Eyebrow-Raising Lyrics From 2015

5. Lupe Fiasco, “Chopper” 

featuring Billy Blue, Buk of Psychodrama, Famlay, Glasses Malone, Trae Tha Truth & Trouble 

[Tetsuo & Youth, 2015]

 “Filet mignon with my food stamps / car cosigned by my mama / medical card from Obama / background check for a chopper”

Few rappers do socioeconomic issues better than Lupe Fiasco. The same could be said about “Chopper,” namely this quote, which characterizes the hook.   Let’s break this down into each part. “Filet mignon with my food stamps” suggests that folks are given a great amount of ‘wealth’ from food stamps and welfare. Because of this, people receiving such aid eat good, even if filet mignon might be an exaggeration. Still, when one goes to the grocery store and a person has EBT, they often purchase their groceries once they first receive it and have substantial items.

Moving on, “Car cosigned by my mama,” suggests Mama will be responsible/is paying for the ride. “Medical card from Obama” falls in line with the reference to food stamps, but also has a connotation of ‘enabling’ mediocrity as opposed to ‘enable’ folks to better themselves. Finally, the key line is “background check for a chopper,” which has been a huge problem not only in ‘the hood,’ but across the United States. Numerous instances have found guns falling in the wrong hands, with the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, and the Aurora, Colorado Theater Shooting being two prime examples. 

6. Madonna, “Holy Water”

[Rebel Heart, 2015]

“Baby you should get down low / and drink my precious alcohol”

We’ll keep this one short – Madonna is being freaky. Specifically, this track is blasphemous because “Holy Water” is by no means anything like communion wine. No, Madonna is referencing sex, and we’ll leave this eyebrow-raising line at that. 

7. Kendrick Lamar, “King Kunta”

[To Pimp A Butterfly, 2015]

“B*tch where you when I was walkin’ / Now I run the game got the whole world talkin’, King Kunta / Everybody wanna cut the legs off him…”

Kendrick Lamar brilliantly makes reference to the Kunta Kinte, the slave that was the protagonist of Roots. He likens his stature in rap to Kunta Kinte ‘running the show’ and folks wanting to “cut the legs off him.” Kendrick Lamar has blown up so that haters – likely many of his colleagues that are less gifted – want to end his remarkable rise and run.

8. Rae Sremmurd, “Sex Sex Pay Checks”

[Sremmlife, 2015]

“Safe sex, and paychecks / that’s what it’s all about, don’t forget about”

Basically, these young dudes want money and sex. At least they are all about “wrapping it up.” The shock value isn’t that two young men want to make bank and hook up with girls – ask most young men and they’d concur.

The shock value is that life has been oversimplified to money and sex, when there is so much more depth beyond both things. But again, these are young guys and maybe the maturity factor has yet to kick in. Judging by Sremmlife itself, that seems to be the case.