Falconry - Intellectual

These lanes have been popping up in record numbers in the past decade or so. They’re often associated with the influx of non-New Yorkers into the city. People who are really into exercising and protecting the environment. Real New Yorkers mostly stick to mass transit (unless they have a fly whip). Also, people who ride around in bicycles all the time are often viewed as soft or they’re looked at as being pussies.

Mayhem has always been a big dude.

‘Split the pipe cane’ is a fairly out-there reference to walking sticks, some of which can be used as pipes or have compartments to store pipes. If Mayhem’s cane is of an antique variety (which is likely if it needs to be ‘split’ or opened to access the pipe) it would be a very expensive and rare item indeed.

A ‘split’ pipe cane from around 1900, with its small clay pipe intact. This item is currently listed at over two thousand dollars here

Bronson was born to an Albanian father and Jewish-American mother. Islam is the most practised religion in Albania and pork is forbidden in the Qur'an.

He also grew up in Flushing Queens, a neighbourhood known for its Asian cuisine. It seems Bam Bam liked the Wonton soup too much to adhere to his father’s beliefs.

Meyhem is always trying to get better in the rap game, album by album. He treats his last album just like his rival: an enemy that needs to be defeated and one upped.

Meyhem’s always prepared for the worst – he even packs heat while he’s on a picnic.

In the famous movie Jurassic Park, they grow and hatch the dinosaurs by extracting some dino blood from a mosquito fossilized in amber with a needle

Bronson is claiming that his creation or birth used the same method as they did to create the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. His ancient-genetic material was taken from a fossilized mosquito (‘they took the blood from a mosquito’) which was the injected into a lion’s womb (‘shot it in a wild a wild lion’) in order to grow into a fetus. This is a reference to a common technique in cloning, where an animal’s womb is used to carry and develop the clone embryo and eventually give birth to it. However, sheep are the usual animals to use – but Bam Bam used a lion, because he’s the shit.

In his usual ridiculous style, Bronson when brought into the world by the lion (‘popped out’) was already a wearing a visor and carrying a gun (‘holding an iron’)

One of Bronson’s most hated comparisons is that between him and Ghostface Killah, so this line is dismissive of that conversation, rather starting one about a new rapper who sounds like Bronson himself.

Adobo is a Spanish spice consisting of paprika, oregono, salt, garlic and vinegar. It’s used in a lot of cuisine as seasoning to spice up a meal.

Bam Bam is saying that these other rappers ideas lack the kick, that ounce of creativity that makes them special

Perhaps this will explain it’s significance

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/watch?v=XhncNDmLgFs

Lauren represents the plight of his impoverished community.

The ‘issue’ is that a large number of people in Meyhem’s community do not have the means to supply themselves with the basic necessities of life (food, water lodging) and ‘can’t live’ because they they are so poor.

Roy Wilkins was a politician and advocate of the NAACP and non-militancy in the civil rights movements. He has a recreational center in Queens named after him, where, in this scenario, it sounds as though Bronsolino has a beat up shirt that would not be uncommon in Jamaica where the recreation center is.

Though the line’s nondenominational, it’s understood that the rap meme Jesus piece (not to be confused with the album of the same name by The Game) is the object of discussion in the line. Just gold isn’t enough for Meyhem, though, so he’s one-upped the crowd by taking his necklace and covering it in “ice” (i.e. diamonds).

Laurenovitch has become something of a nickname for Meyhem in recent years.

Meyhem often rocks rugby shirts, much like the style of the 90’s NYC rappers.

This is a direct allusion to Nas and his 1996 album It Was Written.

You have to be very cocky to put yourself on Nas’s level of pen.

Unless Bronson is super excited about sitting in first class, this is also a subtle reference to him getting head while on the plane.

Foamposites are a shoe made by Nike. They’re mostly bought and worn by people living in an urban community, so the reference to a Latin individual with cornrows in a drug-infested area isn’t as abstract as it seems.

Basically, Bronson is saying your music videos are like such – the video speaks for itself:

The video above is a great example of the aesthetic Bronson is referring to here, one that is shared with the music videos of far too many rappers nowadays.

In this clip there is a clear professional touch in the editing and cinematography, but no real substance in the movement of the piece. Instead, the video relies on things like quick cutting group shots and overly sentimental images of kids doing dumb things for a rolling camera.

Just like in this promo, you’ll see a lot of rap videos using variations of the same shots – a big image of the entire crew, looking all serious at the camera; or maybe a lingering shot of some background dancer blowing smoke. It’s all pretty basic stuff, and is disappointing to see over and over again.

This idea is expanded upon in the next line: “Your ideas lack Adobo”. They lack spice, nuance. Your videos ain’t nothing special. Meanwhile, Bronson is putting out videos like this:

Following from his previous line, he expounds further, telling interviewers and listeners not to pigeon hole him as a certain type or sound. It’s something he has had to deal with being white as well, and one of the only successful white rappers, along with Eminem and Mac Miller, who stay entirely true to hip hop heritage.

It’s also a blatant double meaning. He’s telling women not to force him to have sex with them, cause if they do he will insert their own body parts in to that opening.. Crass?

Bronson’s presence is so magnificent that his smile alone is all it takes for women to shit their pants as a result of being in awe.

Yanni is a pianist and orchestral/new age musician.

Meyhem is lowkey, like a car without shocks. Shock arborbers are a part of the car that prevent you from bouncing, without them the car would be lower.

NYC in his blood, the “dunny” slang a la Mobb Deep marries his street roots with the absurdly elegant art of falconry. Nobody gets down like Bronson.

It doesn’t look particularly appetising, but it is somewhat of a delicacy in certain cultures.

It continues his imagery from the previous line though, with squid equating to fish as a euphemism for female genatalia, and the idea of a women indulging in her own version of squid ink soup for forcing Bronson to sleep with her.

Action rolled a nice joint with some fine California bud, but put “too much fuckin hash” in it. He rather put hash, which is a block of concentrated THC and gets you super high.

But he could be also talking about hash oil – which is more concentrated THC but in a wax form – since he smokes it on almost every Youtube episode of “Fuck That’s Delicious”.

But this line could be a play on words because “joint” is also a slang for “song”. Continuing with this idea, the “hash” is what you would call “the good shit.”
So Action could be saying that this beat is really dope.

Bronson’s discography features many eclectic samples inspired from rock, blues, and funk, so he is likely listening to a German band hoping to find a nice riff to sample.

Fun Fact: he did eventually find a sample, because he also refers to the song “Only In America”. The guitar riff was sampled from a german song.

Not even water can break the integrity of Meyhem’s bars.

Lauren’s flow is like a tidal wave (i.e. water “flow”) – good luck surviving its power and size.

Bronson opens as his usual confident and cocky self while at the same time showing some insecurity as he seems to be worried about being picked for the team at all – just as many kids would be worried about on the playground each day.
He even threatens to ruin the pickup game if he gets picked last, because he believes he is the best.

Not to worry, Action gives no fucks – he knows he is already on top of the world.

Whenever Big Body Bes is inserted into a track, he carries himself as this made man/mobster-like individual who is generally up to no good. An Action Bronson project wouldn’t be complete if it didn’t include Big Body Bes spending some time describing himself in a situation like this.

He isn’t small..

Bronson is playing with words. He’s also suggesting he is a ‘beefy hunk’ a popular term for muscly, attractive men.