Dissect - MX1E8 - "Figaro" by MF Doom

Episode Date: May 23, 2023

Our "Lyrical Masters" mixtape series continues with a line-by-line dissection of "Figaro" by MF DOOM & Madlib from their 2004 album Madvillainy. Follow @dissectpodcast on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Host/Writer/EP: Cole Cuchna Audio Editing: Kevin Pooler Theme Music: Birocratic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In William Golding's classic novel, Lord of the Flies, a group of schoolboys become deserted on a tropical island. Two of the boys find a conch shell and use it to gather the boys and call an assembly, where they elect a leader, organize, and establish rules. Thus, the conch shell becomes a symbol of democracy, civilized society, law, and order. Later in the story, when another boy wants to overthrow the leader and establish his own totalitarian rule, the conch is physically destroyed, symbolizing the end of democracy, law, and order. Golding's expert use of the Conch shell demonstrates how symbolism can be used to not only represent larger ideas, but also help to advance an amplified narrative progression.

In Mad Villain's 2004 track, Figaro from their classic album Mad Villainee, MF Doom utilizes this dual symbolic function in the songs near 50-bar verse. As we'll see by the end of this episode, like the Contra, representing the rise and fall of democracy. The song's title Figaro will come to represent both the rise and fall of Doom's competition and rap. From Spotify, this is Dissect, long-form musical analysis broken into short digestible episodes. For the seventh track in our Lyrical Master's mixtape series, we're dissecting MF Doom and

Madlib's Figaro. I'm your host, Cole Kushner. The 14th track on Madlib and Doom's collaborative classic Mad Villany, Figaro begins with a sample of the 1966 track Janine by Jazz Organiz. Lani Smith from his album Finger Licking Good. On Figaro, this sample is slightly pitched down, but other than that, it's played straight without alteration or additional elements. This upbeat, syncopated introduction is soon cut off by a new sample,

which is a different tempo and in a different key signature than the first. Despite the contrast between the two opening samples, they're actually pulled from the same album, Lonnie Smith's Finger Licking Good, with the second sample coming from the track in the beginning. Like the first sample, this excerpt is slightly pitched down, and Madlib adds his own original drumbeat behind it. The upbeat almost game show sounding instrumental at the top, and this straight head-knodding beat makes for an unpredictable and incredibly effective contrast, intensifying the impact of the beat drop.

We can actually showcase this effect through a simple exercise. First, let's listen to the Figaro beat alone, without the contrasting introduction. Now let's hear the beat preface by the introduction, and notice how the contrast between them heightens the impact of the the beat drop. Makes a difference, right? Even when we know it's coming, we can't help but be pulled by the beat drop when it contrasts so much with what comes before. And this is one reason Madlib and Doom makes such a complementary duo. Just as Madlib's production shifts unpredictably, juxtaposing different moods and soundscapes without notice, so too does Doom constantly shift as rhyme schemes and flows with wordplay that is anything but predictable.

Take it from the tech nine holer Dave bit don't know their neck shines from shineola Everything that glitter ain't fish kale Let me think Don't let a faint get his smell A shot of jack, got a back It's not an ax stack

Forgot about the cack-a-lack, holler back, clack, clack, blocker Doom kicks off his one extended verse With one of the more iconic couplets In his entire catalog He raps, The Rest is Empty With No Brain, but the clever nerd The Best MC with No Chain

You ever heard. First, we have to acknowledge the incredible density of the rhyme scheme here. There are 20 total words in this couplet and 19 of those words rhyme. The rest is empty rhymes with the best MC, with no brain rhymes with with no chain, and the clever nerd rhymes with you ever heard. Coincidentally, the only word that doesn't have a rhyme is but, everything but but rhymes. In terms of the couplet's meaning, Doom begins by describing his brain-dead competition and rap whose music is empty or lacks substance and skill. He then describes himself in third person as the clever nerd,

alluding to his lyrical wit and intelligence, before boasting that he's the best MC with no chain, which describes the gold chains or jewelry commonly adorned by mainstream rappers. For Doom, it appears the gold chain symbolizes the priority place on an artist's image over their music or lyrics, something he talked about when asked why the Doom character wears a mask that obscures his face. It's a time in hip-hop where things from my point of view started going more. to what things look like opposed to what things sound like. You know what I mean?

Before, we ain't know what emcees looked like until we went to the party and seen them rocking, you know what I'm saying, or seen them, you know, most of time you see rock or not at a show before you even knew, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, before video, free video, you know, so, you know, you really was going off the sound of the record, straight skills. See, once it started getting more publicized and, you know, it started being hip-ed, you hip-hop started to be more of a money-making thing, then you get these corporate ideas where you want to put what it looks like to sell what it sounds like. We're dealing with music.

Doom's mention of a chain in the song's opening couplet gives rise to at least one meaning behind its title, Figaro, as a figaro chain is a specific type of Italian chain popular among rappers. It's clear Doom is less concerned about figaro chains and more concerned with rhyme chains. And the very rhyme chain with which he expresses this sentiment proves his point. He's indeed the clever nerd. Not having a chain might also refer to Doom's independent status as an artist, in that he doesn't have the ball and chain of a major record label pressuring him to produce radio-friendly hits or alter his image to be more marketable,

an interpretation that will gain relevance as the verse continues. Next Doom wraps, take it from the Tech Nine holder. They've bit but don't know their neck shine from Shinola. Here Doom exchanges the emphasis on rhyme for rapid phrases based on alliteration. Take it from the Tech Nine emphasizes T, bit but emphasizes B, know their neck emphasizes N, and shine from Shinola emphasizes S. A tech nine is a semi-automatic pistol, so does wordplay in saying take it from the tech nine holder as it conjures an image of taking a gun from its holster.

Doom could be pairing the gun with the gold chain to continue his critique of the stereotypical wrapper image. He could also be referring to himself as a tech nine holder, comparing the rapid fire capabilities of the gun to his rapid fire rhymes. This would make sense given the following. They've bit but don't know their neck shine from Shinola. Despite Biting Doom's flows, these rappers don't know shit from Shinola, a phrase used to insult someone who lacks intelligence and can't tell the difference between one thing, shit, from another, Shinola, a brand of shoe polish from Doom's home state of New York. This continues the no-brain insult from the opening line, while also continuing the chain

reference, as these rappers couldn't tell whether their Figuero necklace is authentic or fake, just like they can't tell Doom's high-quality wraps from their own bad imitations. Given the theme of the music industry, we might wonder if Shinola is a play on payola, the practice of a record label paying a radio station to play their song. This interpretation would make sense given the next line, everything that glitters ain't fish scale. It's an alteration of everything that glitters ain't gold, a phrase that dates back to the 1300s and is used to mean that not everything that looks good is good.

Of course, Doom subverts our expectations by replacing gold with fish scale, the purest form of powder cocaine, which is bright and iridescent, somewhat resembling the shiny iridescence of actual fish scales. In his interview with the Red Bull Music Academy, Doom touched on his inclination to subvert expectations by setting up his listeners to think he's going to say one thing, only to say something completely different. As I'm writing it, I'm also thinking of it from a listener point of view.

So I try to make it to where I can catch myself off guard. Like, you want to keep the story interesting. Like, soon as somebody thinks they know what you're going to say, that's part of the essence of ramen, is to keep everybody kind of off guard a little. So I take that and I stretch it with these different things, like leave one word blank, knowing that the listener is following along

and will fill in that blank, like how I'm following along and we'll fill in the blank, but always put the word that you at least expect. What they think might be there is not there, but it still makes sense in another way. By replacing gold with fish scale, Doom modernizes the original phrase to continue his growing portrait of a stereotypical rapper, adding drugs to the already established tropes of guns and jewelry. It's also another diss.

Despite these rappers' flashy images, they're not the purest talent, nor do they really live the life they're portraying. We also recognize how the shininess of both gold and fish scale continues the shiny motif of the figaro chain and shoe polish, with the implication still being that despite their chains being shiny, they're not gold, they're fake, just like the MC. In a similar way, Doom uses the reference to cocaine to pivot to a new subject as he wraps, Let Me Think, Don't Let Her Faint, Get Ishmael. While not quite as dense as the opening couplet, we recognize three parallel rhyme schemes in this line and everything that glitters ain't fish scale, as everything slant rhymes with Let Me Think, ain't rhymes with faint, and fish scale rhymes with Ishmael.

It would appear Doom is buying time while thinking about what to do about a girl that snorted what she mistakenly believed to be fish scale cocaine. This scenario resembles the iconic scene in Pulp Fiction where Uma Thurman's character snorts what she thought was cocaine but was actually heroin. In that scene, John Travolta's character calls a guy named Lance for help, but Doom calls on Ishmael. There's a few possibilities of who Ishmael is here. Given the previous reference to Fish Scale, it's possible he's alluding to the novel Moby Dick, whose main character Ishmael is obsessed with the white whale. The novel famously opens with the sentence, Call Me Ishmael, which resembles Doom's request to get Ishmael.

Doom could also be alluding to Ishmael from the Bible, who was expelled into the wilderness and almost died from thirst before God produced a well. This interpretation would make sense given the following Rhymedin's line, A Shot of Jack got her back, it's not an axe stack. Similar to John Travolta giving Uma Thurman a shot of adrenaline to revive her, Ishmael gives the woman a shot of Jack Daniels whiskey to get her back or regain consciousness. This line adds an additional layer to the previous Lemmy Think, as Lemmy was the first name of the famous lead singer of Motorhead, Lemmy Kielmeister, who famously claimed to drink a bottle of Jack Daniels every day. After his death, Jack Daniels even released a signature whiskey in his honor.

Doom then extends the three-syllible rhyme of Got Her Back and Not an Act to say, forgot about the Clackalack-A-Hollerback. This would appear to describe the woman in this scene as a holler-back girl as someone who's receptive to being hit on, and Kakalak or Kakalaki is slang for North Carolina, which may be where this woman is from. But the phrases seem more free associative than anything, as Doom often prioritizes the sound and rhythm and flow of words as much as he does the meaning behind them. Spread them but a moist man, please. Doom continues the verse with an automontapia,

Clack-Clack Blaka, which appears to imitate the sound of a gun being cocked and shot. This calls back to the Tech-9 reference, with Doom continuing to release lyrical gunfire. Clack Blaka also sets up a new rhyme, as he continues, Villany, feel him in your heart chakra,

chart-tapa, start shit, stopa, be a smart shoppa. Once again describing himself in the third person, Villany voices Doom's half of the Mad Villany album title. The word villainy, describes the evil actions of a villain. Given Doom's love and knowledge of comic books and cartoons, it's very likely this name was inspired by Villany Inc, an alliance of DC comic villains that most often fought against Wonder Woman. Feel him in your heart chakra refers to one of the seven

chakras are reels of energy in Buddhism and Hinduism. Specifically, Doom cites the fourth chakra, Anahata, which is located at the heart and whose primary function is connection through feeling, hence Dooms, feel him in your heart chakra, a play on the phrase, you feel me. But given the previous gunshot reference and the maliciousness inherent in his villainy moniker, we might suspect Doom isn't actually being sentimental here. Rather, what's felt in the heart are the deadly bullets he just shot. Both Chartoppa and Start Shit Stoppa are boasts, with the latter being a canny way to say that no one even attempts to start shit with him

because of his villainous reputation. Thus, Be a Smart Shoppa is an extremely clever way to say not to pick beef, playing off one shopping at a grocery store. The villainy continues with three successive four-syllable rhymes. shot a cop day around the way about to stay, and then in the next bar pivots to three, three-syllable rhymes, but who to know there's two mo that wonder where the shooter go. Here, Doom describes the villainous act of shooting a cop and then being pursued by two more cops, who he apparently also shoots down, as implied by the next line,

bout to jet, get him, not a bet, dead him. Here we find Doom playing with rhyme schemes once again, as he alternates two different rhymes in a single bar, the three-syllable, about to jet, not a bet, and the two-syllable, get him, dead him. He carries the two-syllable scheme in the following lines. Let him spit the venom, set him, got a lot of shit with him. Let the rhythm hit him. It's stronger in the other voice. The latter line here cites one of Doom's favorite rappers, Raq Kim and his 1990 song and album with Eric B. Let the rhythm hit him. Raim's Let the Rhythm hit him is an epic five-minute, four-versions. Rakemson's Let the Rhythm hit him

is an epic five-minute four-verse track flexing his lyrical ability. The song's central analogy is that Ra Kim's lyrics are as deadly as gunfire, which of course provides more evidence that Doom's own gun references have been used in the same way. Also recall that Doom's full line is, Let the rhythm hit him, it's stronger in the other voice. The latter part of the line seems to refer to the notable change in Ra Kim's voice on the album, Let the Rhythm Hit him, which was deeper and more serious than his previous work to that point.

This finds an interesting parallel with the song Figaro itself. as the original version of the song was faster and found Doom rapping in a higher voice. The rest is empty with no brain for the governor, the best emcee with no chain you ever heard. 14 months before the eventual release of Mad Villany, the album was stolen and leaked on the internet. Because of this, Doom and Madlib stopped working on it, putting its release in jeopardy. Eventually the two had finished the album, but the leak inspired Doom to re-record many of the tracks in a different voice, which is more laid back and deeper in tone, perhaps inspired by Rakim's change of tone on let the rhythm hit him. Finally, with this formal nod to Rakim, we might find an additional layer

in the song's second line, The Best MC with No Chain you ever heard. Rakeem wore distinctively large chains, yet was a master lyricist and a big influence on Doom's artistry. Thus we might wonder if Doom saying he's the best MC with no chain is paying respect to Rakim, claiming to be superior to everyone but him. Doom then uses his voice to introduce a new rhyme while still maintaining the two-syllable Hidem rhyme, saying, We makes the joints that make him spread him butter moist. The play here is on spreading moist butter on toast, which Doom uses as a euphemism for women spreading their legs and being turned on by

his joints or songs. Given the association of women and drugs previously in the verse, joint could also be referring to his potent weed. As the verse continues, Doom will springboard off this reference to women to boast about his villainous behavior with the opposite sex. That's right after the break. Welcome back to Dissect. Before the break, we heard Doom claim that his joints or songs got the ladies spreading their legs.

A motif, Doom extends as he continues the verse. We make the joints that make them spread them but a moist, man, please. Stades made of panties. From the age of baby Hoochies on to the grannies, man me the dough rake. Daddy, the flow make her fatty shake. Paddy cake, patty cake for fake. If he wasn't need a baker's man, he'd take her for her masters. Hit it once to shake her hand.

Want some old thank you, ma'am, and ghost her. She can mind the toaster if she signed the poster. A whole host to roller coaster riders. Not enough tracks. Hot enough black. It's too hot to handle. Doom continues the feminine thread, Man Please.

The stage is made of panties. Adding to his ever-growing list of rhyme schemes, Doom here cleverly rhymes the first two syllables of the line, Man Please, with the last two syllables, panties. The claim is that Doom songs not only get women spreading their legs, but also throwing their underwear on stage while he performs. The next line describes.

the full range of women he attracts, as he says, from the age of baby hoochies, on to the grannies. Another cool rhyme scheme here, as age is rapidly rhymed with baby, while the successive hoochies and grannies continue the man-please panties rhyme. This actually extends one last time into the next bar line, Ban Me, and he follows by naming himself the dough-rake daddy, who rakes in both the cash and the panties covering the stage floor. But rake is also slang for a promiscuous man, the equivalent to a hoe being a promiscuous woman. with hoe and rake both being garden tools. We then get the brilliant line,

the flow maker fatty shake, patty cake, patty cake. On one hand, this continues Doom's claim that his music attracts women, as we get the image of a girl shaking her ass, which presumably happens before or after she throws her panties on stage. The successive rhyme of Patty Cake

borrows from the children's clapping song to describe the woman's butt cheeks clapping together. But it also makes Doom's previous use of dough a double entendre, referring to both money and actual dough used by a baker. Thus we get the following line for fake if he was Anita Baker's Man. The Baker's Man here cements the reference to patty cake, patty cake, Baker's man. But of course he's name-dropping legendary singer Anita Baker and her man or ex-husband.

He elaborates with the next line, he'd take her for her masters, with masters here being the master recordings of her music. This refers to Baker's court battle with her ex-husband, who was awarded 50% of the royalties earned from the music, she made when the two were married. After a subsequent dispute over these payments, Baker faced potential jail time for refusing to sign documents, but ultimately avoided jail after explaining her position to the judge. Doom interweaves this backstory into another claim of villainy, rapping, If he was Anita Baker's man, he'd take her for her masters, hit it

once and shake her hand, on some old thank you ma'am and ghost her. She could mind the toaster if she signed the poster. The mad villain claims if he encountered Anita Baker, who of course in this scenario is just another group he attracted to him, he'd have a one-night stand with her, take possession of her lucrative master recordings, and then leave her, a real villainous act. There's clever wording throughout, with on some old thank you ma'am, alluding to the phrase wambam thank you ma'am, used here as a euphemism for a one-night stand. Meanwhile, she could mind the toaster if she signed the poster, alludes to Anita Baker signing the court papers, but also cites a famous person like herself signing one of her posters

for a fan, which would increase its value. She can mind the toaster is a a way of saying she could have the honor of cooking doomed breakfast, again displaying the cold-hearted behavior of a villain. It could also mean that Baker is literally left with only the Toaster, while the mad villain gets the profitable master recordings. Of course, Toaster also continues the food-related wordplay of the previous dough and cake. The Ghoster Toaster Poster Rhyme extends into the next line, a whole host of roller coaster riders. Here, Roller Coaster seems to substitute Dick, as in a whole host of Dick riders. This could apply equally to the fly, blocks of women at his shows who ride him sexually or the rappers jockeying the villain's style.

The wordplay continues, not enough tracks, with tracks being what roller coasters ride on, but also tracks as in songs. In the background just after this line, we hear an ad lib, asking, is it? Then Doom says, Hot Enough Black, followed by another ad lib for you. In total, these two lines seem to address the dick riding rappers who, unlike Doom, lack hot tracks or songs, and thus don't receive the perks he does. Or yes, too hot to handle. You got blue sandals. Who shot you?

Who got you new spots to vandal? Do not stand still. Boast your skills close, but no crills. Toast for pole-lills, post no bills. Coast to coast your smokes. Ill, go chill. Not supposed to overdose, no dose pills. Off pride tikes.

Talk wide. Doge me off sides. Like how war-ride with Starfleet. Toge. Doom follows up the hot enough black line with it's too hot to handle. A common phrase that means too hot to touch. But also too risky or scandalous for a particular. audience or setting. Both definitions work here. Doom's tracks are too hot for other rappers to touch,

and his risque villainous subject matter has been apparent throughout the verse. He then says, You Got Blue Sandals. Doom appears to be abstracting yet another common idiom, you got cold feet, which means fearing or backing out of an event or situation. This, of course, is what Doom's competition does when going against him. Thus we get hot, cold wordplay, with sandals continuing the motif, as one wears sandals to avoid walking barefoot on hot sand or pavement, and it's what one wears when trying to cool down. We should also acknowledge the rhyme density of these past few bars. All four syllables of Not Enough tracks

rhyme completely with hot enough black. Meanwhile, all six syllables of It's Too Hot to Handle rhyme with You Got Blue Sandals. Doom continues by rapping, Who shot ya? Who got you new spots to Vandal? Similar to the Rakimnon, Who Shot You feels like a quote of another East Coast rapper

The Notorious BIG and his 1995 track of the same name. Who shot ya? Separate the weak from the obsolete, hard to creak them Brooklyn streets. The animosity of Biggie's Who Shot You was widely thought to be aimed at Tupac, helping to spark the eventual fatal beef between the two rappers. Thus, Doom quoting the track here is fitting,

given that he's been calling out his rival MCs in the past few bars. The second part of the line, Who Got You New Spots to Vandal, is clever in that the first part of the phrase seems to be a response to Who Shot You, as Who Got You is something that you say after hitting someone with something,

which in this case is a lyrical bullet. But in the advertising industry, O-O-O-H stands for out of home and refers to ads experience outdoors, outside of one's home, like billboards, wallscapes, or posters.

This gives way to Doom's Who Got You New Spots to Vandal, with Vandal here referring to graffiti. This makes sense given Doom's background as a graffiti artist, his original group, KMD, actually began as a graffiti crew before making music.

Doom then wraps, Do not stand still, boast your skill. Like a master to their servant, Doom commands his competition to not stand still, a play on forcing someone to dance on command. It could also be evoking the trope of bullet dancing, where someone shoots at the ground near a person's feet, linking back to the who shot you reference. Doom is telling his competition to show him what they've got, to show him their skills or ability,

which he then uses as an opportunity to boast his own skills, kicking off an intense, extremely dense rhyme scheme, where literally every word rhymes. Close but no krills, toast for po-nils, posts no bills, coast to coast, joshmose flows ill, go chill, not supposed to overdose no-dose pills. Let's dissect this lyrical tongue twister phrase by phrase. First, close but no krills is a play on yet another common phrase, close but no cigar, indicating his competition failed to impress him. Of course, he substitutes cigar for krills, slaying for crack cocaine, similar to how he replaced gold for fish scale earlier in the verse. Toast for Po Nils seems to be a sarcastic toast to honor their feeble attempts, with Po Nills perhaps translating to Poor Nothing, as nil means none, zero, or nothing.

Post-no-bills is a phrase written on city walls, fences, or poles that forbids the posting of flyers, posters, or any other advertisement. This motivocally links back to the O-O-H graffiti reference, while also acting as a command that these inferior MCs should stop putting themselves out there. With Joe Schmoe being a generic name for a random nobody, The line coast-to-coast Joe Shmos flows ills go-chill is a diss on the whack MCs all around the country, which Doom tells to go chill or quit rapping. Finally, not supposed to overdose no-dose pills is a play on coast-to-coast,

as truck drivers are known to take no-dose or caffeine pills when driving long stretches across the country. As it applies to the dynamic between Doom and his competition, either he's saying that these rappers are putting him to sleep, so much so that he's in danger of overdosing on no-dose to keep himself awake, or he's saying these rappers are pulling all-nighters trying to catch up to his skill level. Doom then breaks the dense rhyme pattern, reciting one of the more poetic lines of the song. Off Pride, Tykes talk wide through Scar Mean. The main reference here is Disney's The Lion King.

A Pride is a group of lions. Tykes is a small child, evoking the main character Simba, and Scar is the movie's villain. The meaning behind the metaphor is that off or because of pride, Tykes or young cocky kids talk wide or talk shit through their big mouths. Doom describes their mouths as scarme, either because large scars resemble the appearance of lips, or because Doom insinuates that all this shit-talking will result in him busting their lip and leaving a scar. He follows with the line, Offsides, like how Worf rides with Starfleet. Offs is a football penalty.

Doom is saying these young tykes are foul or addled line. The central reference here is the TV show Star Trek The Next Generation, which featured the Klingons, a villain species that clash with the Starfleet. The show's character, Warf, was a Klingon, but the central scy. Despite this, he was a member of the Starfleet, thus Doom using him as an example of being off-size. On some get rich shit, as he gets older, he gets colder than a witch tick. This is it, make no mistakes, where my nigger go. Figaro, Figaro, O's beats in my rhymes attack, a scariac, all black like Miss Mary Mac.

Wait till you see him live on a piano, Doom sing soprano like Urnado Siano. My mama told me, blast him pass her a glass for O.E. Not to be troublesome, but I can sure use a quick shot of double rump. No stick a bubble gum. I like ice cream. We could skip the wedding. Have a nice dream. She only let him stick ahead in.

Doom continues, Told you on some get rich shit. As he gets older, he gets colder than a witch tit. Here he uses one of his favorite rhyme schemes, A, B, B, B, A, where the first line sets up the standard ending rhyme of rich shit. In the second line, he sneaks in a quick internal rhyme of older and colder, building momentum into the standard N-Rime of Witched It.

Together the couplet seems to comment on these get-rich, quick-scheming rappers only in it for the money. They might get hot for a moment, but quickly get cold and have no long-term career. Thus, Doom follows by asking, Where my N-word go?

And then, as if looking for them, calls out, Figaro, Figaro. In his own way, Doom here mimics the cadence of Rossini's famous aria from the opera, the Barber of Seville. Figuero, Figaro, Figero, Figero, Figero, Figuero. Figuero

Given Doom's love of cartoons, it's possible he's specifically citing one of the more well-known Looney Tunes episodes here, where Bugs Bunny trolls and opera singer with a series of gags. Figuero! Of course, as Doom is nearing the end of his only verse,

he's starting to bring things full circle, as the direct statement of the song title calls back to the Figaro chain of the opening couplet. When we understand this connection, we understand how Doom has brilliantly. used figaro in two ways that symbolized the progression of the flashy rappers rise and fall. The song began dissing the mainstream rappers who found success through their image, not their skill, as symbolized by the figaro chain they adorn.

After Doom dismantles his facade and proves his superior skill throughout the verse, he returns to the figaro motif, using it to call out into the void as he searches for the one's hot rapper who has vanished from relevance. Thus the song's namesake, Figaro, comes to represent both the success and the demise of these Flash in the Pan rappers. Fittingly, Doom will never mention these rappers again, as a verse will now focus exclusively on him and his partner in crime. He raps, O's Beats and My Rhymes Attack.

O's Beats refers to Otis Jackson Jr., aka Madlib. Cleverly, this line is an alteration of Marley Mall and MC Shan's 1985 track, Marley Marley Scratch. Doom's nod to MC Shan and Marley Marley Marl is certainly intentional. as they were a rapper-producer duo just like Madlib and Doom, as well as the previously referenced Rakim and Eric B. By aligning himself with these iconic duos, Doom is making clear who he feels represents the true artist in hip-hop, in whose conversational company he and Madlib belong. He then dubs their duo a scary act, all black like Miss Mary Mac.

Once again we find Doom utilizing that A-B-B-B-A rhyme scheme, where he sneaks in an internal rhyme of act and black before paying off the standard end-of-the-bar rhyme. Mary Mac, which rhymes with the previous rhymes attack. The scary act mad villain duo donning all black makes sense, as black is the stereotypical color villains wear, but also refers to the fact that they're both black. Miss Mary Mac refers to the popular children's clapping game, which contains the lyrics Miss Mary Mac all dressed in black. This is yet another callback to earlier in the verse, when Doom quoted another children's clapping game, Patty Cake, Patty Cake, Baker's Man. Perhaps the idea here is that Mad Lim and Doom are a pair and sync to the same

rhythm, just like being in sync to the same rhythm, it's required in two children performing a clapping game. The idea of Mad Villain as an act then segues into the next lines. Wait till you see him live on the piano, Doom sing soprano like Una Dociano. This couplet brilliantly threads together three previous motifs. First, we have Madlib at the piano and Doom on the mic, continuing the music duo motif. Doom singing soprano calls back to the Figaro reference, which is found in an Italian opera. Also, soprano is an Italian word, giving rise to Doom's Uno Dossiano, as Uno and Dua are the numbers one and two in Italian. Thus, Doom is playing on the common hip-hop idiom, Mike Check 1-2, as he's on stage preparing to sing. But the way Doom stretches Uno Dossiano is citing yet another children's

clapping game, Uno Doste. Doom's next line extends the clapping game motif even further, as he raps, My Mama told me, blast for me, and pass her her, her glass. of Old E. Here My Mama Told Me cites another clapping rhyme known as the Rubber Dolly song. My Mama told me that she would be... Given Doom's handful of reference to hip-hop songs in the 1990s, we also recognize the possibility that My Mama Told Me, Blast for Me, might be a play on LL Cool J's hit Mama Said Knock You Out, a song that also contains a reference to Old E or Old English liquor. Still there's yet another possible reference in Dooms My Mama told me.

line. Let's listen to it again and this time concentrate on how the phrase blasphemy also sounds like blasphemy. My mama told me blasts him pass for her glass for O.E. Not to be trouble so much. Understanding this homophone, we find a possible connection to yet another 1990s hip-hop song, Tupac's Blasphemy, which features a refrain that mirrors dooms my mama told me blasphemy. Only pox is, my papa told me, blasphemy. This Tupac song comes from his album, The Don Kiluminati, the seven-day theory, published under Pock's alias Machiavelli, a diabolical cutthroat alter ego not unlike Doom's own mad villain or Victor Vaughn. Given the previous reference to Biggie Smalls who shot you, this Pock reference makes sense.

And to cement his intention, Doom follows by saying not to be troublesome, signing yet another Tupac song, Troublesome 9-6. Doom follows not to be troublesome with the request, but I could sure use a quick shot of double rum, no stick of bubble gum. This plays off the idea of straight no chaser, which refers to taking a shot of alcohol without a sweet follow-up beverage. Doom flipping into bubble gum continues the childhood motif, which then extends into the following line, I like ice cream. This is a callback to the Uno Do Siesta clapping rhyme, as the song details a girl and a boy getting taken to an ice cream shop, with the girl getting sick from eating too many sweets.

With this context, it makes sense Doom follows by talking about some kind of relationship, as he says, I like ice cream, we could skip the wedding. Have a Nice Dream, she only let him stick the head in. The rhyme of I like ice cream with Have a Nice Dream, together makes a reference to the 1981 film Nice Dream starring Cheech and Chong, who sell marijuana out of an ice cream truck labeled Nice Dreams. Doom is once again citing another famous duo,

perennial stoners Cheech and Chong, a fitting comparison for America's most blunted duo Madlib and Doom. This final couplet as a whole returns to the hit-it-once, Thank You Man, One Nightstands, Doom described earlier in the verse. He wants to skip the wedding or the long-term commitment and get straight to the sex. Notice how when Doom says skip the wedding, the bead itself skips. Given these lines focus on sex with women, we recognize the line, I like ice cream, refers to yet another hit. pop track from the 1990s, Ray Kwan's Ice Cream from his classic album only built for Cuban links, where an assortment of ice cream flavors are used to describe the assortment of women he'd like to have sex guys.

Why these rap niggas get all up in your guts? Prince vanilla butter, becan chocolate deluxe. Even caramel, sun days is getting touched. And scooped in my ice cream truck. Doom's allusion to Rayquan's ice cream is clever in that it ties to him wanting to skip the wedding. He doesn't want commitment. Rather, he wants to promiscuously taste the full range of women. that flock to his shows. But also let's think about the title the iconic hip-hop album

Ice Cream is found on, only built for Cuban Links. Cuban Links are a type of necklace or chain commonly adorned by rappers. Thus, here at the end of the verse, Doom is once again bringing it full circle, subtly alluding to the chain motif that began the song and is the very inspiration behind its title. I like ice cream, we can skip the wedding, have a nice dream, she only let them stick ahead You want to keep the story interesting. Like, soon as somebody thinks they know what you're going to say, that's part of the essence of rhyming. It's to keep everybody kind of off guard a little.

But I always put the word that you at least expect. Or what they think might be there is not there, but it still makes sense in another way. It keeps the story interesting, you know what I'm saying? Like, keeping a good conversation with the lesson, the way you can match with some of them. It makes it more fun to me. So I try to keep it as entertaining for somebody else who will be listening to it down the line even. And like, you know, it really puts a sense of longevity to the record as well to where, you know, you never know what the dude's going to say. So you want to hear it again.