Black on Both Sides

Rock N Roll

Mos Def

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

End

275

Internal

Multi

253

Slant

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight

my grandmomma was raised^✦ on a reservation^✦

(Huh) my great-grandmama was from a plantation^✦

They sang songs for inspiration^✦

They sang songs for relaxation^✦

They sang songs to take their minds up off that

Fucked^✦ up situation^✦

I am, yes I am, the descendant (yes, yes)

Of those folks whose backs got broke

Who fell down inside^✦ the gun smoke

(Black people) chains on their ankles^✦ and feet

I am descendants of the builders of your street

(Black people) tenders to your cotton money^✦

I am Hip Hop

(It's heavy^✦ metal^✦ for the black people)

I am Rock and Roll (Rock and Roll, rock 'n' roll)

Been here forever

They just ain't let you know (ha)

I said, Elvis^✦ Presley^✦ ain't got no soul (huh)

Chuck Berry^✦ is Rock and Roll (damn right)

You may dig on the Rolling^✦ Stones^✦

But they ain't come up with that style on they own (uh-uh)^✦

Elvis^✦ Presley^✦ ain't got no soul (hell nah)

Little Richard is Rock and Roll (damn right)

You may dig on the Rolling^✦ Stones^✦

But they ain't come up with that shit on they own (nah-ah)^✦

Guess that's just the way shit goes

You steal my clothes and try to say they yours (yes, they do)

'Cause it's a show filled^✦ with pimps and hoes

Trying to take everything^✦ that you made or control (there they go)

Elvis^✦ Presley^✦ ain't got no soul

Bo Diddley^✦ is Rock and Roll (damn right)

You may dig on the Rolling^✦ Stones^✦

But they ain't the first place the credit^✦ belongs

Say whoa-oh (don't take it)

Oh-we-oh^✦ (black music)^✦

Whoa-oh (don't take it)

Oh-we-oh^✦ (black music)^✦

Whoa-oh (Jimi^✦ Hendrix^✦ say)

Oh-we-oh^✦ (black music)^✦

Whoa-oh (Albert^✦ King and)

Oh-we-oh^✦ (and Motown)^✦

I ain't trying to diss

But I don't be trying to fuck with Limp Bizkit^✦

(The fuck is on your mind?)

When I get down in my zone

I be rockin'^✦ bad brains and fishbone

I ain't tryin to slow your groove

But that ain't the way I'm trying to move

I don't turn on Korn to get it on

I be playing Jimi^✦ Hendrix^✦ 'til the dawn

That's my word is bond

Sitting up on my front lawn

Got the volume^✦ turned^✦ to ten

Playing Albert^✦ King the best again^✦ (black)

When the morning in the cooker^✦

Got to turn on some John Lee Hooker^✦

When I want some Rock and Roll

Go to Otis^✦ Redding to get some soul (black)

Say, James^✦ Brown got plenty^✦ of soul

James^✦ Brown like to rock and roll

He can do all the shit fo' sho'

That Elvis^✦ Presley^✦ could never^✦ know (black people)

Said, Kenny^✦ G ain't got no soul

John Coltrane is Rock and Roll (uh-huh)^✦

You may dig on the Rolling^✦ Stones^✦

But they could never^✦ ever^✦ rock like Nina Simone^✦

Say whoa-oh (don't take it)

Oh-wee-oh (black music)^✦

Whoa-oh (don't take it)

Oh-we-oh^✦ (black music)^✦

Whoa-oh (don't take it)

Oh-we-oh^✦ (black music)^✦

Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Who am I? Huh

Get your punk ass up

Elvis^✦ Presley^✦ ain't got no soul

Jimi^✦ Hendrix^✦ is Rock and Roll

You may dig on the Rolling^✦ Stones^✦

But everything^✦ they did they stole

Elvis^✦ Presley^✦ ain't got no soul

Bo Diddley^✦ is Rock and Roll

You may dig on the Rolling^✦ Stones^✦

But we send their punk ass home, said

Who am I? (Rock and Roll)

Who am I? (Rock and Roll, Rock and Roll)

Who am I?

Say, Rock and Roll

Who am I? (Rock and Roll)

Get your punk ass up

Company, move

For Harlem, Fort Greene, Compton

East St. Louis, Detroit (brrap, brrap)

Chicago (brrap, brrap), Bed-stuy (brrap, brrap)

Flatbush (brrap, brrap), Brownsville (brrap, brrap)

East New York (brrap, brrap), Newark, New Jersey^✦ (brrap, brrap)

Illadelphia, Cincinatti, Atlanta the dirty^✦ south

Oaktown, get your punk ass up

9Rock and Roll for the black people0

Hi, ma

Well, that was just wonderful

Technical Breakdown

8.8

Multisyllabic Rhymes7.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres8.0

Clever language, metaphors, punchlines

Cadence / Rhythm10.0

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity5.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control9.5

Performance and control

Computed Score8.84

Production

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Critic Analysis

RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

Mos Def successfully bridges the historical gap between the origins of African American musical expression and the commercialized appropriation of rock music through structural juxtaposition and rhythmic repetition.

A+

7.5

Multisyllabic

9.5

Internal Rhymes

Cadence / Flow

Vocabulary

Wordplay

9.5

Delivery

Historical revisionism as lyrical motifAnaphoric repetition for rhythmic groundingRhythmic shifts from narrative cadence to percussive assertionContrastive juxtaposition of historical figures

Rhyme Architecture: Starts with a steady, repetitive AAAA structure rooted in long-vowel 'ation' rhymes to establish gravity, transitioning into a more aggressive, syncopated delivery that utilizes internal assonance to contrast the 'soul' vs 'roll' thematic anchor.

Verified Doubles & Entendres

"I am Hip Hop... I am Rock and Roll"

① A claim of personal identity and artistic lineage linking the rapper to the music's true origins.② A reclamation of African American cultural production that has been historically erased or misattributed to white artists.

"tenders to your cotton money"

① Historical reference to enslaved people forced to cultivate cotton for profit.② A critique of the music industry (the 'business') which still treats black art as a commodity that is mined, harvested, and sold by those outside the culture.

"Elvis Presley ain't got no soul"

① A critique of the performer's perceived lack of depth or authenticity.② A direct attack on the cultural 'theft' of the genre; Elvis lacks the actual 'soul' (the ancestral, historical, and lived experience) that birthed the music.

Masterful use of delivery to emphasize the shift from ancestral burden to modern musical authority

Compelling cultural thesis delivered with visceral, authoritative tone

Effective use of repetition to build momentum

Strong historical grounding provides legitimacy to the critique

Relies heavily on the 'Rock and Roll' refrain which, while effective for tone, occasionally simplifies the poetic structure

Vocabulary choices are intentionally accessible, lacking in dense metaphorical layering that would push the wordplay score into the 9+ range

Rock N Roll

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

Technical Breakdown

Production

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