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Mos Def Ghetto Rock |
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Click on underlined words for more information, including additional meanings and cultural background. |
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| Original | |
Translation of Slang |
| (Spoken) |
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Hello Children CHORUS Black Jack Johnson New York City, playing great music The sun and the moon, earth, stars, and planets Before this song is done, you will all understand it |
| Like - Hot |
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It's very exciting |
| Ha, jackpot, I got to go for broke 'Cuz this the only way the Smith family know to go Right here to my youngest one is older folks Im'ma put down like a dirty so and so Freak daddy came here to work the mojo - oh Because the high is high and the low is low And that goes for the sinner man to holy folks Put your shit in the sky like I know you want to (oh) (Brooklyn stand up!) Ha, my ghetto nation get toe to toe Stay rocking steady steady 'cause I told you so And after y'all get it go I let it go some more That Black Jack about something for sure for sure (Say what!) For sure, for sure (Ha!) Let me see you in the world making your shoulder roll And if it get good tell your nigga throw your 'bows 'Cuz we are so ghetto Yes we are rock and roll Yes we are so ghetto Yes we are rock and roll Yes we are so ghetto Yes we are rock and roll Yes we are so ghetto Yes we are - rock and motherfucking roll (Woo!) |
Ha, I want the jackpot--I
have to take big risks for a big reward Because that is the only way people from my family know how to do things Right here to my youngest one is older people I'm going to rap with bad words I'm a wild man who came to use his magic power Because the high is high and the low is low And that is true for both sinners and holy people Try for the highest goals (Brooklyn stand up!) Ha, my people who are from the inner city, get ready to dance Keep dancing because I told you to And after you get it started, I will rap some more Black Jack Johnson is certainly great (Wow!) Certainly, certainly (Ha!) Let me see you in the world making your shoulders roll And if it gets good, tell your black friend, "Throw your elbows." Because we are so ghetto Yes we are rock and roll Yes we are so ghetto Yes we are rock and roll Yes we are so ghetto Yes we are rock and roll Yes we are so ghetto Yes we are really rock and roll (Woo!) |
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Ha, I am a fighter and a lover |
Ha, I am a fighter and
a lover |
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CHORUS (2 times) |
CHORUS (2
times) |
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| Black Jack Johnson is the name of Mos Def's rock band. The original Jack Johnson, and undoubtedly the source of the band's name, was an African American man who won the world heavyweight boxing championship in 1908 (though not officially until 1910). Johnson's flamboyant life was the subject of "Unforgivable Blackness," a 2004 Ken Burns documentary for American Public Television . Black Jack Johnson N.Y.C., R-O-C-K-I-N-G... The rhythm of the chorus is based on an American children's playground chant, shown below. Normally, this one is used to taunt children who appear to be romantically interested in another student--a taboo for American seven-year-olds.
Smokey Smoke slang for marijuana, this is also the name of a Southern rapper and more notably, a gangsta rapper ("Puff Smokey Smoke") played for laughs by comedian Tommy Davidson in the 2004 comedy Juwanna Mann. Smith family Mos Def's birth name was Dante Smith. mojo this word was originally about witchcraft and black magic, but it is now also used to talk about sexual powers. Put your shit in the sky like I know you want to (It's unclear what the last two words in the line are because "Oh!" is shouted at the same time. "Want to" is what it sounds like to me.) I chose the more general meaning for the translation of these words. However, in the video, skateboarders jump up from a ramp at this line. |
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ghetto nation/'Cuz we are so ghetto In Standard English, the word ghetto means a poor area in the city where minorities live close together and the word is negative. However, Mos Def chooses to present the word in a positive way, stressing the strength, solidarity and creativity of people from the inner city. Stay rockin' steady Most likely a reference to the Rock Steady Crew, a well-known break dancing group from the Bronx. Breakdancing is shown during these lyrics. Get toe to toe...throw your 'bows The lines from get toe to toe to throw your bows can mean fighting as well as dancing. Toe to toe is normally about fighting, but the line "keep rocking steady" and the images in the video support the interpretation of dancing. "Making your shoulder roll" and "throw your 'bows" are both ambiguous. In the Ludacris song Southern Hospitality he says women are dancing "in the club throwing pretty ass 'bows." However, in the Brooke Valentine song Girl Fight, she says, "We bout to throw dem bows" in reference to throwing her elbows at another woman in a fight. Earth, wind, fire This could be a reference to 1970s funk rock band Earth, Wind and Fire as well as to the elements. Work songs/Civil War Many African Americans were technically freed from slavery in 1863 with Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. However, actual freedom did not come until the Civil War ended in 1865. While working in the fields, slaves often sang rhythmic songs. You can click to listen online to some of this traditional African American music, such as the spiritual Trouble So Hard and work song It's a Long John. Many of these songs continued as work songs for prisoners (like Po Lazurus, which prisoners sang at the beginning of the film O Brother Where Art Thou?) and these songs have also influenced rap music. playground chants Here is a link to a page with some popular examples of other traditional rhymes like the chorus of this song. These chants also involve rhythmic hand clapping between pairs of children (usually girls), some quite complex. To see an example of how the clapping is done, watch the video for this song on the downloads page of Mos Def's website. Little girls are chanting with simple traditional hand claps between 2:22 and 2:27. |
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