The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Every Ghetto, Every City

Lauryn Hill

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

33

End

211

Internal

123

Multi

157

Slant

14

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Refrain]
You know it's hot (You know it's hot), don't forget,✦ what you got
Looking✦ back... (Looking✦ back) looking✦ back, looking✦ back, looking✦ back
You know it's hot, don't forget,✦ what you got
Looking✦ back... looking✦ back, looking✦ back, looking✦ back
[Verse 3]
Bag of Bontons, twenty✦ cents and a nickel✦ (Well, that's a quarter)
Springfield Ave. had the best popsicles
Saturday morning cartoons and Kung-Fu✦ (Wuh-TAH!)✦
Main street roots tonic with the dreads
A beef patty✦ and some coco✦ bread
Move the patch from my Lee's to the tongue of my shoes (Uh-uh,✦ uh-uh-uh)✦
'Member,✦ Freling-Huysen used✦ to have the bomb leather
Back when Doug Fresh and Slick Rick was together
Looking✦ at the crew, we thought we'd all live forever, yeah
[Refrain]
You know it's hot (You know it's hot), don't forget,✦ what you got (You know it's hot)
Looking✦ back... (Looking✦ back) looking✦ back, looking✦ back, looking✦ back
You know it's hot (Uh, you know it's hot), don't forget,✦ what you got (You know it's hot)
Looking✦ back... (Looking✦ back) looking✦ back, looking✦ back, looking✦ back
[Verse 4]
Drill teams on Munn street
'Member✦ when Hawthorne and Chancellor had beef (Yo)
Moving Records was on Central Ave
I was there at dancing school (Uh-huh)✦
South Orange✦ Ave. at Borlin✦ pool
Unaware of what we didn't have
Writing my friends' names✦ on my jeans with a marker✦
July✦ 4th races✦ outside✦ Parker✦
Fireworks at Martin✦ Stadium (Uh, uh-uh-uh,✦ uh-uh-uh)✦
The Untouchable P.S.P. (S.P.)
Where all them crazy✦ niggas be
And car thieves got away✦ through Irvington (Skrrrt, lock it up, uh, uh)
Hillside✦ brings beef with the cops
Self Destruction✦ record drops
And everybody's name was Muslim (Children playing, women✦ producing)
Sensations and eighty-eight
Attracted kids from out of state (Uh-uh,✦ uh-uh)✦
And everybody✦ used✦ to do the wop (Wop it out, wop it out, wop it out)
Jack ya, jack ya, jack ya body✦
Nah, the BizMark used✦ to amp up the party✦
I wish those days, they didn't stop (I wish those days didn't stop)
[Chorus]
Every✦ ghetto✦ (Every✦ ghetto),✦ every✦ city✦
And suburban✦ place I been (And suburban✦ place I been)
(Every✦ ghetto)✦ Make me recall✦ my days, in New Jerusalem (Every✦ city)✦
[Refrain]
You know it's hot (You know it's hot), don't forget,✦ what you got
Looking✦ back... (Looking✦ back) looking✦ back, looking✦ back, looking✦ back
You know it's hot, don't forget,✦ what you got (You know it's hot)
Looking✦ back... looking✦ back, looking✦ back, looking✦ back (Looking✦ back)
You know it's hot, don't forget,✦ what you got (You know it's hot)
Looking✦ back... looking✦ back, looking✦ back, looking✦ back (Looking✦ back)
[Outro]
Looking✦ back, looking✦ back, looking✦ back
Looking✦ back, looking✦ back, looking✦ back (Looking✦ back)
Looking✦ back (Looking✦ back, looking✦ back, looking✦ back), looking✦ back, looking✦ back
Looking✦ back, looking✦ back (Looking✦ back), looking✦ back
Looking✦ back, looking✦ back, looking✦ back
[Skit: Teacher, Boy, Girl]
What do you think about✦ love? Come on
Okay,✦ Laurence
Love...
Don't laugh, yo!
Yo, he's 'bout to give us a dissertation,✦ the way he said that
Go ahead,✦ breakdown,✦ breakdown✦
Well, love is just a feeling✦
Love is a feeling,✦ it's like, it's just when you like somebody✦ and you're gonna fall in love with them
Okay✦
And you just hope they feel the same way like you do towards them
Okay,✦ okay✦
This gettin'✦ a lil' deep

Technical Breakdown

8.8
Multisyllabic Rhymes9.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres6.5

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 Control9.0

Performance and control

Computed Score8.77

Production

— Lauryn Hill

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Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

Lauryn Hill utilizes 'spatial nostalgia' as a lyrical framework, anchoring complex, rhythmic flows in specific geographical and cultural markers of 1980s/90s Newark to create a visceral sense of place.

A
9.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
10
Cadence / Flow
5
Vocabulary
6.5
Wordplay
9
Delivery
Spatial AnchoringList-based NarrativeAuditory MimicryNostalgic EnumerationPolyrhythmic Cadence
Rhyme Architecture: Highly sophisticated, utilizing internal multisyllabic clusters paired with frequent end-rhyme syncopation that forces the listener to track both the narrative history and the rhythmic density simultaneously.
Verified Doubles & Entendres

"Springfield Ave. had the best popsicles"

① A literal reference to a specific location known for a local treat.② A symbol for the fleeting, sensory 'sweetness' of childhood memories that the narrator is reflecting upon.

"Move the patch from my Lee's to the tongue of my shoes"

① A literal description of a specific late 80s/early 90s hip-hop fashion trend.② A marker of cultural identity and socioeconomic status, signifying the transition of 'hip-hop' influence from the clothing (Lee jeans) to the footwear (shoes), signaling the shift in youth identity.

Exemplary use of cadence variation to simulate childhood energy

Strong narrative cohesion through specific local cultural markers

Masterful integration of ad-libs as rhythmic percussion

Structural brilliance in transitioning from sensory details to collective nostalgia

Relies more on descriptive imagery than complex metaphorical wordplay

Lacks the density of wordplay seen in her more abstract verses

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