Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

War

Outkast

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

12

End

74

Internal

36

Multi

148

Slant

3

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Part II]
[Verse 1: Big Boi]
When will we all, awake✦ up out this dream?
Come here and smell the Folgers, the soldiers are human✦ beings
Man actin'✦ as if he was the supreme being
Clockin' the souls of men out like he was G-O-D and
W-A-R-ah, there'll be no tomorrow but sorrow✦
And horror✦ will follow✦ the hollow✦ hearts battle for dollars
Politicians,✦ modern-day magicians✦
Physicians✦ of death, more health care for poor health
Who makin'✦ us ill, they makin'✦ us kill
That's makin'✦ me spill my guts (Chill Big, lay in the cut!)
For what? I refuse✦ to sit in the backseat and get handled
Like I do nothin'✦ all day but sit around, watch the cartoon channel
I rap about,✦ the Presidential election✦ and the scandal
That followed,✦ and we all watched the nation as it swallowed✦
And chalked it up; basically America, you got fucked✦
The media✦ shucked and jived,✦ now we stuck, damn
[Verse 2: Big Boi]
Operation✦ Anaconda; ask yourself
Was it full of bleeps and blunders, did they ever✦ find Osama?✦
And why in the fuck did Daniel✦ Pearl have to pay the price
For his life and his wife plead twice?
See Al-Amin✦ got life and Fred got dead, Hampton
To dampen✦ the dream of all the Panthers
They got they answer✦ for ransom
As we read together,✦ as we dream together✦
Count your blessings whenever you feel that things won't be no better✦
But it got to, you gave me this microphone so I must rock you
Your brainwaves,✦ airwaves,✦ energized and shocked you
Y'all got me, well I got y'all, long as I know y'all listenin'
I'ma✦ always bring food for thought to the table in the kitchen
Now eat, nigga✦

Technical Breakdown

7.5
Multisyllabic Rhymes9.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres7.5

Clever language, metaphors, punchlines

Cadence / Rhythm6.0

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity7.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control8.0

Performance and control

Computed Score7.47

Production

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Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

Big Boi utilizes complex multi-syllabic internal rhyming as a rhythmic vessel for sociopolitical critique, effectively bridging early 2000s conscious rap aesthetics with aggressive, percussive delivery.

B+
9.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
6
Cadence / Flow
7
Vocabulary
7.5
Wordplay
8
Delivery
Multisyllabic internal rhymingEnjambment for rhythmic tensionPolitical satireDynamic cadence shifts
Rhyme Architecture: Dense AAAA-style multi-syllabic runs tied to internal rhythmic anchors, utilizing masculine and feminine rhyme endings to drive momentum through longer, breath-intensive bars.
Verified Doubles & Entendres

"Physicians of death, more health care for poor health"

① Literal medical practitioners or systemic leaders managing the health crisis.② A biting critique of how the architects of war ('physicians of death') facilitate the poor health of citizens by prioritizing conflict over welfare.

"The media shucked and jived"

① A reference to the 'shuck and jive' racial stereotype rooted in minstrelsy.② A critique of the media's performative, dishonest coverage of the election and subsequent scandals, suggesting they acted as agents of misinformation.

"Operation Anaconda; ask yourself"

① A reference to the military campaign during the War in Afghanistan.② A meta-commentary on the constriction and slow-moving strangulation of truth during wartime propaganda.

Exceptional rhythmic density and pocket maintenance

Nuanced sociopolitical commentary that avoids oversimplification

High-level structural cohesion despite varying topics

Occasional reliance on standard political tropes of the early 2000s

The density of the rhyme scheme occasionally risks burying the punchline delivery

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