Decoded: Three Kings

Mind blowing, this is Kurt Cobain. I’ve just been crowned/
The artist formerly known as Prince, feel the purple reign/
Of the new king, this a new, monarchy/
You can never beat me, I am not, Rodney/
Can’t box me in, I’m a Don, I don’t fight fair/
The new Martin Luther, but instead I’ll give you nightmares/
Three kings. You’ll never oppress us or test us/
You jokers are merely the court jesters/
I got more African Queens than Mswati it seems/
In my bath they making sure the royal penis is clean/
Klarity is the team, we’re the meanest with schemes/
We come to bring the noise while y’all be Mr. Beans/
Three kings with a sick flow – Royal flush!/
All will hush, while we spit so schizo/
When we on tracks and speak things, we’re beasting/
Y’all are weaklings, with cheap bling, we’re Three Kings!

Mind blowing, this is Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain was the legendary lead singer of the alternative rock group Nirvana. His genius was held in such high esteem his music could be called mind blowing. He was hopelessly addicted to cocaine (also known as ‘blow’) and had to be taken into rehab. Thus his mind was always under the influence of blow. Kurt Cobain escaped from rehab and was later found in a motel having committed suicide by placing a gun in his mouth and blowing his brains out. With three different interpretations, the opening line of my verse achieves the elusive triple entendre, which in itself is mind-blowing perhaps 🙂

I’ve just been crowned The Artist formerly known as Prince
The concept of this song was to rotate around being one of 3 Kings. Well before the King takes to the throne, he is born a prince and is known as a prince until he wears the crown. Also, during the 90s the musician Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol. So people took to calling him The Artist Formerly Known As Prince. This fact becomes more relevant with the next line.

Feel the purple reign, of the new king, this a new monarchy
Purple is the official colour of royalty. Thus I am referring to my royal reign as one of the three kings. Also, Purple Rain is the title of Prince’s most successful album. Prince was a legend in his musical genre as was Kurt Cobain and hopefully Enygma will be remembered just as fondly in UG Hip-Hop. Therefore, I have subtly  referred to us as 3 kings in our respective musical fields, keeping in line with the main theme of the song.

You can never beat me, I am not Rodney
Rodney King was famously brutally beaten by baton wielding cops in LA for no reason and even though the violence was filmed, the courts let the cops go. So they in effect also beat him in the courtroom. So I am distancing myself from this ‘King’ that I am not like him, I cannot be beaten.

Can’t box me in, I’m a Don, I don’t fight fair
Don King is probably the most famous boxing promoter of all time. Well known for his shady dealings (in his businesses and especially with the way he arranged boxing matches) and even went to prison for killing a man after bringing a knife to a fist fight. To be boxed in is to be pressured into a corner. But in this line I’m saying that I would become as cunning as Don King if I had to. I used the terms ‘boxed in’ and ‘fight fair’ because of Don King’s role as a boxing promoter. In addition to this, a Don is a term used to describe a boss of a criminal gang like The Mafia. Dons definitely do not fight fair and never let themselves be boxed in. Dons are also Kings in their own right.

The new Martin Luther, but instead I’ll give you nightmares
Martin Luther King’s was an extremely eloquent man and his most famous speech was called I Have a Dream. I compare my writing skills to him, but I’m so ominous that instead of dreams, I give people nightmares 🙂

Three Kings
I mentioned Rodney, Don and Martin Luther. These 3 famous black men of history all bear the surname ‘King’. Thus 3 Kings, keeping in line with the song’s concept and perhaps foreshadowing that the Klarity Team will also end up as 3 famous black men in history.

You’ll never oppress us, or test us. You jokers are merely the court jesters
A joker is a way of referring to an individual as being unserious. A Joker is also found in deck of cards where you will also find some Kings. In the olden days, before Satellite TV or internet, a King always had a jester in his royal court to provide entertainment. These were pretty much clowns who sang, danced, told jokes etc.. for the amusement of the King and his guests. Thus they provided entertainment but were nothing more than jokers and bowed to the whims of the king. This is how I rate my opponents and I am a King in comparison.

I got more African Queens, than Mswati it seems
King Mswati of Swaziland is renowned for his annual weddings. Thousands of women from all over the country compete every year to become his queens. I suggest that I am more popular with the ladies than even he 🙂 African Queen was the breakthrough single of Nigerian singer 2Face Idibia. But I will not explain the relevance of that line. I’ve got to keep some secrets 🙂

In my bath they making sure the royal penis is clean
One of my favourite movies of all time is Eddie Murphy’s Coming To America. One of the stand out scenes was when Eddie Murphy (an African prince) was in an enormous bath tub being bathed by some beauties. Then one emerged from under the water to declare that the royal penis was now clean. How she cleaned it was left to our imagination. Aside from that, there is also another personal reason why I referenced this movie and it shall also remain secret.

Klarity is the team, we’re the meanest with schemes
Schemes being cunning plans and also with clever rhyme schemes in our verses. I also happened to insert this particular line right in the middle of such a rhyme scheme.

We come to bring the noise, while y’all be Mr. Beans
Mr. Bean was always quiet in his movies and almost never ever made a sound let alone speak. So as Klarity, we are causing a ruckus with our movement and being noticed while our opponents are as silent as Mr. Bean.

Three Kings with a sick flow – Royal flush!
Here I come back and refer to the members of Klarity and how our style of rapping is outstanding. Those who are familiar with the rules of poker know that the strongest hand you can have is a Royal Flush and one of the combinations of cards that make up a Royal Flush includes having three kings. This is another way of saying that Klarity is the strongest team you can have (this reference to playing cards was quietly brought up in the line about the jokers). In addition, when a toilet is ‘flushed’, there is normally something nasty in there being washed away by the flow of the water. Sick flow…

All will hush, while we spit so schizo
Schizophrenia refers to a severe pschotic disorder. Schizophrenics are commonly called schizo for short. This is just a way of saying that the way we spit out are rhymes is insane, psycho! And when we spit our insane lyrics, all will hush ie. we make our opponents shut up. This is a continuation of the Mr. Bean analogy from a previous line.

When we on tracks and speak things, we’re beasting, y’all are weaklings..
A beast is a powerful creature. Thus, when you are beasting, then you are dominant in your craft. While our opponents are the opposite, instead of being dominant and powerful by beasting, they are weaklings.

With cheap bling, we’re Three Kings!
We are three kings, and kings are often seen dressed in royal jewels, the best money can buy. In comparison our opponents are dressed in cheap bling. This is again a metaphor for the difference in skill level between us and them.

 

Listen to the song here http://www.reverbnation.com/open_graph/song/12176487