Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Church

Outkast

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

14

End

77

Internal

77

Multi

119

Slant

3

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Refrain]
What about✦ repentance?✦ What about✦ detention?✦
What about✦ you eating✦ dinner✦ in the devil's✦ kitchen?✦
What about✦ repentance?✦ What about✦ committing✦
The same sin over✦ and over✦ again✦ and again✦ and, uh
[Interlude]
Why are we here? (Huh? Huh? Huh?)
Please tell me, what are we here for? (Ow)
[Verse 2: Big Boi]
Life is nothing but a dream, so peaceful and serene✦
Unless you're being evil then you on the devil's✦ team
Wide receive what you want to believe
But soon you'll have to sow those bad seeds
Please, any✦ man can ask to get a pass
Or a cleansing of sin to grant another✦ chance
Perhaps another✦ glance of the light at the end of the tunnel✦
Talk to the coach or break out the huddle
Whatever should you fumble your rebuttal should be subtle
Because he who lives in the upper✦ room is never✦ gullible
As you survey✦ the syllables and sentences, the question✦
That I'm merely✦ trying to pose is as simply✦ as me saying
[Refrain]
What about✦ repentance?✦ What about✦ detention?✦
What about✦ you eating✦ dinner✦ in the devil's✦ kitchen?✦
What about✦ repentance?✦ What about✦ committing✦
The same sin over✦ and over✦ again✦ and again✦ and, uh
[Chorus: Sleepy Brown]
Sometimes life can keep you down
With your face all in the dirt
Now if you feel that left behind
Need to get up and go to church
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh✦
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh✦ (Church)
[Interlude]
Why are we here? (Huh? Huh? Huh?)
Please tell me, what are we here for? (Ow)
[Outro]
Church (Yeah)
Church
Do-do,✦ do-do,✦ do-do✦
Do-do,✦ do-do,✦ do-do✦
Do-do,✦ do-do,✦ do-do✦
Do-do,✦ do-do,✦ do-do✦
Do-do,✦ do-do,✦ do-do✦
Do-do,✦ do-do,✦ do-do✦
Do-do,✦ do-do,✦ do-do✦
Do-do,✦ do-do,✦ do-do✦
You know what I mean?
Do you know what I mean?
Oh-oh✦
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh,✦ hey, hey
Clap your hands
Stomp your feet
Oh-oh,✦ oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh,✦ oh-oh-oh✦

Technical Breakdown

6.8
Multisyllabic Rhymes9.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes8.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres6.5

Clever language, metaphors, punchlines

Cadence / Rhythm5.5

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity7.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control7.0

Performance and control

Computed Score6.85

Production

— André 3000

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Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

Big Boi utilizes an extended football-based metaphor to anchor spiritual accountability, transitioning from athletic terminology to theological inquiry with precise rhythmic placement.

B
9.5
Multisyllabic
8.5
Internal Rhymes
5.5
Cadence / Flow
7
Vocabulary
6.5
Wordplay
7
Delivery
Extended metaphor (Athletics as spiritual life)Assonant rhyme chainsInternal rhyme couplingDynamic cadence shift
Rhyme Architecture: A complex, largely AABB or AAAA-influenced structure using multisyllabic end-rhymes (serene/team/believe/seeds) interlaced with internal multi-rhyme density (fumble/rebuttal/subtle/gullible).
Verified Doubles & Entendres

"Wide receive what you want to believe"

① A play on the football position 'Wide Receiver', referring to the act of accepting or catching information.② A theological commentary on cognitive dissonance and the human tendency to 'receive' or accept only the convenient parts of faith.

"Whatever should you fumble your rebuttal should be subtle"

① In football, a fumble is a loss of possession, requiring a quick, quiet reaction to recover.② In the context of the Last Judgment, a 'fumble' of one's life or moral choices requires a 'subtle' or humble defense rather than arrogance when facing God.

Seamless integration of complex sports terminology into spiritual themes

High density of internal rhyming relative to the 1998 production era

Conversational but authoritative tone that builds narrative tension

Slightly predictable resolution at the end of the verse

The metaphor loses some sharpness in the final two lines

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