Late Registration
Crack Music
Kanye West
Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis
9
End
114
Internal
98
Multi
139
Slant
4
Chain
Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Chorus: Kanye West, The Game, & Choir]
That's that crack music,✦ nigga✦
That real black music,✦ nigga✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la,✦ la-la-la✦
That's that crack music,✦ nigga✦
That real black music,✦ nigga✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la,✦ la-la-la✦
[Verse 2: Kanye West]
From the place where the fathers gone
The mothers is hardly✦ home
And the maricons lock us up in the Audy✦ Home
How the Mexicans say? "We just tryin' to party,✦ holmes"✦
They wanna✦ pack us all in a box like styrofoam
Who gave Saddam anthrax?
George Bush got the answers
Back in the hood, it's a different type of chemical
Arm & Hammer✦ baking✦ soda,✦ raised✦ they whole quota✦
Right when our soldiers, ran for the stove 'cause
Dreams of being Hova✦
Went from bein' a broke man to bein' a dopeman
To bein' the president—look, there's✦ hope, man
This that inspiration✦ for the Moes and the Folks, man
Shorty✦ come and see his momma✦ straight overdosin'
And this is the soundtrack
This the type of music✦ that you make when you 'round that
[Chorus: Kanye West, The Game, & Choir]
Crack music,✦ nigga✦
That real black music,✦ nigga✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la,✦ la-la-la✦
That's that crack music,✦ nigga✦
That real black music,✦ nigga✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la,✦ la-la-la✦
[Break: Kanye West]
God, how could you let this happen?✦
[Interlude: Choir]
La-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la✦
La-la-la✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la✦
La-la-la✦
[Chorus: Kanye West, The Game, & Choir]
Ugh, that's that crack music,✦ crack music✦
That real black music,✦ black music✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la,✦ la-la-la✦
That's that crack music,✦ nigga✦
That real black music,✦ nigga✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
Ugh, that's that crack music,✦ crack music✦
That real black music,✦ black music✦
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la✦
La-la-la,✦ la-la-la✦
[Outro: Malik Yusef]
Our Father,✦ give us this day, our daily✦ bread
Before✦ the feds give us these days and take our daily✦ bread
See, I done did all this ol' bullshit
And to atone,✦ I throw a lil' somethin'-somethin' on the pulpit✦
We took that shit, measured it, and then cooked✦ that shit
And what we gave back was crack music✦
And now, we ooze it through they nooks and crannies✦
So our mamas ain't got to be they cooks and nannies✦
And we gon' repo✦ everything they ever✦ took from granny✦
Now, the former✦ slaves✦ trade hooks for Grammys
This dark diction✦ has become✦ America's addiction✦
Those who ain't even✦ black use it
We gon' keep baggin'✦ up this here crack music✦
Technical Breakdown
7.1
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 / Rhythm6.5
Flow variation and timing (data-driven)
Vocabulary Complexity6.0
Range and depth of words used (data-driven)
Delivery / Breath Control7.0
Performance and control
Computed Score7.09
Production
— Kanye West, Jon BrionBe the first to rate the production
Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™
Kanye utilizes phonetic parallelism and sociopolitical juxtaposition to bridge the gap between systemic oppression and cultural identity, though the complexity remains grounded in conversational flow rather than abstract lyricism.
B
9.5
Multisyllabic
8.5
Internal Rhymes
6.5
Cadence / Flow
6
Vocabulary
6.5
Wordplay
7
Delivery
Phonetic mirroringSociopolitical juxtapositionInternal rhyme couplingSlant rhyme assimilation
Rhyme Architecture: The verse relies on dense AAAA-style multi-syllabic end-rhymes (home/Audy Home/party holmes/styrofoam) followed by a pivot into a complex internal rhyme chain using 'o-a' vowel sounds (soda/quota/soldier/stove/Hova).
Verified Doubles & Entendres
"pack us all in a box like styrofoam"
① The physical containment of marginalized communities in housing projects or prisons.② The disposable nature of the lives being contained, referencing how styrofoam is cheap, easily discarded material.
"Dreams of being Hova"
① Aspirational desire to achieve the financial and cultural success of Jay-Z (Hova).② A religious play on 'Jehovah', suggesting the status of a drug dealer or successful rapper as a localized, god-like figure in the hood.
Strong structural continuity between political critique and street reality
Effective use of assonance to link disparate concepts
Compelling rhythmic pocket that maintains intensity
Occasional reliance on colloquial filler phrases to sustain the rhyme scheme
Literal narrative approach limits deeper metaphorical resonance