Number of the Beast | 3BOPS

1. Iron Maiden, “The Number of the Beast”

💿 The Number of the Beast • 🏷 Sanctuary • 📅 1982

“666, the number of the beast / Hell and fire was spawned to be released.” No better way to close out a devilish list than with the iconic 🎙 Iron Maiden cut, 🎵 “The Number of the Beast.” Safe to say, Steve Harris penned a classic – one ‘hell’ of a song! So, what is the significance of the number? Well, 666 is referenced in the Book of Revelation from 📚 The Bible and represents the Devil. Science Alert sheds light on the significance of this devilish number.

One final thing. Ask yourself this question. What was your first encounter with “The Number of the Beast”? Personally, mine was 🎮 Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4.  Nothing devilish about the video game – just some sick tricks and a bad ass soundtrack!

“666, the number of the beast
Sacrifice is going on tonight...
666, the one for you and me.”

Also appears on 🔽:

🔗 🎧 These 15 songs Have the Devil in Mind

2. Bon Iver, “666 ʇ”

💿 22, A Million • 🏷 Jagjaguwar • 📅 2016

🎵 “666 ʇ” puts religion and skepticism at the forefront.  I mean, look at the title, which features an infamous number as well as an upside-down cross. Yikes!  The first line of this 🎙 Bon Iver song references ‘the number of the beast’: “6’s hang in the door / What kind of shit to ignore / I’ve cut the cloth.”  Can you say ‘damn’ as in damnation? Also, did I mention that “666 ʇ” is the sixth track of the numerology-, spiritually- driven 💿 22, A Million (2016)?

Even with the references to Satan, there numerous religious allusions, often related to spirituals. Some Genius annotators believe the lyric, “Take me into your palms / What is left when unhungry” is related to 🎵 “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”, for example.  It also seems to highlight 🎙 Justin Vernon’s complex relationship with religion itself.  Certainly, he remains conflicted when he alludes to 🎵 “Standing in The Need of Prayer”:

“I’m still standing in
I’m still standing in your need of prayer
The need of prayer.”

“666 ʇ” is a complex but intriguing record.

3. YG, “666”

Ft. YoungBoy Never Broke Again

💿 STAY DANGEROUS • 🏷 Def Jam • 📅 2018

“Ayy, damn, this beat got bass / Everything that’s bad for me right here in my face.” Ah, the power of diablo! 🎙 YG keeps it G on 🎵 “666,” the 10^th track on his 2018 album, 💿 STAY DANGEROUS.  Sure, the main attractions on STAY DANGEROUS are bangers 🎵 “Big Bank” and 🎵 “Handgun”, but the devilish song at hand is worth highlighting too.

As for explicitly mentioning the devil, YG does so at the end of the second verse:

“I’m haunted by these demons, yeah, I see ‘em walk (walk)
So, you know I got the devil in my thoughts (thoughts)
I be seein’ the devil in my living room hall (hall)
I just hope I ain’t got the devil in my little Heart (this shit for real).”

Woo! YG enlists a young but hard-nosed colleague in 🎙 YoungBoy Never Broke Again. Alongside YG, YoungBoy brings bite and aggressive, assertive rhymes to the table:

“Five, that’s my Blood blatt, strictly that 4L shit
Quick, a shooter 12 shit, without the dope, young nigga rich
Challenged at your own risk
I up and bust your dome bitch (boo-bow).”

Adding to the electric nature of this devilish track is an outro performed by 🎙 Albert “Alchemist” Thompson that encompasses ‘staying dangerous.’