rap lyric meaning

danzini18 • Apr 29, 2003 11:47 am
What does "dart" mean in ebonics?
Elspode • Apr 29, 2003 12:51 pm
Could you please provide a contextual example for those of us who are not up to speed on current lyrical trends within the Rap genre?
wolf • Apr 29, 2003 12:53 pm
Context please?? Also line before and after line of text in question (or more if you think that it will help us out here).

(Amazing. Someone asking US what something means in ebonics. Wait ... syc, you're bilingual, aren't you? but you only speak the Stloo dialect...)
danzini18 • Apr 29, 2003 1:30 pm
"twist darts from the heart, tried and true
Loop my voice on the LP, martini on the slang rocks"
Jakeline • Apr 29, 2003 1:55 pm
Just to clarify a little more, it's a Wu-Tang song called Triumph. I'm not big into Wu-Tang (Dr. Dre is more my thing), but here's what I found in the way of lyrics:

~~~
I twist darts from the heart, tried and true
Loop my voice on the LP, martini on the slang rocks
Certified chatterbox, vocabulary 'Donna talkin
Tell your story walkin
Take cover kid, what? Run for your brother, kid
Run for your team, and your six camp rhyme groupies
So I can squeeze with the advantage, and get wasted
My deadly notes reigns supreme
Your fort is basic compared to mine
Domino effect, arts and crafts
Paragraphs contain cyanide
Take a free ride on my dart, I got the fashion
catalogues for all y'all to all praise to the Gods
~~~

I also found a Rap Dictionary at www.rapdict.org, and they have no mention of the term darts, twisted or not. But in this case, I think that twisting darts is pretty literal... throwing darts.
Elspode • Apr 29, 2003 2:12 pm
I would interpret the whole verse as being something of a challenge to other rappers, with the "darts" being specific words or phrases intended to convey extreme poignancy or impact.

Syc, could you please put all that into a more Rapcentric format for me?
wolf • Apr 29, 2003 2:15 pm
I would concur that in this instance the author is intending to convey the both the sharpness of his words as well as that the words are expressed with all sincerity ... thus the "darts from the heart" imagery.
perth • Apr 29, 2003 2:24 pm
shakespeare referred to words as darts on at least one occasion, if i remember right. i might be thinking of the mention of 'paper bullets' in 'much ado about nothing'.

ill check.

~james
Cam • Apr 29, 2003 2:29 pm
Which member of Wu-tang did that verse, sometimes that makes it easier to search for it. I havn't looked yet but will when I'm done with class at 3:30
perth • Apr 29, 2003 2:31 pm
it seems, after looking through his complete works, shakespeare did not refer to words as darts. oops. although im not sure that link includes sonnets, etc.

~james

edit: sonnets are included. im an idiot.
tweek • May 4, 2003 1:36 am
"Twist a dart" means roll a joint, basically. It also means "say something in a pointed manner."
wolf • May 4, 2003 1:45 am
What can I say. I'm melanin-challenged.
perth • May 4, 2003 11:20 am
well, thats what i get for liking sinatra and the pogues. i still like the idea that it means words, but the weed reference is good too. not sure which is more poetic.

~james
elSicomoro • May 4, 2003 12:22 pm
Shit...I completely missed this thread initially...sorry folks.

Wolf, though I am from the Loo, my rap lingo is a mix of the various styles that existed previous to the Loo explosion (primarily NYC, West Coast, and ATL). Nelly and the St. Lunatics did not blow up until after I left town...I had only heard of them while living there; never heard anything from them.