Izdashit (With Footnotes)
/<a href="http://professorrex.bandcamp.com/album/core-nerd-mixtape">Core Nerd Mixtape by Professor Rex</a>
Here is the eighth in my series of lyrical examinations of the songs of my debut mixtape, "Core Nerd!"
As I say in the song Liquid Thunder, "My rhymes are so dense you're gonna need footnotes." Here they are...
This time, for the song "Izdashit."
The premise of this song is one of the simplest on the album, just a list of things that I find really cool. The only caveat is that I didn't want it to always be too obvious. The repeated "izdashit" at the end of each line was the first thing I came up with and the idea was that it would be one of those sing-along parts of a song that would get a crowd involved in the song. I haven't fully performed it yet, but people did like it and sing along the one time I attempted it.
1, 2...izdashit
3, 4...izdashit
Professor Rex...izdashit
The name of this song...izdashit
I wanted an intro here so people could see what the pattern was before the song got started, that way they could sing along.
Chuck D...izdashit
Being free...izdashit
Chuck is, of course, the lead MC of Public Enemy, and my all-time favorite MC.
KRS-One...izdashit
My second-favorite MC is KRS-One, originally of Boogie Down Productions, but long since a solo artists.
All o' my sons...izdashit
I have three songs, Carlin, Jack and Miles.
Scooby doo...izdashit
Spongebob, too...izdashit
These are the two shows that my sons have watched that I liked the most. They watch shows over and over and over again and most of them became really annoying. Except Spongebob and Scooby Doo.
Walking dead...izdashit
My favorite TV show and comic at the time I wrote the song.
Lizz Winstead...izdashit
Lizz is a stand-up comedian and helped create the Daily Show. She isn't nearly as famous as she should be.
Rum and DP...izdashit
DP here is Dr. Pepper. Rum and DP was the drink of choice for me and my crew the year I wrote this.
No more CDs...izdashit
Vintage vinyl...izdashit
I never got heavily into CDs, I basically went from cassettes (had a collection that was at the end over 10k) to digital, skipping over CDs. I have very fond memories of vinyl, though, from back in the day and particularly love that little crackle that comes out of the speakers when you first drop the needle on the record. I've since started collecting vinyl pretty heavily again.
NBA Finals...izdashit
My favorite sport nowadays is basketball. I used to be more into football, but it's much harder to play that as an amateur in any way that resembles the real game. Basketball is easy to play, even if you're alone. When I was younger, baseball was my sport, but steroids drove me away from that sport.
Lee Camp...izdashit
Lee is a stand-up comedian and political activist but isn't that famous, although he's getting more so.
11 on my amp...izdashit
A reference to "Spinal Tap."
Elon James White...izdashit
Elon is a stand-up comedian, political activist, and online radio host who started "This Week in Blackness."
Saturday night...izdashit
This one is a double reference, to both the actual night, which is the most common party night in most towns, and Saturday Night Live.
Garofalo...izdashit
Janeane is a stand-up comedian and political activist.
Playing in the snow...izdashit
Just a little personal thing that isn't particularly important, but fits.
Pirate bay...izdashit
Torrents rule!
Cassius Clay...izdashit
Cassius, a.k.a. Muhammad Ali, is one of my idols.
I have a little time
To bust a few rhymes
It's not a crime
Ain't payin no fine
Ain't doin no time
This shit's all mine
This is the way
We like to flow
This is the way
To save my soul
This is the way
We like to do it
The name o' this song...izdashit
They key thing I wanted for the chorus was for it to be much faster than the rest of the song in order to break up the potential monotony of the repeated "izdashits." They key part tying it into the rest of the song is "this is the way to save my soul," since the things in the song are the things that feed my soul.
Pulp Fiction...izdashit
One of my favorite movies of all time and one that changed how I understood film, pop culture, and myself.
Starting a little friction...izdashit
Rubbing her hips...izdashit
Licking her lips...izdashit
I generally stay away from sex in my songs (for a variety of reasons), but I wanted to hint at it a little bit here. Notice, of course, the potential double entendre.
Dark Tower...izdashit
My favorite series of novels, by Stephen King.
People power...izdashit
Both a reference to the grassroots power in politics and Howard Dean, one of my favorite Democratic leaders.
Purple rain...izdashit
Prince was a huge part of my life and "Purple Rain" isn't just his best album, it's one of the best albums ever.
Bring the pain...izdashit
This is a reference to a Chris Rock stand-up comedy special that I thought was brilliant.
Blazing saddles...izdashit
Mel Brooks, the director of this comedy milestone, was hugely influential on my sense of humor.
Zombie battles...izdashit
I'm a fanatic for anything post-apocalyptic and particularly anything with zombies.
Thirstbuster...izdashit
Circle K used to have a 75-cent fountain drink that was called the Thirstbuster (and you could get it in a 44 oz. size). We used that to mix our rum and DPs and other things. Then they changed the name of the drink to the much less cool "polar pop."
Spicy mustard...izdashit
This one was strictly in here as a joke, because why the fuck would I be rapping about mustard? In a literal sense? But numerous people have pointed this out as their favorite line in the song.
The X-Men...izdashit
All my friends...izdashit
X-Men comics are a powerful influence on who I am, and my biggest fans are my friends.
Gravity bong...izdashit
This fucking song...izdashit
Both things you can get high off of?
Helter skelter...izdashit
An obvious Beatles reference.
Fucking bomb shelter...izdashit
The early bar that I did most of my early performances in and typically spent two nights a week singing karaoke at for more than a year was called, at the time, Bomb Shelter.
Off the Wall...izdashit
I've always been a big Michael Jackson fan, particularly his pre-HIStory stuff.
All a y'all...izdashit
Why not end with a shout out to the crowd, especially if they've been singing along.
I have a little time
To bust a few rhymes
It's not a crime
Ain't payin no fine
Ain't doin no time
This shit's all mine
This is the way
We like to flow
This is the way
To save my soul
This is the way
We like to do it
The name o' this song...izdashit
The chorus again.