Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik

Claimin' True

Outkast

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

End

247

Internal

Multi

241

Slant

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight

[Chorus: Big Boi]

I wonder^✦ how you would be actin'^✦ if you was in my shoes

I put in work and did the dirt, that's how I paid my dues

Uh, one, two, three, that's how it be

So all the real niggas^✦ step up like the players that's in back of me

I wonder^✦ how you would be actin'^✦ if you was in my shoes

I put in work and did the dirt, that's how I paid my dues

Uh, one, two, three, that's how it be

So all the real niggas^✦ step up like the players that's in back of me

[Verse 2: André 3000]

Our heavenly Father,^✦ why do you even^✦ bother^✦ watchin' over^✦ me?

Growin'^✦ up a little G, my mama^✦ thought I'd grow to be

A lawyer^✦ or a doctor,^✦ but I felt like comin'^✦ harder^✦

Packed^✦ a shank up in my socks when I started kindergarten

This ain't no secret^✦ garden,^✦ so you flower^✦ niggas^✦ flee

If it is one of my own, I'm lettin'^✦ the trigger be

'Cause I got love for any^✦ nigga^✦ who got love for me

And can I get a slap or dap for niggas^✦ slingin' quarter kis?

Just tryna^✦ make it, then of age, come through, take it

I ain't forgot^✦ about^✦ y'all women^✦ who be workin'^✦ Nikki's^✦ butt-naked

At Magic City,^✦ shakin'^✦ titties just to pay the rent

Lord, tryin' to hustle must be somethin' that was Heaven-sent

But I ain't got no sense, that's what I got them thinkin'

I think about^✦ Barack,^✦ strap myself and keep on dankin'^✦

'Cause I be takin'^✦ the rough side of the mountain^✦

If you cross my path, I'll leave you drainin' like a fountain^✦

Yes, it's been like that since way back in 1975

Been taught to hustle with muscle and even^✦ try to strive

So, little batty^✦ boy, better^✦ say your prayers

You better^✦ learn some street sense before^✦ somebody lay you

[Chorus: Big Boi]

I wonder^✦ how you would be actin'^✦ if you was in my shoes

I put in work and did the dirt, that's how I paid my dues

Uh, one, two, three, that's how it be

So all the real niggas^✦ step up like the players that's in back of me

I wonder^✦ how you would be actin'^✦ if you was in my shoes

I put in work and did the dirt, that's how I paid my dues

Uh, one, two, three, that's how it be

So all the real niggas^✦ step up like the players that's in back of me

[Instrumental Break]

[Chorus: Big Boi]

I wonder^✦ how you would be actin'^✦ if you was in my shoes

I put in work and did the dirt, that's how I payed my dues

Uh, one, two, three, that's how it be

So all the real niggas^✦ step up like the players that's in back of me

I wonder^✦ how you would be actin'^✦ if you was in my shoes

I put in work and did the dirt, that's how I payed my dues

Uh, one, two, three, that's how it be

So all the real niggas^✦ step up like the players that's in back of me

[Outro: Rico Wade, Big Boi, & Kawan "K-Axe" Prather]

What y'all fuck niggas^✦ know about^✦ that?

OutKast,^✦ Goodie Mob, P.A.

So all the real niggas^✦ step up like the players that's in back of me

Yeah, it's K-Axe, here to let y'all know

Ain't shit changed, just a couple more names^✦

Yeah, that's right

Organized Noize, JOI, Big Gipp, Big Rube, Cee-Lo,^✦ Goodie Mob, P.A., and the motherfuckin' OutKast^✦

That's right, nigga,^✦ we takin'^✦ that bullshit no more in '94 (From the '94)

Shit (From the '94, from behind the Cadillac door, you seen it)

I wonder^✦ how you would be actin'^✦ if you was in my shoes (Peace to the Godfather-ass,^✦ gangster-ass^✦ niggas,^✦ Antonio Reid)

So all the real niggas^✦ step up like the players that's in back of me

Technical Breakdown

8.9

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 / Rhythm10.0

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity6.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control8.5

Performance and control

Computed Score8.86

Production

— Organized Noize

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Critic Analysis

RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

André 3000 displays an early mastery of contrastive storytelling, balancing domestic vulnerability with aggressive street narratives through advanced multisyllabic pocket-riding.

A+

9.5

Multisyllabic

9.5

Internal Rhymes

Cadence / Flow

Vocabulary

7.5

Wordplay

8.5

Delivery

Internal multi-syllabic chainingJuxtaposition of childhood innocence vs. criminal early-developmentDynamic cadence shiftsAssonance-heavy narrative flow

Rhyme Architecture: Dense internal rhyme clusters interlocked with AABB-style terminal structures that evolve into free-flowing, rhythmically erratic patterns.

Verified Doubles & Entendres

"Packed a shank up in my socks when I started kindergarten"

① The literal act of bringing a weapon to school, establishing the narrator's premature exposure to violence.② A hyperbolic subversion of childhood innocence, contrasting the expected developmental trajectory of kindergarteners with the narrator's reality.

"This ain't no secret garden, so you flower niggas flee"

① Reference to the novel/film The Secret Garden, implying a space where things are cultivated and safe.② A derogatory metaphor ('flower') labeling adversaries as soft, decorative, or lacking the rugged constitution required for the 'garden' of the streets.

"But I ain't got no sense, that's what I got them thinkin'"

① Literal statement that the narrator lacks common sense/intelligence.② A strategic performance of incompetence, suggesting he is underestimated by others while secretly maintaining awareness ('I think about Barack').

Exceptional rhythmic elasticity within the pocket

High-density internal rhyme placement

Effective use of ironic juxtaposition

Commanding, conversational vocal delivery

Vocabulary complexity is lower relative to his later abstract works

Some punchlines rely on traditional street tropes common to the era

Claimin' True

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

Technical Breakdown

Production

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