". There are inter-line internal rhymes: lines 1 & 2—"Nairobi" & "phonies; lines 3 & 4—"pay" & "dey"; lines 4 & 5—"dey" & "play"; lines 5 & 6—"sizes" & "size" & "rile" & "size".

———
It's a wrap it's a duku, it's a sap it's a mugu
And it's raining dogs and cats feels so breezy in my fugu
Only two rappers in Africa
Me and no one in particular
And if you no dey barb pardon my vernacular... so spectacular
———

"It's a wrap it's a duku, it's a sap it's a mugu"—It's a wrap, it's concluded (it's wrapped up); however, "duku" is the Twi for a head(wrap)/headscarf. Thus, the rapper employs a certain pun/rhyme that's only seen when the words are translated.

Coming towards the end, the rapper is telling us "it's a wrap", it's in the dying embers of the verse, while referencing "duku", the headwrap, to throw is off.

Similarly, a sap is a foolish person, whose colloquialism is "mugu", a Nigerian/Ghanaian slang for a fool.

With this code-switching the rapper achieved double internal rhyme—"sap" & "wrap" & "duku" & "mugu".

"And it's raining dogs and cats feels so breezy in my fugu"—To rain cats and dogs is to rain heavily, and cats are feeling the breeze in his fugu (a traditional smock worn by people in the northern part of Ghana but which has now spread across the country).africanlegacyshoppe.com/collections/af…

"Only two rappers in Africa/Me and no one in particular/And if you no dey barb pardon my vernacular... so spectacular"—This is an enjambment. Here the rapper declares that there are only two rappers in Africa, himself & no one in particular.

This is a restatement of "If M.anifest ain't number one, he's second to none". And if you don't understand (no dey barb—Pidgin) pardon my local language... So spectacular. What did the rapper replace with the ellipsis?

Usually when we say pardon/excuse my French then we are about to use a slang/vulgar phrase or word that people might find offensive. There's an internal rhyme in the last line—"vernacular" & "spectacular"; & "no" & "so".

The rhyme scheme:s "aabbb"—"mugu" & "fugu"; & "Africa", "particular", & "spectacular". There's an inter-line internal rhymes: lines 2 & 3—"fugu" & "two"; lines 4 & 5—"no" & "no". There's a contrast on "one" in line 4 & "two" in line 5. He knows of two but the two actually is one

——
Refrain
Monkey dey work baboon dey chop you no dey see so
Hunger dey wey some people just dey feast so
Monkey dey work baboon dey chop you no dey see so
Monkey see monkey do, I don't think so
——

A few changes have been made in this refrain. "Monkey dey work baboon dey chop you no dey see so" ("you no dey see so"—Pidgin for "don't you agree"/"don't you agree"/"do you agree"? The addition of "so" is very important. Otherwise, "you no dey see" means "can't you see"?).

Do you agree that some people are working & others are free riding/sponging them? This has been explained in previous lines. However, the line contrasts "work" & "chop"/"sponging" (context wise).

"Hunger dey wey some people just dey feast so"—(There's been hunger but some people are feasting). The rapper continues with his contrasting imageries with "hunger" & "feast". Some people are hungry & others are feasting. Who are those hungry? Those working hard?

The metaphorical monkeys? And who are those feasting? The metaphorical baboons? The spongers? If it were the music industry, the game, this could be managers (baboons) who rip off their artistes (monkeys).

"Monkey see monkey do, I don't think so"—The rapper continued with the monkey metaphor. Monkey see monkey do means copying blindly, without reason, without understanding; copying or imitating without knowledge of consequences.

This reinforces the line—"copycat Suarez, they bite for no reason", which is also contextually the same as "Monkey dey work baboon dey chop...".

This refrain has monosyllabic end rhymes—"so" for all the lines. There's the double rhymes on the first three lines—"see so", "feast so", & "see so".

There's repetition of the first word (anaphora) & last word (epistrophe) of three of the four lines (symploce, anaphora & epistrophe). The repetition of "monkey" in many places in the verse is called conduplicatio. There's an inter-line rhyme between lines 3 & 4—"baboon" & "do".

There's the repetition of the "ee/ea" sound (assonance) in "see", "feast" & "see".

Watch Damn You Rafiki here

.@threadreaderapp, unroll