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Tunde here bends the language of consumerism to describe an emotional, not material situation. A “marked down” item is for sale, but could be imagined as more broadly degraded. In the next line, “his lady” is “cashed out.”
The full phrase “marked down freedom” seems to criticize definitions of freedom that are bound up in capitalism; in other words, the freedom to choose, for example, between coke and pepsi, isn’t a true freedom.
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“Blam” here is used as pun for the sound of a gunshot and the first four letters of the word that follows “blame.” The play on words is clarified in the second line with the mention of “bullets.” The overall idea that is evoked by this diction and imagery is that accusation or “blame” can cut deep like a bullet wound.
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The title track on TV on the Radio’s EP “Young Liars”. Yet again filled with amazing lyrics from Tunde, the lead singer and song writer.
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In the Shadow of the Banyan is about Ratner’s experiences as a child during the Cambodian Civil War (1967-‘75) between the Communist Khmer Rouge and the government of Cambodia.
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Originally published in Collier’s Weekly on January 19, 1924.
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“Boom bap” is s style of hip hop production heavy in bass–much like this track. It is closely associated with the New York rap scene of the 1980s and ‘90s and producers like Pete Rock.
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Asheru is indeed both a hip hop artist and an educator. He has a Masters degree in education and has taught in the DC public school system since 1997. He is currently Director of Arts Integration at Ballou Senior High School in Washington, D.C. Ash is also a frequent contributor to the Twitter chat group and hip hop education collective, #HipHopEd.
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What is this?
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An image of extreme loneliness or loss, the lone marble in the jar should have its friends near it or should be accompanied by others as a symbol of play aplenty.
The heart is the marble, the empty jelly jar is your body. The feeling of extreme emptiness inside yourself except your heart rattling around in your empty body.