Our "Lyrical Masters" mixtape kicks off with a line-by-line analysis of J Cole's 2020 track "The Climb Back."
For clues on what artist and song we're dissecting next week, follow @dissectpodcast on Instagram.
Host, writer: Cole Cuchna
Producer: Justin Sayles
Audio Editing: Kevin Pooler
Theme Music: Birocratic
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This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
The most important thing. J cold, learn in high school was how to climb mounted a passionate basketball player
dreams of one day making the mba call tried out for his high schools, jv team as a freshman and was cut from the team he blew off arrogantly believing it was their mistake, making no effort to improve his game the next year he tried out again and again.
He didn't make the cut this time. The rejection was a reality check and so for the first time in his life,
call legitimately worked on his craft spending his off season in the gym. Doing drills stained discipline his junior year call me the team, but he didn't get much playing time. So, once again, he spent his offer.
And working to senior year. Not only did he make the team, he was named starter, reflecting on this experience, call wrote quote this accomplishment might seem insignificant to most, but for me it may have been the key. The unlocked the rest of my life.
proof to myself that I can climb mounted ladys, etc residual. The story of a young man who, let everyone every day, say surgery, caroline down, to be exact, packed up all they said to the big Syrians raise money, so we have a modern day. Disadvantaged area Jacob would eventually put basketball on the back burner to pursue and equally boston dream becoming a hip hop superstar after
having from north carolina to your call me that
for himself with his davy mix tape the come up now
It is naive. Assumption of making the j beating co felt. It was only a matter of
time until he got signed. Meanwhile, he was broke in parting too much and I was kind of
being complacent, because I had crazy music and I was kind of chilling like as if that was good enough to get me to where I needed to go, and I had a realization once
in a party
in omaha, so I had to leave the party and go to the backyard. So I'm back to paranoia. Oh my god, my nigga I'm gone.
we need a life. His army may read his walk in the back yard,
as confirmed by only one hour's regulate, bro eternity
intervention, these negative light a row what you doing
say you want to do his music shit
All you do is really design hanging out party nancy and, at this point,
twenty one years old in army tweets all remaining away. They make it as well as you wasn't fucking working
once again call got to work. He spent
while hours a day. Writing verses, stink discipline
the result was another mix tape. The warmer like, if led signal lights, please caught the ear of close idle, jane
he who signed him to his first major labour record deal jake hall had climbed another man
in his third did you up and twenty fourteen forced to strive for
only made the team is a multi time all star starter forest till strive
This third out into debut you at number one he broke the spot. If I record, for most streams, are we
through the setting up and use across the world, and he had been nominated for multiple grammy's, but shortly upper cool arrived home from tour and twenty sixteen,
He began to notice a change, the top of the mount
I was no longer a peak, it was becoming a plateau
his past five years has been a fight against crime.
This is the moment a lotta, your favor wrappers, hit across role where they
what the fuck they set out to do and in the
frouzly labour started, working against them
energy and gnss like personally put into the craft, was gone in those
placed by light covered in love,
call had grown accustomed to the altitude.
his own admission. He become uninspired. No longer caring about
punch lines and witty lyricism. The way he did when writing those early mixed apes, improving himself to the world. I had
make a real decision. Are you
Ok, we get a comfortable in schiller mail in it in this is as high as you ever got. Not
career success while performing scale level. Did you leave? No sir,
an entire creatively, and when I thought about it,
as I am now not cool with their so called it. The only thing he knew house he bought
The mindset of the off season he built a student.
in the basement of his house and went to work riding verses, making beef sting discipline through,
power of his own mental manipulation. Coal transformed the plateau into the
Ace of an even taller mountain and he was ready to climb
The spotify
well kushner, and this is dissect long form.
Legal analysis broken into short digestible episodes. Welcome to our first ever mix tape
serious or will be dissecting one song from different artist. Every episode this mix tape
been is lyrical masters, exploring some of her pops most gifted lyricists. Today we're taking things off.
Jake NOS twenty, twenty song, the climate. This episode is broadly by peacock,
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or had showed that? U s, slash the power trickles attempt to reinvigorate his
She for rap, resulted in twenty twenty ones. The off season, a self describe master class in preparation. The climb back was the projects for single released in july of twenty two.
Many a tumultuous summer that found american trench and a global pandemic will reckoning with the racially motivated killings of among our mary brianna taylor and george floyd. The self produce track begins with an excerpt of John hydras, the dow, with leadership, a book that applies chinese dallas principles of simplicity and
for harmony to modern leadership. Are you doing this work to facilitate growth or to become famous, which is more imports?
acquiring more possessions are becoming more conscious, which works better, getting or letting go
there's a problem with owning a lot as apply
when was getting more and more
the more you have and the more you get the more you
to look after and the more
might lose. Is that owning a being owned? But if you give up thing
You can give up spending your life looking after them. True to taoism. The sector offers
policy as a solution to self imposed. Stress underscoring, the ego,
and motivations of acquiring, more and more be it material possessions.
recognition culture pieces from this passage to create this,
Are you doing this work to facilitate growth or to become famous, which is not letting letting go understand in the context of the climb back, I could see all these questions would resonate with coal, as his artistic growth had become hamstrung by the comforts of fame and fortune.
in order to grow again. He had to let go of those comforts and returned to his mentality when he had nothing but also the entirety, of course, career arctic. Consider as the
season is ultimately consider by call a preparation for his final album, the fall off the question between get
or letting go. Thus articulate call at a crossroads between him getting a music career and now preparing to let go of it beyond its personal implications.
I think the tao of leadership in the midst of heated national protests and collective chaos feels like a potent offering of historic wisdom aimed at american leaders during this time. Donald trump was a president who many
what desired the presidential title more for his own ego and personal fame than his belief in his ability to lead the country in two thousand and twenty specifically, a poll found that neither
two thirds of americans believe trump was doing more to divide the nation than united, fittingly taoism foundational text. The doubt asia
It was first written as an attempt to restore harmony and a chinese kingdom riddled with widespread disorders and chaos. The climax opening gesture first
ended in the turmoil of twenty twenty, can be heard, both as an indictment of trumps leadership
the suggestion to embrace the iulus principles of taoism in order to restore harmony and america's own time of crisis. Now, after the opening sample the climb back launches into its main instrumental produced by call himself
the tracks central sample source from a nineteen seventy force on called I'm. So in love with you by brief encounter, this excerpt is chopped pitched up and time stretched to create this
a bar loop and this rendition of the sample
appear to say you can do anything. I can do this. The magic under current will sustain throughout
the entirety of the songs, five minute duration,
as a reminder that any both call makes about himself is also attainable, buys listeners behind his main sample call programmes
rhythmically, ambiguous drum pattern, while the snare john falls, predictably on the third beat of each for beat measure, the kick drums or unpredictably placed across an eight be pattern. Creating a fluid
slow motion group that lacks a concrete foundation tank compaq of apples are glad that the true light gotta try once in a while. I had long will it take for use man just come back alive. My leg is big business like the city up. Is it had a nice painted, sir red someone, so here call begins the songs.
Everything come back around full circle once again with the key.
understanding of the songs context. The opening line describes calls desire to rekindle the fire he had early in his career. Here we noticed some clever where play with come back a hybrid of the come up, his davy mix tape and the
I back the song attempting to return to the come up artistic drive this, but the that
we'll definition of full circle, which is a series of debt
elements at led back to the original source position or situation. The symbol,
Circle also maintains the motif of chinese philosophy established at the song start a central.
boy used in taoism and other eastern religions is jean Yang or an outer circle. Rubber
since the primordial universe, which is divided into two halves by corrupt line. One half of the circle is black, representing the inside the others white for the Yang side,
A circular dog of the opposing color sits within each have, broadly speaking, union darkened light
represents the duality of opposite and equal qualities forming a whole whenever one call
he reaches its peak and will naturally begins
transform into the opposite quality
Daddy jean describes the concept. This way, when people see things as beautiful ugliness is created when people see things as good, evil is good.
It being a non being produced each other difficult, uneasy, complement each other long and short define each other high and low oppose each other. If clear call was intentionally tapping into these duality is, as it continues, the chorus
highlighting opposites. He wraps. Why do lie sound pleasant, but the truth hurtful everybody got a cry once in a while, but how long will it take before you smile? These observational question seem purposefully, open, ended, encouraging individual exploration
and meditation, the first question about the seemingly contradictory experience of lies be more pleasurable than truth is at its heart, a question about it
section of reality verses reality itself after we consciously or unconscious,
we bend our perception of reality to me or desires are expectations to make us feel better about ourselves or even justify behalf
We know deep down to be wrong. These fabricated realities provide escape or comfort in the short term.
Inevitably come crashing down when we no longer can outrun the truth, forcing us to climb
one of the main goals of taoism, stripping oneself of ego and desire that cause these problematic misconceptions in order to observe and become one with the true nature of the universe, avoiding the crash. The facilitates the need for the climb back in the first place,
holding continues. Wrapping this is that come back to life should again, it seems to me
self referential, about his return to music, resurrecting his passion for rapid. But of course he still playing with universal dichotomy, life and death within the consistent eastern,
teeth come back to life as a play on reincarnation. A fundamental concept in many eastern religions, then for the first time, call gets more specific wrapping. My
Words pick me up and we all night, the city up, as if the sun had the night shift. The duality here is light and dark day and night cause friends, picking it up as a play on the previous come back to life as if he symbolically being picked up off the
round or from out of a casket cause, also literally being picked up by his friends and a car. So they can go light the city up or party all night. He then adds a bit of a twist at the end of the corridor, saying and paint the town read for my inward found dead too soon paint the town red usually refers to a spray of some kind, most opt in a night out parting with friends which continues
the theme of the previous line, but we're forced to second guess. It's interpretation where we understand that the motivation here is the untimely death of a black man. Given the cultural climate. At the time of the song's release, we can't help but think of the
murder of george floyd under the knee of a white police officer. In this context,
the city up and painting the town red likely refers to the protests.
occurred in the wake of floyd's death, where buildings were
on fire and cities were torn up, an outrage over the continual abuse and systemic oppression of the black community now
this additional layers to this course layers that will become clear,
once we hear more of what ass to say, tat city?
after that, rodney says it figures to play the joint turned up digestible, decimated joint tacoma projects like the workers that nato points and you'll see how I flipped like exclamation points monday august first, is that they have a place to point more to Gaza strip feel for you all. The calls revitalized drive for punchlines and wordplay is immediately put on display in the versus opening moments. He raps to the left of that desk
more, I need seven figures to play. The joint with a decent
point being the dividing mark between dollars. Incense, seven figures to the left of it
denotes a million dollar figure. The starting price for coal to play the joint or perform live at a venue noticed the quicken
when I arrived at the first syllables and left and decimal le and death,
also what we might call a ghost rhyme as coal refers to a decimal point and despite not
actually saying the word point: he still create the rhine with it in joint. He continues turn up your decibels, peep how I decimated joint
No, as both the internal rime and the liberation of decimal decibels and decimate, while maintaining the music motif with decibels.
Waiting to boil levels, call telling us to turn up. Our decibels is a clever way to say, listen closely, the rapid
Internal rhymes allow call to rhyme joint with joint in two successive lines, without feeling lazy or repetitive in this second use of joint he's now referring to a song, both
his ability to decimate or destroy the track continues
analogy check out my projects, like them, workers that section eight appoint section. Eight housing, also known as the projects or federal
Subsidized houses for low income families, who might also
I social workers making visits to these houses call, of course, create a double entendu with projects referring to his musical projects. Full of joint he's decimated
nor is how he maintains a double rhyme scheme. A section eight rhymes with decimate, while appoints rhymes with joint heathen punctuates, is opening cos.
train with an actual punctuation mark, saying
see how I've lived like exclamation point. Here we get the elusive quadruple entendu with the word flipped. First, it continues the housing motif as in flipping houses or turning a profit by buying property for cheap and selling it for more.
we after renovation, this reading is then a boast about calls ability to make something out of nothing finding success through his musical ability. Second,
flip refers to flipping a sample. A phrase used to describe when a producer transforms an excerpt ever preexisting song by creatively incorporating it into their original production. If we were to check out calls projects like he asked, we would
and then he self produce. Many of his own tracks, including this one where he literally flips a sample third flip, refers to flipping out
fearing to close ability to spell out lyrically on a track. Finally, the fourth
There is a literal play on the lower case letter. I wish, when flipped upside down
an exclamation point. The symbol used to it
breast passion or excitement, referring to
was decimating exports of wrapped the new ones
played doesn't and here, as he continues. My edwards shoot first, as if they never played the point more two guards: cold
in the basketball analogy contrasting appoint guard the past first position that a team with the score first position to guard
also known as a shooting guard. The play here, as I close friends, are quick to shew or pulled it.
Rigour of a gun rather than assessed the situation like a point guard assessing the floor and making sound decisions. This
the way to the line enough strapped to feel for you halls on the surface,
the claim that a shooters have enough weapons to fill multiple large, you hall trucks with straps slang for guns, being a play on ratchet straps Eustace,
Cargo inside moving trucks, but feel for as an official for you, hawes seems to be a Hama phone for fear
fort and all american basketball player who played for the tar heels in jake holes, home state of north carolina, fittingly phil ford played point gart. We also recognise that informed
The first six months of the verse coal has included a number there.
Seven figures, section, eight, two guards and four: u hauls, given how intricately crafted these lines have been. We suspect these numbers might signify something and it turns out they do.
working backwards. We find that if we combine the two and four in the basketball analogy, we get twenty four. The number
be bright war in the second half of his career. Just six months prior to the climax release, Brian
logically died in a helicopter crash. So the not here feels like an appropriate image,
horace kobe was a shooting art tying improve
later. The lines to guard motif. This rebel
includes us into the meaning. Behind the eight, in section, eight
kobe wore the number eight in the first half of his career. But what about the first number? Seven,
Why isn't so obvious? That is until
combine it with the eight to get seventy eight signifying the year. Cobia was born. Nineteenth
would he have played the point more to god for you how depth the world was caused around these parts. We've put up rounds just the ground. These dots of black corpses in the county. Most of those images have been asleep in the morning and wanted a tunnel would like to be edgy hip hop awards are starting to see. You don't want it. I was thinking this is because I know for sure that mojo the cold trash rep was trying to go toe to toe. We learned that they're strapped up on the totem pole. The plan that best matches look at a total pole. Gotta know the broad center protocols. Are they gonna blow? Your clothes, then, like a promo code, made a note to continue
refer to his friends with a shoot. First mentality call continues the verse wrapping more death than world war. Two caused
used to be a comment on gun violence, pointing to the fact that since nineteen sixty eight more americans have died from
fire than died, and all the wars in american history combined cold in paints. A sobering image saying around these parts report the brown just to drown these thoughts of black corpses and county morgues.
Brown hair refers to brown liquor being poured out in memory of a dead friend or family member, a symbolic
that originated in the didn't, eightys and ninetys hip hop culture, or we can actually traces practice back to the ancient egyptians who had commemorate
the dead by pouring a small amount of water on the floor, with water being a symbol of eternal life at the same time saying that they poor brown just a drowned. These thoughts describes dream
as a coping mechanism to none the pain and trauma of witnessing and grieving. So many death. This emotion,
Psychological way keeps call up at night, as he says, lord, these images haunting I ain't, been asleep. Yet it's ten in the morning is essentially describing flashback.
Consistent with symptoms of post, traumatic, stress, disorder or ptsd. This continues. The war motif as ptsd is commonly associated with war veterans
however, recent research shows that african americans experienced ptsd at a higher rate than any other ethnic group, and there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that black people may experience a specific type of ptsd called race based travel.
stress, which is induced by repeatedly witnessing traumatic events in person and via social media, this research,
at racial trauma is expressed in many forms and often includes the same hyper vigilance, increased aggression and sensitivities of threats as traditional ptsd, however,
similar to war veterans, originally being resistant to the idea of ptsd at a fear of being perceived as weak and nineteen. Ninety eight study found that sixty three percent of african americans viewed mental health as a sign of weakness.
A mentality, particularly prominent in order generations in an article on ptsd in african americans, are weekly, spoke to an x
member who described a similar mentality. Saying quote: ptsd affects a lot of people. I used to run the streets with
times. What I've sleeping at night, I could see the faces of the people. I've heard I can hear them trying to negotiate for their life, asked me for mercy. It's also hard to spend time with me
not her outside, because I'm constantly looking over my shoulder just in case and edward recognized me from back in the day and wants to get revenge, I'm thinking of seeing a therapist or something but edwards. Like me, ain't built to get emotional with nobody
what it calls next line. We hear similar resistance about our ability ass. He followed his admission of sleepless nights caused by anxiety and flashbacks by saying
I think a warning. A problem with me is like the b e t hip hop awards, I'm starting to see that you Edwards, don't want it called
momentary expression of vulnerability triggers him to present a rugged hard, shall exterior lashing out preemptively and threatening his perceived opposition in political terms. This feels like hyper
lives or the state of being highly or abnormally alert to potential danger or threat. The specific reference to the bt awards place
the ceremony's general lack of public interest, which, in two thousand and twenty one hit an all time low in viewership co, compares his lack of interest to his opposition's lack of interest in challenging him. He continues the both in the next lines, I'm sick of this flaunting from edwards. I know for sure and got more dough than call trash, rappers ass backwards, trying to go toe to toe. We laugh at your call here makes a joke that his competitors are trying to go toe to toe with him, yet they are standing ass backwards, not toe to toe but but to, but an image that makes him laugh, notably cole makes clear his aggression is meant for his colleagues and rap, so as threats are metaphoric, this leads to the next line staff strapped up on top of the totem pole to blast acha bass masters. Look how the totem pole, referring back to his friends with straps
staff co claims to have snipers in high places, using the phrase top of the total to assert his place at the top of the hip hop hierarchy. Meanwhile, bass masters refers to the annual bass masters fishing competition, in which the most skilled fishermen compete, thus look how they total were first I'll skilled cool shooters are, as pole short for fishing pole is also slang for a gun.
This analogy. Continues with gotta know the robes and the protocol or they're gonna for sure blow your clothes off half off like a promo code. The ropes here plays off fishy wire, while protocol refers to an established, systematic procedure which, in this case means knowing your place in the pecking order of rap
Failure to comply will result in verbal assassination as coal plays, with retail clearance sales selling close half off and the image of someone's clothes being ripped apart by bullet holes, leaving them
physically missing half the material irregardless show blow your clothes like a promo code. Meda knows so calm holding cloud. Then it is still a zone of those under pressure where you know we're going to make us down they disarmed me pull a gold watch phone calls. You can't go home of all in this easy culture just years the gold like they can't see peace, those they must actually knows. I don't fucking three, please souls but no net. That shows what the dead body lay person doesn't sound with niggers way. A coke enact opposing can lie with deadly present on the ground, like a proper thought. I'd go for my bank, who continues to previous reference to blowing close half off wrapping made a little tune called falling close and edward still. Ain't don't afford, under pressure here,
references attract from his twenty sixteen album for your eyes. Only titled folding, close out of folk baby out on a moment because of its atypical subject matter, which detailed daily domestic life with his wife. Folding clothes became somewhat of a meme inspiring jokes across the internet, about doing laundry and drinking alban milk
cole points out the irony of making a song about folding when this is the opposite of what he actually does when put under pressure. Given the climax attempt to rekindle
passion of his early mixed tapes. It's possible this,
It is a reference to the issue of his two thousand nine mix tape. The warmer life sees the ghastly nuts seems like it gives you a lot of ways. These debts are living on the big seeps. Second track. The directly forces intro call seems to answer his own question.
falling under pressure, because I'm only made classics now, what did take time under pressure would then make rather than
under pressure kullak cells and makes diamonds which are literally form from carbon under intense pressure and heat.
call returned the same analogy in the climb back as it continue saying. Well, you know a call do make a diamond they just rhyming me, I'm quoting gold or call calls out a little
diamond his reference to rhyming also implies a diamond certification which is awarded when an artist cells, ten million, copies of an album or song, and twenty twenty two
who actually earned his first diamond certification for a song, no role models from two thousand fourteen force, hills drive me
while the line I'm quoting gold continues. The gemstone and certification wordplay as a goal.
record is awarded when an artist cells, five hundred thousand copies of an out more song
The similarities between these lines and those from the warm up it's possible cause, quoting god by quoting himself as the warm up was,
loaded over seven hundred thousand times on dat, piff alone, equivalent to a gold certification. As far as mixed tapes go, he continues. One phone call get you cancelled like a homophobic, this pc culture, this hypothetical phone call he placed
as to his shooters, who wait for his command to cancel or assassinate anyone. He names of this is wrapped in a reference to cancel culture and political correctness, which seeks to cancel or, and the career of any public figure
Who, in this case, says something disparaging about the queer community. Cleverly
in addition to politically correct, pc, also works as an abbreviation. A phone call. Clothing continues, as abbreviation motif wrapping addressed me as the goat, like they call chief keefe sosa. He still playing off the idea of call switching from a phone call to what you call or label someone cull, of course, should be called the greatest of all time. Just like chicago wrapper, chief Keith nickname is sosa. A reference to fictional drug king pin alessandra sosa from the movie scarface coextensive into in my sectional, like a fucking, three p sofa, I'm known as the chosen one he's playing off the
This section is used to describe a certain part or section of a neighborhood extending it to sectional to play off a sectional couch. Meanwhile, the chosen one moniker is another callback to his rise as a rapper as call it often refer to himself as such on those
mixed it make way, for it sounds of one you you never ever known, was cool closes outer space
by returning to the previous image of a black corpse saying another dead body lay frozen, that's how it go. Sometimes, when edwards weighing coke and not the pros and cons, he juxtaposes literally
cocaine on a scale to figure to be weighing the pros and cons of selling that cocaine which could endanger the dealer or the buyer, in contrast, call says well
ain't with that sleeping underground, like a gopher, so I go for minds the play here is on.
Being underground, use as a euphemism for being dead and buried six b underground. Of course, gophers live in sleep,
underground as well. Hence we get the harm a phone gopher mind. Describing clause drive to get what he wants.
Cleverly literal minds are buried underground and also relate back to the previous reference to diamond in gold which are collected by mining, thus call appropriately ends his first full of wordplay with a well executed. Triple entendu era will come back to dissect before the break. We analyzed the climax first verse, which found call oscillating between both
and descriptions of slain black men and, as with this context, that we can re analyzed the songs chorus which, on its second repetition, includes a key adduced
it'll, live and then come back around full circle, wider, less pleasant, but the truth hurts anybody got a crap once in a while. But how long will it take for you smile this? Is that come back alive? She needed like the cities. The nicest painted sound rent from your spouse did not know why they call it bloom. The babolat,
opening analysis of this course. We focused on two simultaneous interpretations, cause returned a passion
lyricism, the twenty twenty protests, around murderous acts of police brutality,
in the second course call services, another layer with the addition of a new last line. He says that come back to life, shit by edwards pick
and we got light the city up, as if the sun had the night shift and paint a town read for my edward found dead too soon
Now I know why they call it. Blue moon,
Food here literally brings a hook for circle, as it starts with everything, come back around full circle and ends with an image of an actual circle, a moon specifically a blue moon, as in the phrase once in a blue moon which is used to describe something that rarely happen.
The cold doesn't seem to be using as such, rather, he visa
the contrast with paint the town red creating another
I caught him in the court's red and blue here have to perhaps even three layers of meaning.
as it relates to our previous analysis of the these are the colors of police sirens and perhaps even allude to the american flag, but the strongest layer
the fact that red and blue are heavily associated with the countries to most well known gangs, blood's encrypt misread.
Cold, deliberately references gang, related gun violence described
the scenario in which cause picked up by a shooters to paint the town, red or retaliate against those who murdered his friend. Thus, I guess why they
at blue. Moon is a sobering way to end the hook traditionally. Blue
color associated with melancholy, like the expression feeling blue,
Meanwhile, the moon circular shape is used to denote the recurring cycle of gang violence or one murder leads to
territory, murder, which then leads to another retaliatory murder and so on. We also reckon
as that blue moon is the name of a naturally distribute a beer going back to our goal,
Friends of the Lyon report, the brown just a drowned these thoughts of black corpses and county marks in this
we find new meaning in a hooks opening mines as well,
worse to wonder whether retaliatory violence is an attempt to force a frown into a smile or whether the hurtful truth is that acts of vengeance will only continue a deadly cycle that will ultimately cause more people to cry is a full circle of violet
the core knows: first hand love somebody made on a free download at in looking back as I'm running through all mobile zone a morning, no jane what a further- and I can explain that was my leg. It says that was laid with forty nine twenty two black man says we gather more light, changed
The tragedy of the tragedy in like twice resolves boys to yahoo
nor noise it a better place on the sunshine
from the arm. For your eyes, only call describes his friend being
not and killed in the streets at twenty two years old. He then portrays attending his funeral, whereas pastors
we hear cries of mourning juxtapose with calls internal thoughts about exactly revenge on the people who killed his friend, the powerful concept that expresses dichotomous emotions of trauma and moss, and they all
to human temptation to right or wrong with another wrong. As if that's the come back to life shit,
somehow resurrect his friend.
the babolat are cause me. They think, is good, don't get home harm as in a funeral procession. What am I driven a car to be built in the devil, be winning, but then he got lost just got off the former nigga he's making a kennel. My dog loves them are close to me before, but he became a cow in idaho, slowly yell at the owner's rep. Whenever he spoke to me like the owner, no equal in every imaginable way. He's supposed to be. I try to ignore the sounds of them. In the back of my mind, it felt like the capital of nepal, your groceries, my nigga repeated. The call begins verse two
bible at all costs every day and words get logged off bodies get hauled off. He continues
focus on the death and poverty stricken black neighbourhoods and adaptation required to survive in these environments. He follows this grave portrait saying past.
A funeral procession. While holding my breath in the car, I thought at times it be feeling, like the devil, be winning, but do that mean god lost this paints
an image of coal, observing the death in this community and pondering what it means. The specific description of him holding his breath, while driving
a funeral alludes to the superstition that, if you breathe around the spirits of the dead they'll become jealous and haunt you, but given cause contemplated nature in these lines, it feels like he's holding his breath out of guilt, not
wanting to enjoy the breath of life or being reminded of the loss of another black man. This conveys the idea of survivors scale, which is when a person fuels bad about having.
I lived a life threatening situation when others did not this once again, links back to ptsd survivors, gill as a common symptom call them.
poses a philosophical question about whether the devil, winning also means that god lost adding to the list of dichotomy in the sun at its heart. It feels like a question of faith,
in the face of so many atrocities with no end or solution in sight. One might question the existence of god altogether. Put more secular turn,
when you continually witness humans committing wicked acts.
begin to wonder whether the nature of man is not good, but evil holding continues by starting a thread about a specific friend wrapping just got off the phone with my inward he back in the kennel, my daughter,
lost. He uses a canine analogy to convey his friend is back in prison with kennel or a dog cage standing in for a prison cell. He then gives his friends backstory saying I brought him around close to me before, but he became addicted to the clout and all the home. With me, I slowly peeped jealousy on his brow
whenever he spoke to me like on the low. He feeling that in my shoes is where he supposed to be here, called trades. Clever were play for clever rhyme scheme using
wing heavy dotted triplet patterns and tight rhyming cadences with an up and down melodic inflection
The central rhyme is a three syllable scheme close to me before, but he hose we meet jealousy spoke to me low he fee and supposed to be.
Apparently this friend now in jail. Someone called brought into a circle, perhaps in an attempt to keep him out of trouble and shown a different path, but instead this friend fell for them
men and proximity to fame that coal provided him even becoming jealous and entitled
further elaborates, I tried to ignore the signs, but they in the back of my mind, it felt like letting it and where it comes sleep under couch and he's eaten up. All your groceries, despite his good, will call understood he is being used by his fur
He then uses groceries to return back to the three syllable rhyme scheme to describe another friend who offered call some sage advice about this
jealous friend, taking advantage of the immensity think it's going to hang they sell just given a role perceived shit. I hated that guy showed him. He was screaming that simply because you got a legal back and forth seeing the track nigga be on that team, it was so silly they've been at club or something that the thing is that misquote meet me were corrupt. My inwards repeated this quote to me. I felt it's potency said most of these edwards gonna hang themselves just give him the rope and see
I hated that Y got showed me was screaming that some edwards you gotta, leave em back another one.
friends, offer something like advice or commentary, unclear situation with his jealous friend. He modernizing the old proverb, given a rope and I'll hang himself, which means, if you can
people the opportunity to do something wrong or detrimental to themselves. They usually do it in the case, of course, friend the rope was money. Women
fame and gave him he was showing signs of jealousy. It was only a matter of time that is inevitable. Downfall would also threaten call himself, thus call took the advice and distance himself from this person. Given the fact this friend and in a back in
it would seem, call made the right decision and avoided potential endangerment. He expands on this danger saying. Unfortunately, we seen the trap and words beyond that demon clock, resulting me notice. I call is still extending that rapid three syllable rhyme scheme he describes recognising the trap or planned his jealous friend, was set
claiming he was on that demon clock. This is a variation of demon time. A phrase coined by wrapper Fabio foreign that describes possess determine less toward a goal, usually sex or money. During the kova nineteen pandemic.
when strip clubs around the world shut down. A secondary use of demon. Time became prominent, referring to late night instagram life streams and with strippers would dance and collect tips be a cash up. Cleverly coal incorporates both meetings in the following mine. They find a clap as often as the genius at misquoted me. Clap is slang for a violent acts like shooting or stabbing so cause, describing the
The will of his jealous friend is plotting against him, but clap also slyly alludes to those proverbial, but cheeks clapping together on the demon time instagram lives. The genius app refers to the lyric website genius. Were you
just an entity song their ex with their original interpretations? Hence cause calling out genius in its users for either guinea his lyrics
long and or misinterpreting the intent behind them is for this reason,
Millions upon millions of people have fled to the podcast dissect to hear the flawless interpretations of a white guy from the suburbs. Now, as we reach the
cole story about his jealous friend. We might wonder why he chose to include this anecdote directly after alluding to survivor skill. It would seem that, because he's escape the circumstances that many of his people are still entrapped in props cause wondering the best way he could you,
his position to help taking some went in and showing them a different way of life could be one such way. But
soon realise that, at least in this instance the survival at all costs.
howdy, doesn't immediately dissolve the moment. You exposed some one to a world. They ve never seen this dynamic.
Something kendrick Lamar explored in his song, institutionalize from to pimp a butterfly where he describes taking his homies from compton to the b e t awards were to kendrick's surprise they plotted to rob all the rich people
we're surrounded by after the show works, but it's gonna take a left with go cold. Google. Now what can watch watch tv and be okay with the west, london in the late roman, was steal from the rich and giving effect to do with us via these awards. I guess my grandma was born and a boy she said. The song kendrick learns that institutionalized racism, not only imprisons people physically in places like compton, but also in prisons and mentally as snoop dogg, tells kendrick at the end of the song. You can take your boy out the hood, but you can't take the hood at the home.
Would appear call learned a similar lesson with his jealous friend, who ended up back in prison until
The centuries of oppression in america, has been an extremely complex and uphill task. Let's play this country's and slavery and we can feel cold struggle to find its place as the victim of oppression
but also some one in a position of influence with resources to help facilitate change a few months prior to the release of the climb back during the aftermath of George floyd's, more
cause. Internal struggle was put on public display when the wrapper and activists no name tweeted. What many interpreted as a shot at both J cole and kendrick Lamar, saying quote poor black folks all around the country are
adding their bodies on the line in protest for collective safety and your top selling wrappers, not even willing to put a tweet up their whole discography, be about black plight and their nowhere to be found. Call responded to the street in the form of a song called snow in the bluff, while this track was met with pushed back by some for our purposes today, we're going to focus on its end or coal or two
the latest confusion and conflicting feelings about his current position, though I struggle with on a daily for like a slave to somehow to save enough to buy his way about a slavery thinking, just maybe him opposite and make life so much better. For me and my babies, I betrayed the very same people that look at me like I'm some kind of a hero, because it is necessary to come as we're lucky. I promise I'm not who you think ran into this nigga outside of the store. Yesterday, he's assigned me like wait. He was like whoa appreciate what you've been doing. My nigga, that's real, but damn why I feel fake snow on a bluff or maybe cause didn't annoy dawn enough. The comics, clear his feelings of inauthenticity and the guilty feels about focusing on his family at the expense of advocating on behalf of his community. That was cool closest
his first on the climb back. We hear more of this internal conflict as he begins by offering advice to his community, but ultimately ends in a place of icily
in defence of miss me. While I think that your government has given it guarded you son of a need, I remind you- want because the dominant china, what am I going to get up there is gonna go make it? Does the give up our limited funds amounting to china clamour hit upon a derivative? Don't tell me you re only about one zero metre for me and I myself in its my gasoline, revealing myself better my wealth when they get this minor mckenna. Myself truck continues his first by talking directly.
Those in this community, like his gels friend. He says. Meanwhile,
I that your diamonds is glistening, I'm glad
you shine in, but I need to remind you and words as diamond and nickel and scrape up whatever coin they can find the pettiness crime that commitment just to get by for a limited time
cohered ascribe someone resorting to crime to survive only to use,
that money on jewelry and attempt to present. As someone who is well off course, he's through this
sod and remind them that their nickel and dime in themselves a phrase used to describe person that pays excessive attention. The small amounts of money, often with a detrimental effect.
In this way, it appears call a saying that being caught up in crime that results in substantial amounts of money, that's being used on showing material goods is keeping them in trapped.
distracting them from seeing the larger picture. Hence we get the line, the steepest mountains they trying to climb. I'm here trying to find the derivative here call dues to the song title the climb back as well
gus. This title is on one hand, self referential to his personal climb back to the top of his wrath form, but now we find the more
substantial meaning of the climb, as it relates to the actual subject matter of the song. The uphill battle about
black in america, born into an environment that produces a survivors mentality in a country that systematically works against. You cleverly call describes as active search for solutions as
trying to find the derivative in mathematics. A derivative refers to the formula,
It determined the gradient of a slope or a function, in other words, how steep it is so, rather than climbing the steepest mountains coolest, stepping back and analyzing it, seeing if there might be a better way to make the uphill climb
This once again displaces active thinking on how to enact change, but it seems clear at this point he doesn't have the answers unexpectedly called encloses out the verse on the defensive attack. Saying you Edwards, don't feel me, you see the cloud, you don't see the real me if I was sick
edwards wouldn't heal me. These kinds of isolating, misunderstood feelings are common among celebrities who live a paradoxical existence on one hand,
Coal is a household name and, quoting quote known by everyone. Still very few know the real him, and despite this, many are quick.
make assumptions about who he is and what he should do with his influence, or still call feels that when it really comes down to it when he a sick or going through a hard time, he doubts any of these, so called friends or fans will really be there,
these feelings of resentment and isolation of coal? Turning inwards saying, therefore, I'm healing myself getting in tune with my god. Slowly, revealing myself, building my wealth on the surface, closed
guess I'm healing spirituality mental health and financial wealth feels like a healthy plan of action for were quickly forced to question the bonus behind these lines.
when he ends averse, saying and edward touch mine, I'm a kill myself. Trust me in the end caused left expressed
The same vengeful, murderous intent that he previously observed to be responsible for a vicious cycle of loss, grief and tremendous community. The wealthiest building inspires a pre emptive hyper aggressiveness and vigilance in line with the symptoms of ptsd. We discuss previously in this
The hostile, closing sentiment of the songs final verse brings us on full circle. Back to its opening quote,
Are you doing this work to facilitate growth or to become famous, which is more input, learning and letting go recall? This court was sampled from a larger passage of the tao of leadership, a book that gains relevance now that we ve heard calls conflicting thoughts,
but its current position of leadership is a problem with owning. A lot is about
When was getting more and more
the more you have and the more you get the more.
Have to look after and the more
might lose. Is that owning a being owned? But if you give up things,
you, can give up spending your life looking after them, ultimately cause left struggling with the wisdom of the very quote. He begins a song with his isolated focus on self and building wealth, leads distress and hostility of maintaining and protecting all that he's acquired exhibiting the same taken, protect. What's mine survivors mentality, he observed and others indeed when it comes to the question of which is more important,
being or letting go. It appears that core still has some climbing to do many everybody men say there was ever a man, but I gotta go. I say a word about a vulgar need another after a repetition of the chorus colenso climb back with a picnic coda, he makes the point that there is easily accessible resources for those with suicidal ideation, but little help for someone thinking about killing someone else specific.
in this case those contemplating killing another black man in retaliation. The hotline call refers to as the suicide prevention hotline, which can be accessed by dialing or texting night
eight a service similar to an emergency nine, when one call, in contrast, there is currently no.
such widely known service, specifically for homicidal aviation and even more specifically, hotel
for homicides and underserved communities. It doesn't feel like cause arguing against suicide prevention, but rather questioning whether the current system views the prevention of black death at the priority or crisis broadly speaking,
feels like there's the general attitude that king related homicides are self inflicted a risk you take when you choose to become a gang member, but has caused alluded to throughout the song america's long.
History of disadvantaging people of color created the circumstances into which many eventual gang members are born and would therefore
and to reason that america should feel a responsibility to help reduce the number of homer sides in these communities. Just like suicide is considered a national health crisis, but instead oftentimes gang related deaths are treated as insular and not our problem.
equality, for example, when lawmakers attempted to pass a number of gun control restrictions and twenty twenty a leading gun rights activists. Philip Van Cleve gave a speech in opposition to these proposals,
claiming that everyday gun owners were being penalised by homicides committed by gang members quote if he took an exact open to certain parts of every city in the state and around the country. If you cut it out and could take it off, the map, murders would drop
almost zero. It's usually gangbanger, killing, gangbanger, unquote van cleve claim is statistically false.
King related homicides accounted for thirty percent of homicides in america from two thousand and seven to two thousand thirteen. The last time such statistics retract, but beyond his misleading, factual and accuracy, then,
statement about cutting out predominantly black and brown communities from the map of america, with an exact or knife, at least to my ears, feels
negative of an attitude that views gang, related violence as a nuisance to white america, dehumanize
these communities, as if black and brown death, or not the deaths of americans, but some other kind, if this same otherness that was used to justify slavery and segregation, the legacy of which has created the steepest of mountains for black americans to claw
Thus, as we reach the end of the climb back, we seemingly fine Jacob
standing amidst two mountains. The songs first verse begins with some, of course, cleverest, most intricate bars to date.
A testament to his re energised commitment to the art of rap. However, by the second birth that waving his wanes as
Long subject matter weighs heavier on cole psyche and his desire to climb the mountain of rap gives way to the thoughts of the much steeper mountain of being black in america, caught between the comfort of his success and the ptsd like symptoms,
I have racial trauma. We find cole wavering between empathy and irritability between humility and ego between being outside wanting to help and being inside reclusive lee, focusing on himself a self described. Work in progress cause honestly expressing both sides of the circle, compassion and vengeance, anger and empathy searching for a taoist yin yang, like
libya to his life's duality is, at the same time cause also tapping into the more universal struggle of finding a balance between personal ambition and communal, altruism, about knowing the most effective way.
is to personally contribute to a larger cause, while building a life for yourself in your family. Ultimately, he ends a climber,
by voicing the sobering reality of america's historic indifference towards the death of black americans. A public reminder that
The natural order of the universe may be cyclical the tragic cycle of retail
where a gun violence is one circle that mean keep coming back. Around
hey, then come back for the wider live sound pleasant, but the truth hurts everybody gotta try once in a while, but how long will it take before you snap? The kind of life is picked me up like the city, opposite the nice paint and say I read about it so now. I know why the.
This episode was written produced by me. Are you anyway, my Kevin fuller, the music by bureaucratic
enjoy this episode. Please tell a friend about the new series or share on social media and tag at dissect podcast, if you're new, to the show check out our back catalogue of seasons covering full albums by kendrick, Lamar beyond, say, kanye, west frank ocean, how the crater MAC miller and more just scroll down our feet and find your favorite. Alright thanks. Everyone talk to you next week,.
Transcript generated on 2023-09-16.