gza-when the fat lady sings

'Wu-Banga strangler
Whether describin facts or interrupted by quotes'

pretty much self explanatory

'Cease the bullshit, rely on volts
just like watts push the juice through amps
Rap generals runnin troops in camps'

i think this can be taken two ways 'rely on volts/ just like watts push the juice through amps'. this meaning is pretty obvious but i think u can also take it as 'just like watts push the juice through amps/ Rap generals runnin troops in camps' where the rap generals are the watts and theyre pushing troops (juice).

'Armed with heavy slugs, under rugs, thoughts bugged'

so gza now moved from electricity to soldiers so he talks about soldiers. but i also think its a metaphor where slugs r powerful darts/lyrics that theyve had up their sleeves(under rugs).

'No holds barred, live and unplugged'

a hold is basicly a stronghold or fortress which ties in with the soldier image. it also ties in with the rap battle image cuz its a metaphor for all defences r down so anyone can battle anyone. he also moves onto the rap batle scene. i think 'barred' can also b seen as 'bars' which is 2 lines in lyrics. live is obvious and unplugged means that all instruments are acoustic cuz theyre not plugged into any sockets. i think by saying 'live and unplugged' he wants to show us the rap battle scene isnt planned and they dont have any beats or microphones cuz its unplugged. its just a straight up battle.

'Trapped on the other side, of electrified, steel doors'

gza now goes back to the electricity theme he started with. 'on the other side' means backstage. hes basicly saying hes backstage watching. also this line contrasts with the line before it. 'electrified' and 'unplugged' contrast with eachother cuz 'electrified' implies prsence of electricity whereas unplugged implies absence of electricity.

'Once in, greeted with thunderstorm applause'

gza now goes from back stage onto the main stage and i applauded. 'thunderstorm applause' is gr8 sound imagery cu lots of people clapping does sound like thunder. also 'thunderstorm' ties in with the electricity theme cuz u dont get thunder without lightning and lightning is electricity.

'The message breaks the concrete barrier
Launch the vessel, known as the A-1 carrier'

the message is the lyrics. the concrete barrier is the stage. gzas lyrics r so good he cushes the stage.

the vessel is used cuz it fits in with the soldier theme. im not sure exactly what it means maybe its rescuing people from the destroyed concrete barrier.

'Sound goin through a cable, who the fuck able
Mix this shit, but your turntable unstable'

the first line is pretty self explanatory and then he says no one can produce like gzas producers and if u try itll break ur equipment.

'So if the beat smash your eardrum, you heard well
Then the two Tech' equalize occurs well'

the first line is saying how people arent worthy to hear the beats. tech is short for technics. basicly a sick way of saying the deejay was good with the turntable.

'Beats straight off the box, rhyme unorthodox'

ive always thought of the box as the turntable equipment. gza is saying his rapping is different from others.

'From the Isle', where the drinks splash straight off the rocks'

thi is very abstract but when i heard this i usually got either a visual image of drinks being poured on ice. i thought this cuz people say they want their drink on the rocks. which means drinks put over ice cubes. this ould tie incuz if someone is on stage peole r gonna b drinking.

also cuz gza said 'isle' i always got a picture of a mountain spring with the ater splashing on the rocks. this water can b drunk cuz the rocks puify it. but im not sure why gza would say the drinks are pure. he might not mean this explanation.

'The witty unpredictable, outcome critical
Nigga quick to forfeit, portrait visual
Analyze the picture, memorize the scripture'

pretty self explanatory. gzas just using a clever way to show how people will forfeir cuz his lyrics r witty and visual and people analyze them.

'Seperate the cut from uncut with the sifter'

creative metaphor. uncut means raw and unedited. a sifter is a sieve which seperates thinks. gzas seperating the raw from not raw.

'Rap wall designed from the best, bricklayers
Names tagged in prints from the best paint sprayers'

the 2 lines connect very creatively in a creative metaphor. saying how rappers build lyrics and their names get associated with those lyrics.

'Unheard of, two-thousand feet deep in the planet
Surrounded by the most thick massive walls of granite'

on one level if ur stuck deep underneath the ground with lots of walls of granite no one can hear you. on another level gzas talking about underground artists never getting recoginition.

'Certified A-side Wu-Banga strangler
Control slide time in the multi-disc changer'

just a creative way of saying how someone is listening to wu classics and then r going on 2 the next CD.

'+Liquid Swords+ and razor sharp shanks leave the tank
on the c file in eighth rank, ship sank'

a reference to gzas classic 'liquid swords'. a shank in this context is an improvisied stabbing weapon. these weapons r leaving the tank and destroying the ship. the last line is an obvious reference to the game battleships. this makes the last line a very good metaphor cuz a good metaphor is one that lots will relate to but wont think of doing. every1 will relate to battleship game but they wouldnt think of doing this. these 2 lines also tie in with the soldier theme.



this ties in with the soldier image

some of it was obvious for GZA's level of lyrics but there's some clever shit on there

peace and keep it up