Thread by @nfreduagyeman

B.E.A.R
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This is one of @manifestive's hardest Hip-Hop track. One of those tracks he decided to go totally bonkers. At a point you say "fuck it, let's do this". On this track, which appears on the #NoWhereCool album together with #DamnYouRafiki, Mdot showed us his

lyrical dexterity, his mettle as the consummate rap artiste. It isn't just the bars he's spitting. It's what he's doing with these bars. He's drunk on them, and spitting & reasoning & rhyming & flowing & making his statement & staking his claim.

On this track, Mdot was the Negus Nagast, the Kublai Khan. He was the GodMC. No wonder #NoWhereCool has that much love among Hip-Hop heads. Not the Twitter kind, the likes who can't decode isht; the likes who pretend to understand street slangs of

Jamaica, Queens but will tell you Mdot should rap in Twi for relevance; the likes will tell you they understand Lupe Fiasco, Black Thought, Yasin Bey, Kdot, but not Mdot; these ones whose understanding and appreciation of Hip-Hop is influenced by Twitter likes.

Those ones aren't Hip-Hop heads. They're Hip-Hop deads. Or Hip-Hop leads (the metal).

"Ɔmo dwen sɛ ma da/But they lie Bad"—Mdot opened the rap with a gasconade, magniloquence. In one short line, he addressed everyone. "Ɔmo dwen sɛ ma da"—they thought I was asleep, they thought I was just lying down. "Da" in Twi means means "sleep", it also means just "lying down".

"Da hɔ"—"lie there". Here he's saying that they thought he was inactive, they thought he was just lying down doing nothing "But they lie bad". He code-switches from Twi to Pidgin. "They lie bad", means they're are completely/totally lying or wrong, they have no idea what they're

saying or thinking. Their thoughts or conceptions or deductions are incorrect. However, literally, "they lie bad" could mean they're are the ones that are badly lying down, being inactive.

There's a rhyme between "da" & "lie" that could only be deciphered if "da" is translated into "lie (down)".—They thought I was lying (down) but they lie bad.

"Now here are some hard bars for my die hards"—He's not inactive, he's not sleeping, so "here are some hard bars for my die hards", bars carefully prepared by a Chemist in his lab, or a mixologist in his bar, & served by a barista in his bar or a barrister in his bar. Mdot is

serving his diehard fans with some hard bars. He's addressing those who knew him from Manifestations to The Birds & the Beats albums & Immigrant Chronicles. Some of these people claim Mdot has soften his bars. But here he says, if you say so then let me serve you some hard bars.

See what Mdot did in this line—"hard bars" for my "die hards". "Hard" has been used twice with slightly different meaning each time (antanaclasis). "Hard bars" means impressive, awesome, surprising bars. These bars will usually be double, triple entendre filled with references.

"Die hards" are unrelenting, intransigent, uncompromising, loyal fans. The ones who demand more and don't also give up. Not fairweather fans. Those who go through Dante's Hell with him.

And the two words are separated by a few words (Diacope) & "hard" & "hards" have slight grammatical differences making them polyptoton.

"I'm a lionheart why should I lie in my art"—This line is to address these diehards that he's a lionheart (brave, bold), hence he doesn't have

to lie in his art. He needs not pretend. If you're brave, fearless, bold, you are afraid of nothing and have no need to lie or pretend in the work you do. Most especially, in the arts where genuineness is the freedom/key to creation.

There's a homophonic rhyme as "lionheart" sounds like "lie in my art" with the monosyllabic "heart" rhyming with "art". Other internal rhymes in the line are "lion" & "lie in" & "why", "lie", "I" & "my". Between lines internal rhymes, "die" in line 3 rhymes with "why", "I", "lie"

& "my" in line 4.

There's the assonance of the vowel "i/y" sound throughout the line—"I'm", "lionheart", "why", "I", "lie" & "my".

"Ghana rap Moses now let the sea part/I see green I no dey see stop"—He's the rap Moses leading the Israelites from servitude

in Egypt to freedom in Canaan, metaphorically. Mdot here means he's showing rappers the way. He's expanding the horizon of what's possible.

He's doing the difficult part—parting the sea—so that those behind him can pass on dry land. The imagery presented by this line & the symbolism of the parting sea is clear.

Alternatively, Mdot is talking about parting the barrier the gatekeepers have created in the Ghana music industry. In this case, the sea is a metaphor for barrier, obstacles. And he's the Moses breaking through the barrier and paving the way for others.

"I see green I no dey see stop"—Once he's parted the sea, he sees no stop only green. Or, in his rap career, he doesn't see stop, he sees green, irrespective of the "Red Sea" barriers created by the gatekeepers that scream for him to stop.

This could be an allusion to the traffic light, where green is an indication to go and red to stop. As long as he can't see red, it's a go for him. It may also be a reference to protanomaly, a type of red-green colour blindness where the person sees red as green.

Here the rapper sees no stop. It's a go all the time. Finally, the "greens" is a metonym for money. That is, all the rapper sees are the greenbacks and that's a go, not a stop.

The rapper code-switched to Pidgin in this line. And there will be many instances of the back and forth among languages—Twi, English, & Pidgin.

There's an internal rhyme on "see" & also inter-line internal rhymes between line 5 & line 6—"sea" & "see".

The repeat of "see" in lines 5 & 6 is referred to as conduplicatio. There's the assonance of the "ee" sound in "see", "green", & "see"; & the alliteration/consonance of the "s" sound from line 5 to line 7—"Moses", "sea", "see", "see", "stop", "dwarfs", & "see".

"Tell rap dwarfs they no go see top/So just beat it, king of pop"—The first line of this couplet is a metaphor that likens the other rappers to dwarves, not in physical stature but in rap stature & rap talent. "Tell rap dwarfs they no go see top"—Tell the undeveloped rappers, the

rap midgets that they'll not understand, they can't withstand this, they can't bear this (they no go see top). What he's bringing is too hot, too complex for them to bear. They can't compete in the industry. They'll end up quitting.

Also, dwarves are midgets so they literally cannot see "on top" of any thing that's taller than them. And there are many of such things. Hence, this line has both metaphoric & literal meanings.

"So just beat it, king of pop"—since they can't see top, they can't compete with what he has in stock they just have to leave (beat it). "Beat it" informally means to give up & go, to leave, to let something go.

By adding "King of Pop", the rapper alludes to the song "Beat It" by Michael Jackson, who was considered to be the King of Pop. And Michael's song also focuses on walking away from violence. That is, Mdot considers his raps as something that's difficult, too strong, to defeat,

hence the others just have to beat it or walk away.

There's an internal rhyme in line 6—"see" & "see". There's a between lines internal rhyme between lines 7 & 8—as "no" & "go" rhymes with "so"; & lines 6 & 7—"see" & "see"; "no" & "no", "go"; & "dey" & "they".

"I been dope, call the doc, let's detox"—And why won't they see top? Why should they beat it? Because he's been dope—excellent, great. He's been too dope you just have to call the doc to detox him.

He metaphorically compares how good he is, how filled up with greatness he is, with being dope with drugs. If you're dope with drugs, you need to get a doctor to detox you.

Detox is when you stay away from drugs so that your body will rid itself from drugs or toxic (unhealthy) substances. You can check into a hospital to detox.

The line also alludes to Dr Dre, Eminem, & Skylar Grey's song, "I need a Doctor". The song is part of Dr. Dre’s mythological (i.e. infinitely delayed) album ‘Detox.’ In the song, Eminem wishes he could help Dr Dre recover from his grief and depression from losing his son.

Eminem says that he understands Dre’s situation since he lost his best friend Proof in 2006. That's, whilst Eminem needs Dr Dre back in his life to save his career, Dre needs a doctor to save him from his grief & also needs Eminem in his career.

justrandomthings.com/2021/07/31/dr-…

Similarly, and following on the drug-dope reference, Eminem overdosed on valium in 2007 & nearly died. What followed is the release of Relapse in 2009 & Recovery in 2010. Em is a dope artiste who was nearly killed by dope.

Em underwent detox and has been sober since April 20, 2008.

people.com/music/eminem-d…

In sum, Mdot is saying he's been filled with rap/music (like drugs), let's call the doctor (medical doctor, a producer like Dre) to detox him (get drugs, the music, out).

The line has an alliteration of the "d" sound as in "dope", "doc", & "detox"; of the "k/c" sound in lines 8 & 9—"King", "call", & "doc"; and an assonance of the "o" sound in "dope", "detox", & "doc". This extends into other lines such as line 8—"so", "of", & "top"; line 7—"no",

"go", & "top"; & line 6—"no" & "top".

There's an exhibition of asyndeton, which makes the line choppy & syncopated, giving off a short beat rhythm. This begins from line 8 to line 9. This is seen by the replacement of conjunctions with commas.

"I no bore but it's chucklife let's converse"—He's not angry (I no bore) but it's just life (homophone on "it's chucklife") so let's chat (converse). The rapper is willing to talk to the others. It's just life. Also, "chuck life" means "to live life carelessly or recklessly".

The rapper is saying that it's a chuck (a contraction of chill and fuck) life for him and he's not bored by anything so he is willing to engage in conversation and collaborate with others.

However, he also makes allusion to Chuck Taylor, who was the first person to commercially market, and have a formal contract with, the sneaker company as an athlete, when he was signed by Converse (homonymous with converse (chat)).

In fact, we have Chuck Taylor All Star. Today Converse is synonymous with Chucks.

There's a between line internal rhymes for lines 9 & 10—"dope" & "no"; "let's" & "let's"; & "call" & "bore".

"Two packs of machavelli I bomb first/I no dey talk missiles drones or funk flex"—This line uses homophones to allude to Tupac/2pac (Two packs) & his another pseudonym,

Makaveli (a play on Niccolo Machiavelli). This pseudonym was given to Tupac for his fifth studio album, The Don Killuminati—The 7 Day Theory. The first track on the album was "Bomb First (My Second Reply)" (featuring Outlawz).

Niccolò Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, author & philosopher. He was also known for his books The Prince and The Art of War (not to be confused with Sun Tzu's Art of War), which was on military science.

It is believed that Tupac got into contact with Machiavelli's works and so began to call himself Makaveli, a corruption of Machiavelli, or The Prince.

The next line of the couplet gives direction to the metaphor and the allusion in the previous line. The rapper says he doesn't mean missiles, drones when he says "Bomb first". Now we know it's an allusion to Tupac's song.

However, in this line he also references DJ Funkmaster Flex, who had a sound signature that begins with the sirene announcement of an impending bomb and then the bomb blast. Hence, he doesn't mean a physical bomb blast or even its sonic imitation.

However, "funk" is a strong offensive smell. It also means to be afraid, to dread. And flex means show off, brag. That is, Mdot he's not interested in superficial displays of power and instead focus on showcasing his lyrical abilities.

Also, one of the seemingly infinite meanings of "drop a bomb" is to do something unexpected or shocking. The rapper says, like the Tupac of Makaveli, he surprises first. The 7 Day Theory album has surprising themes.
urbandictionary.com/define.php?ter…

There's a numerical contrast between the first word "Two" and the last word "first" in the line "Two packs of machavelli I bomb first". The alliteration of the "k/c" sound continues in lines 11 & 12—"packs", "machavelli", "talk" & "funk".

In addition, there's the repetition of the "m" sound in "machavelli", "bomb", & "missiles". This continues to L13—"simple" & "complex". Also the vowel sound "a" is repeated in "packs", "machavelli", & "talk".

"It's all really simple I'm complex/So tell all the drunks that I'm bar heavy/Bar after bar get your shots ready" (enjambment)—According to the rapper, it's really simple, easy to understand. The simple fact is that he's complex. And yes, he is.

The complexity of the bars progressed bar after bar. The line may seem to be ironic or even a paradox given its antithetical use of simple & complex. It's ironic to say I'm simply complex, a paradox and an oxymoron.

But then it's not unsolvable if you understand simple to mean "unencumbered", "direct", "straightforward", "easy to understand". Mdot therefore suggests that his lines or lyrics may seem simple, but they're complex & bar heavy (filled with quality metaphors, wordplays, & puns).

Or the simple fact, something that is easy to appreciate, is that I'm a complex person or complex with my bars/song.

"So tell all the drunks that I'm bar heavy/Bar after bar get your shots ready" (enjambment)—Mdot refers to the others as drunks, alcoholics.

If they're drunks then he's bar heavy. This alludes to a bar, or pub, where drinks are sold. However metaphorically, he means he's pregnant (heavy) with lyrical bars.

And that bar after bar they should get their shots ready. This means pub after pub, from one "drinking spot" to

the other, they should be ready with their shots—a swill of alcohol served with a tumbler. Again, this is a metaphor for a rap line. This is almost a call to a rap battle where bars are traded and shots are fired. Shot here refers to short statements that target opponents and are

meant to cause ridicule. M.anifest therefore challenges the drunks to take shots at him.

There's a between lines internal rhyme between lines 13 & 14—"all" & "all" & lines 14 & 15—"bar" & "bar". There's an internal rhyme in line 15—"bar" & "bar".

The repetition of "bar" in lines 14 & 15, with a few words in between them, it's referred to as diacope.

There's been an alliteration/consonance of the "l" sound from line 9 all through to line 14—"call", "chucklife", "let's"

"machavelli", "talk", "missiles", "flex", "all", "really", "simple", "tell", & "all". There's the repetition of the "a" sound (assonance) in "all", "all", "bar", & "bar".

"Anas flow expose foes, I show off/ECG, watch we go off"—Anas Aremeyaw Anas is the investigative journalist whose exposés always get people into trouble. He exposes the behind the scenes acts of corruption, evil, &/or illegalities within institutions.

That's any announcement by Anas gets the foes (the enemies of state) jittery. As a metaphor, M.anifest suggests that his flow exposes the foes/enemies/haters/competitors in the music industry.

"Show off" is a term commonly used to describe someone who deliberately draws attention to their abilities, often in a boastful way.

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), is known for putting off electricity supply without warning, and frequently too. However, the rapper references this to show how frequent & unannounced he can "go off", that is explode, to burst forth, to change in demeanour.

The "go off"

is onomatopoeic and describes the explosion.

These last two lines of the first verse has internal rhymes. The intra-line internal rhymes are "flow" & "show" & "expose" & "foes" & the inter-line (or between lines) internal rhyme is "flow" or "show" & "go".

The rhyme scheme of

the first verse is "aabbbcccdddddeeff"—"da" & "bad" (half rhyme); "hards", "art", & "part"; "see stop", "see top", & "pop"; "converse", "first", "flex", & "complex"; "heavy &" ready"; & "show off" & "go off". Lines 5 to 7 have internal rhymes—"sea part", "see stop" & "see top".

The hook is double-stacked quad-line refrain with a "aaaa" rhyme scheme—“score", "draw, naw", "ball", & "door, aw". The rapper directs us to "check the score" or look at the scores. He's here to play to win & not settle for a draw.

This line—"Play to win yɛn pri pri for draw, naw"—intersperse English with Twi. "Yɛn pre pre" means "we won't struggle". In the next line the rapper throws a wrench in our understanding and light on what the metaphor means.

Though he's playing to win & not struggling to draw, he's not playing ball. To "play ball" is to cooperate with someone and do what they want you to do. But M.anifest is saying that he's doing neither of that.

He's not going to do what others want him to do, he's not playing ball, because he's here to win & not to draw. If everyone is doing the same thing then there's no difference and there's a metaphoric draw. But being different puts him a head ahead.

The irony of the literal reading of these lines is that though he's going to play to win, he's not playing ball. That's a superficial paradox, because we resolve it when we get to understand the implied idiomatic meaning of "not playing ball".

They, the gatekeepers, closed the gate (that which gives access to an area) but he found an open door (that which gives access to a passage). They intended to keep him out but their strategies were impotent, ineffective, inefficient, porous. Their gates have doors in them.

He just walked through the door like the gate didn't didn't exist. On #FineFine, he raps—

"I come GH they say my style not in fashion
I'm in the picture now don't care about the caption"—Fine Fine

It is ironic that they tried to keep the gate closed but it was opened. The contrast between "closed" & "open" creates an antithesis. If we do not know why it was open then it becomes a paradox.

In addition to them being inefficient, is the fact that the rapper is not playing their game hence their strategies do not work on him. He's above that. How do you gate a flying eagle?

"Anas flow, it gets scary for Judge Dery"—In line 16 of the first verse, Mdot introduced us to "Anas" in the line "Anas flow expose foes, I show off". In this line, he goes further to point out the "foes". Anas, the investigative journalist, conducted an undercover investigation

on corruption in the judiciary. When the audio-visual report of this investigation came out, it led to massive disturbances in the judiciary & one of the judges, exposed in the video, who bore a consequential impact of the fallout was Justice Paul Uuter Dery, a High Court Judge.

The rapper suggests that Anas' story has been scary for foes like judge Dery, just as his presence, his dexterity, his flow has been scary for some industry heavyweights, the critics (the judges), the gatekeepers, & the favourites.

The line has internal rhyme—"scary" & "Dery".

"You fit to ask the bread9fe's and brown berries/All the real heads know they cannot bump heads"—Bread9fe is an award-winning filmmaker & director. He directed a short documentary titled Acropolis, which is also the title of the EP (2016)

of musicians Yaw P and Temple. Brown Berry is a Ghanaian Radio and TV Presenter. He's the host of YFM’s “The Brown Berry Show”.

M.anifest says we can ask the bread9fes and brown berries in the industry, the real Hip-Hop heads who know that the others, the noisemakers, can't bump heads. To "bump heads" means "to come into conflict, to argue, to clash, to be in opposition, to disagree strongly, to compete".

That is, they can't stand him. They can't compete. The rapper used the allusion of bread9fe and Brown Berry to represent all real Hip-Hop heads, not the pretentious ones, those who confuse the worship of an artiste with an understanding or appreciation of a genre. All of them

rate Mdot highly.

There's an alliteration on the "b" sound—"bread9fes", "brown", "berries", & "bump". There's an alternating internal rhyme between lines 1 & 3—"flow" & "know" and an internal rhyme in line 3—"heads" & "heads".

"Some rappers go hear this and feel hurt/Y'all so emo, you cancer I'm chemo"—But some rappers will hear this and feel hurt because the real Hip-Hop heads rate him over them. They are all so emotional/emotive, that's why they will feel hurt.

He tells them that if they're cancer (weak, negative, destructive) then he's the chemo (strong, positive, curative) that will cure them. Cancer is also the Zodiac sign for people born between June 22 to July 22.

If there's a particular artiste Mdot is referring to and who's a Cancer, then Mdot is implying that he's the Chemo that destroys them. He's the water that quenches their fire.

"Universities even pay for my key notes/So even when I quit rap, I won't be broke"—This enjambment

explores or presents the multidimensionality of M.anifest's talents. It also emphasises his general accomplishments. He claims that even universities are ready, or they already, pay him for keynote addresses, hence when he quits rap, he won't go broke.

M.anifest has given lectures/key notes at several universities including the University of Ghana, Howard University, Ashesi University, St. Lawrence University, Hamline University, Macalester College, Penumbra Theater's Summer Arts Institute, among others.

In 2019, he was invited by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences as the guest speaker at Ephraim Amu Memorial Lecture Series.

The line "Universities even pay for my key notes" creates an image of the rapper standing at a lectern, sharing his knowledge and wisdom with an audience. This imagery reinforces the idea that the rapper is not just a skilled rapper but also a respected and accomplished speaker.

The line "So even when I quit rap, I won't be broke" uses irony to suggest that the rapper's success and financial stability are not necessarily tied to his career as a rapper. This creates a sense of surprise in the verse.

There's an inter-line internal rhyme between lines 3 & 4—"go" & "know"; lines 4 & 5—"go", "so", & "emo" & "rappers" & "cancer" (near rhyme); lines 6 & 7—"even" & "even". There's also an intra-line internal rhyme in line 5—"so", "emo", & "chemo".

"Y'all made me do this y'all made do this/All in my mentions like I ain't the truest"—According to M.anifest, all those people in his mentions (M.anifest uses synecdoche by using those in his mentions (the part) to represent social media criticsb(the whole)), those who have been

been challenging him, those who have been doubting him, provoking him, the naysayers, the Twitter trolls, all those in his Twitter mentions, they are the ones who got him tenaciously driven to do this.

This hard-hitting Hip-Hop being an example. They all act like he isn't the realest to do this, the truest in the game but he won't be swayed by their criticisms. By saying "All in my mentions like I ain't the truest", it means that those in his mentions, the trolls and

the critics know he's the truest, the best, but they're just being pretentious, sycophants. They lie to themselves and believe their own lies.

The repeat of "Y'all made me do this..." is epizeuxis or palilogia. There's the repetition of the "m" & "l" sounds (alliteration) in lines 8 & 9—"made", "me", "made", "me", "my", & "mentions"; "Y'all" (2x), "all", & "like".

"Been doing this since my days in the U.S/Now I do shows all the baes be like you just/So nice with words/And your baritone it works/Boy better know/Shoutouts to frisco/M dot you be too much/You do everything, hear the streets talk"—Mdot started doing music in the US.

His first album, Manifestations, was funded with proceeds from his Pepsi Advert, in 2007. This album earned him "Songwriter of the Year" honors in the City Pages as well as top five albums of the year recognition in the Star Tribune.

He released Birds and the Beats in 2009 as a free album to raise awareness and funds for the Young Entrepreneurs Africa. He's worked with Damon Albarn, Flea, Erykah Badu, among others.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.anifest

Consequently, when Mdot says he's been doing this since his days in the US, it's not just Hip-Hop braggadociosness. It's the facts. The fact that people question his credentials is a product of wilful ignorance, selective amnesia, intentional disregard for trolling purposes,

and above all foolishness.

He proceeds to indirectly talk about his growth and development in the industry so that now if he plays shows the ladies (baes) go like "you just so nice with words", "your baritone, it works". Boy better know...

The lines also suggest someone who's having a show in Frisco (there's a town in Texas called Frisco; also, Frisco is the nickname of San Francisco). The preferred allusion is San Francisco and the rapper is sending shout-outs to his audience—"shoutouts to Frisco".

He uses synecdoche, where Frisco (the whole) is used to refer to the people (the part). This reference creates a sense of connection and recognition between the rapper and his listeners.

The responses he gets from the shoutouts is an appreciation of his craft—"Mdot you be too much" is Pidgin for "Mdot you're great, You've done everything & the streets testify to that". His greatness can be heard on the streets, his fanbase appreciates him, & the real Hip-Hop

heads give him his due.

The line "You do everything, hear the streets talk" uses irony to suggest that the rapper's skills and accomplishments are widely recognised and celebrated, even though he may not receive recognition from mainstream sources or critics.

This creates a sense of defiance and independence in the verse.

In addition, "hear the streets talk" personifies the streets, giving them a voice and agency. This personification creates a sense of community and connection between the M.anifest and his listeners.

There's an inter-line internal rhyme between lines 10 & 11—"days" & "baes". The repetition of "do" in different grammatical structures is referred to as polyptoton. There is the repetition of the "b" sound from lines 10 to 14—"been", "baes", "be", "baritone", "boy", & "better".

There's an intra-line internal rhyme in line 16—"you" & "too" & inter-line internal rhymes in lines 16 & 17—"you", "too", & "do"; lines 17 & 18—"You", "do", & "do".

"Do I have the fire still?/Silencer on it's a quiet kill/Pope John flow that's a pious feel/Ghanaman name one that's badder than... none"—The literal imagery here is that of the hitman in Agent 47, with his silencer connected to his sniper ready to fire and make a quiet killing.

This is a metaphor for how he works. He's been dope, been on top for so long, have the fire (metaphor for zeal, ambition) burning for so long that they're questioning if he has the fire still.

But he responds with a quiet kill. That is, he prefers to work in quietness and make his kill (his achievements) in silence.

"Do I have the fire still?" is a rhetorical question that creates a sense of tension and uncertainty. This question prompts the listener to consider the

rapper's skills and accomplishments and creates a sense of anticipation for what comes next. The lines "Do I have the fire still?/Silencer on it's a quiet kill" uses parallelism to enhance the flow & cadence.

Additionally, the question "Do I have the fire still?" is followed by the assertion "Silencer on it's a quiet kill." This use of hypophora (asking a question and answering it immediately) creates a sense of anticipation and confidence in the verse.

The line—"Silencer on it's a quiet kill" (imagery)—creates an image of the rapper as a skilled and dangerous force, able to take down his opponents without making a sound. This imagery emphasizes the rapper's power and control. The "silencer" emphasises the "quiet".

Also, there's a play on "fire", which could literally mean "to shoot", & "silencer on", which refers to the silencer used to muffle the noise from a gun.

He describes his flow with an allusion to Pope John Paul. He adapts this to "Pope John Flow". The flow is positive, pious (worthy), influential, and powerful. His flow is devoid of negativity.

M.anifest makes an unambiguous statement by stating that there's no one badder than him. "Badder" here means excellent, great, superb. It does not have any negative connotation. Instead it reinforces his superiority.

It's ironic that the person no one is badder than has the pious flow. The juxtaposition of "pious" & "Pope John" with "badder" is antithetical and creates a paradox, if "badder" is taken literally.

The line "Ghanaman name one that's badder than... none" uses metonymy, or the substitution of a word or phrase with something closely associated with it, to refer to the rapper himself as "Ghanaman." It also uses ellipsis to create silence, as we awaits a response.

The absence of a response is an affirmation of his status as the "baddest" rapper the rapper extraordinaire.

There's an intra-line internal rhyme in line 21—"Ghanaman", "than", "one", & "none". There's an inter-line internal rhyme between lines 20 & 21—"that's" & "that's".

There are consistent end rhymes in these lines—
Lines 1 & 2—"Dery" & "berries"
Lines 3 & 4—"heads" & "hurt"
Lines 5, 6, & 7—"chemo", "key notes", & "be broke"
Lines 8, 9,10, & 11—"do this", "truest", "U.S", & "you just"
Lines 12 & 13—"words" & "works"

Lines 14 & 15—"know" & "frisco"
Lines 18, 19, & 20—"still", "kill", & "feel"

"You for admit, You never hear nuttin like this/I was late to the party now I have it lit/I brought the climax I found the clit"—Mdot boldly states that we have never heard what he does before. We need not pretend and just admit it. His sounds, his delivery, his lyrics.

The line I was late at the party could be a metalepsis, based on the figurative expression "better late than never". There's an internal rhyme as "admit" rhymes (near) with "this" & "you" is repeated twice (diacope).

Even though he was late to the game/party, he's had it lit, energised, he's made it great. These are bold claims that speak to the rapper's confidence. He likened (metaphorically) the way he's made the party lit, energised, giddy, euphoric, to finding the clit (clotoris) and

bringing things to a climax, crescendo, apogee. He compares the climax of the party to the orgasmic climax. Mdot is indicating that he's found the key, the midas touch and has been on top since his presence, arrival, in Ghana music.

His presence has shakened, energised, awaken, gingered, the industry. This imagery shows the rapper's relevance and contribution to the industry.

The first person singular pronoun "I" is repeated four times in lines 2 & 3, in a sort of parallel sentence structure (parallelism). Also, the use is "I" in various places in the two lines is referred to as conduplicatio.

"Forget about glitz grime and grit/No dey take shots it's who the shoe fits"—Mdot says forget about the extravagant display, the glitters (glitz), the ingrained dirt, the greasy stains (grime) and the grainy dirt (grit). What he means is, he is the real McCoy, the original.

Forget those who exhibit superficial extravagance, the pretentious showiness, and those who are at the bottom or those wack, lousy rappers. Forget about them.

The line "Forget about glitz grime and grit" uses metonymy by using "glitz grime and grit" to refer to superficial aspects of music that the Mdot does not value.

Additionally, the contrast between "glitz, grime, and grit" and Mdot's focus on authenticity and genuine passion creates an antithesis that emphasizes his values.

He's not taking shots but who the shoes fit can wear it. He's not intentionally taking shots at anyone but if this

description fits you, you can claim it. The phrase "who the shoes fit" is a metalepsis that's based on the figurative expression, "who the cap fit, let him wear it". Mdot has rephrased it to suit the purpose here.

There's the alliteration/consonance of the hard "g" sound in line 4—"forget", "glitz", "grime", & "grit"; the "l" sound from line 1 to 4—"like", "late", "lit", "climax", "clit", & "glitz"; "c" sound in line 3—"climax", & "clit"; the "t" sound from line 1 to 5—"admit", "nuttin",

"late", "party", "it", "lot", "brought", "clit", "forget", "about" "glitz", "grit", "take", "shots", "it's", "fits"; the "sh" sound in line 5—"shots" & "shoe".

There's the assonance of the "o" sound from line 2 to 5—"now", "brought", "found", "forget", "about", & "shots".

There's an internal rhyme in line 4—"glitz" & "grit" & line 5—"it's" & "fits"; & "who" & "shoe". There's an inter-line internal rhyme between lines 4 & 5—"glitz" & "it's"; & lines 2 & 3—"now" & "found".

There's an end-rhyme scheme for line 1 to 5 with the scheme "aaaaa"—"this", "lit", "clit", "grit" & "fits".

"Inspiration and I are buddies we click/Bring all your crews bring all your cliques/The devil's in the details, triple six"—Mdot claims that he's one with inspiration.

He personifies inspiration by insinuating that they are buddies. His muse walks beside him. They agree with each other, they fit, they are yin-yang. He's inspired and has passion for the work he does. He doesn't need to entice inspiration or his muse, he doesn't have to create

special conditions to be inspired. Hence no writer's block.

The word "click" in "Inspiration and I are buddies we click" is an example of onomatopoeia, which imitates the sound of two things coming together in harmony.

He asks everyone to come with their friends, group, crew, cliques. They should bring everyone to listen to him. He doesn't care who they are—the toughest and hardest to please or the intransigent ones. Just bring them.

This is an expression of confidence in his abilities and ability to impress even the toughest crowd.

But the devil is in the details (imagery), that is, the details is where the Terms and Conditions are.

Not paying attention to the details can create problems. He ends this line by alluding to the anti-christ, whose number is said to be triple 6 (symbolism). Similarly, the rapper used triple 6 as a metonym for the devil.

The rapper is saying that paying attention to the details is what does it. It is what gives him the confidence to win the toughest crowd. Being micro-level creative. Every aspect of a show, the music, must contribute to the whole.

The synergies that will be created by all these tiny details will lead to greater success. Not paying attention to the details will lead to disaster.

The repetition of the phrase "bring all your" separated by "crew" is referred to as diacope. It's also an anaphora since the phrase "bring all your" is repeated for successive clauses.

There's an assonance of the "i" sound in line 6 to 8—"inspiration", "I", "click", "bring", "cliques" & in line 1 to 7—"admit", "nuttin", "this", "I" (4x), "climax", "lit", "it", "glitz", "grime", "grit", "it's", & "fits".

There's the repetition of the "c" sound which creates an alliteration from line 6 to 8—"click", "crews", & "cliques"; and the "d" in line 8—"devil" & "details". There's an end rhyme on the line 6 to 8—"click", "cliques" & "six".

"It's a juicy day we might hear juicy j/Do my dirt by lonely, treacherous way/It’s Hip-Hop hooray, but afrobeats highlife let's do it our way/Like play like play/We are innovators stop dey kwashay"—Today is a beautiful day, a fruitful (profitable, rewarding) day,

hence we might hear Juicy J. The latter is an allusion to Jordan Michael Houston III, known professionally as Juicy J, an American rapper and record producer.

"Do my dirt by lonely, treacherous way" references one of two rap songs—the first is "I Do My Dirty All by My Lonely" by Gangsta Dre released in 1995 and the second is "Dirt All By My Lonely" by Naughty by Nature, which was released on March 24, 1999 as a single off their fifth

studio album album, Nineteen Naughty Nine: Nature's Fury. The hook opens with "I do my dirt all by my lonely "Hey!" Find the phony".

To do "dirt" means to do your shit, to do what you have to do. To do "by my lonely" means to do things by yourself without help. The rapper therefore is stating that he's on this journey alone & doing what he has to do my himself on this danger-laden, -hidden (treacherous) path.

"It’s Hip-Hop hooray, but afrobeats highlife let's do it our way"—"Hip-Hop Hooray" is an allusion to a song by Naughty by Nature released in December 1992 as the first single from their third album, 19 Naughty III (1993).

This indicates that the previous allusion was to Naughty by Nature and not Gangsta Dre. The song has a vibrant, happy, party like feel. Its reference here, juxtaposed with Afrobeat and Highlife and connected by the conjunction "but", seems to suggest that even though Hip-Hop

may be waving the flag, we also have Afrobeats & Highlife, so let's do things our way. We can ride on Afrobeats and Highlife or fuse them with Hip-Hop. The rapper is also expressing a desire to do things in his own unique way, rather than following convention.

"Like play, like play" is a Twi transliteration that roughly means "playfully", though whenever it is used, mostly to introduce a conversation, it's intended meaning is the opposite of "playfully". What it seeks to do is to state an achievement that started off as a non-serious

task, as a joke, as a routine, but which turned out to yield significant results. Its use here follows similar pattern. The rapper is saying that it might have started as something to be done for its sake but the truth is that they're innovators hence people should stop fooling

or messing about—"Like play like play/We are innovators stop dey kwashay". "Kwashay" is localised Pidgin, perhaps with roots in "quashed" but expanded to mean many different things including street hustlers & street acts like ridding a person off his belongings.

However, its use here means "messing up"—"stop messing up" or "be serious". This line seeks to emphasise the meaning of the previous line. "Like Play, Like Play" is also a the title of a song by Kelly Hansome.

In this couplet, the rapper is looking back on his work and realising the strides he's made, the barriers he's broken, the boundaries he's extended and appreciating his effort.

The repetition of "like play" is an epizeuxis or palilogia. There's an internal rhyme in line 9—"day" & "j"; line 10—"by" & "my"; line 11—"hooray" & "way"; line 12—"play" & "play"; & line 13—"dey Kwashay". There's the repetition of the "j" sound (or alliteration) in line 9—

"juicy", "j", & "juicy"; of the "h" sound in line 11—"Hip-Hop", "hooray" & "highlife". There's a between-lines internal rhyme on lines 11, 12, & 13—"hooray", "play" & "dey" & an alternating internal rhyme between lines 9 & 11—"day" & "hooray".

The end-rhyme scheme of this set if lines in this group is "aaaaa"—"j", "way", "way", "play", & "kwashay".

"Nkoraa mo aba mo mmu adeɛ/I will leave you a legacy, mo agyapadeɛ"—The rapper is saying that kids of today have no respect (nkɔraa ɔmmo aba mmu adeɛ) but he'll leave them a legacy, which will be their inheritance (agyapadeyɛ, transliterated as good father's thing).

The use of "kids of today" is meant to taunt other rappers. It isn't necessarily younger rappers. The legacy could be the boldness to experiment with sounds, the mainstreaming of the alté, the belief that putting the arts first can be rewarding, or that one need not to dumb down

to become mainstream.

Hence let the drum roll. Drum roll is a drum beat pattern used to introduce an announcement, event, something, or someone.

He went on to give big ups to "Drvmroll", a beat maker & producer. He produced 7 songs on the #NoWhereCool album—B.E.A.R, Nowhere Cool, Now here Cool, Hand Dey Go Hand Dey Come, Simple Love with OT Guitarist, Damn You Rafiki and Goodbye off (co-produced).

kuulpeeps.com/2020/11/05/its…

"So let the drum roll/Kudos to the youngins like DrumrOll"—It is for young ones like this that Mdot called the drum to roll for (Kudos to the youngins like Drvmroll). He's giving them, all the young ones (upcoming artists) in the industry, shout outs and encouraging them not to

stray off the course but to stay the course because they have what it takes to shape the future, to create significant impact (You can shape the future tell em I said so).

The Ghana music industry is a place where meritocracy does not have a place, or factor into any thing. You can be so much talented and people will still not work with you because of petty personal perceptions. Some people have made themselves the gatekeepers, especially the

"controllers" of the mainstream media, who actively black list artistes they don't like on their platforms. One needs to be resolute and strategic to penetrate the industry.

However, when it comes to fresh flows, he, "Festo" (one of M.anifest's many sobriquets), considers himself the best. "And your baritone it works". And he is unashamed and fearless to say it, damn what anyone has to say about it.

"Makaa Maka" is an allusion to the rapper's single released in 2012, where he made bold statements to stake his place in the Ghana music scene. It's also the title of an album by the Hiplife Grand-papa Reggie Rockstone. For Reggie, this was the nascent development stage of the

Hiplife genre (an experimentation genre that fused Hip-Hop with Highlife in different proportions). "Makaa Maka" means "I have said"; je has said what you knew, that he is the best, from the get go, from the onset.

"Panyin de panyin" is a statement used to emphasise the experience that comes with age. It loosely translates as "the elder is the elder". However, here it's a metaphor for a leader, someone who's ahead in any field, or someone who has seen it all.

Mostly, the longer someone has been in a field, the more they know about that field because of the experiences they've gained through problem solving and troubleshooting. He's the leader in his field, case closed. Nothing to discuss. End of discussion.

"I base you already know/Don't ask me questions fi ka na tso"—He's established his roots (base), himself, and you already know that so don't ask him questions. In this context, it could mean having a strong base, loyal fans, or followers. Being known.

"I base" could also mean "you already know where I stand" or "you know what I'm about".

The rapper concluded the verse and the rap with "fi ka na tso", which means "where do you come from".

This could be a statement of his respect and pride in where he comes from, which is asserted by questioning others or it could be a deprecating question of "who are you to question me?".

The end-rhyme scheme of this last set of lines in verse two is "aabbbbbbbb"—"adiɛ" & "agyapadiɛ"; & "drum roll", "DrumrOll", "said so", "said so", "best though", "get go", "case closed", "already know", "fi ka na tso".

These are polysyllabic rhymes as the penultimate syllables also rhymes. For instance, "drum", "Drum"; "said", "best", "get", "already", "case", "fi ka na".

There's an internal rhyme in line 14—"mo" & "mo"; line 16—"so" & "roll"; line 17—"kudos" & "DrumrOll";

line 19—"flow", "Festo", & "though"; line 20—"makaa" & "maka"; & line 21—"panyin" & "panyin". There's a between-lines internal rhyme between lines 16 & 17—"so" & "kudos"; lines 14 & 15—"mo" & "mo".

There's an alliteration of the "l" sound from lines 15 to 19—"wilk","leave", "legacy", "let", "roll", "DrumrOll", "tell", & "flow"; of the "f" sound in line 19—"fresh", "flow", & "Festo"; and of the "k/c/q" sound in line 23—"ask","questions", "ka".

There's also the assonance of the vowel "a" sound in "makaa", "maka", "panyin", & "panyin".

There was a lot of code-switching in this rap. The rapper switched from English to Pidgin to Twi & then finally, Ewe.

#BEAR
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Watch the official video here

END (M'ANO ASI)

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