Lil Wayne, despite being totally unintelligible when speaking, is one of the most clever vocalists in the rap game when provided with a beat. Kids could learn a thing or two about literary devices by listening to some of the emcee's raps, or at least that's what one eighth-grade teacher in Florida figured when she gave her students copies of Wayne's "6 Foot 7 Foot" and asked them to underline examples of figurative language. The problem is that Wayne has one of the filthiest mouths in music. The teacher was reportedly suspended for three days by the school district.
Although still ultimately a bad idea, we can see what she was getting at. "6 Foot 7 Foot" is chock full of colorful bars that superbly illustrate figurative language, albeit generally not appropriate for elementary schoolers. Therefore Music Times took it upon ourselves to point out a few examples for our adult readership.
"I beat the beat up, call it self-defense"
Weezy means to say that he is rapping so skillfully that he's "beating the beat up," and playing along with the assault theme, he's claiming self-defense as to avoid jail time. "The beat" is far from the most obscene thing Wayne mentions "beating up" during his songs.
"Young Money eatin', all you haters do is add salt"
This bit doubles up on the figurative language. Young Money is Weezy's label within Cash Money Records. The haters are throwing salt, a slang term for the bitterness they feel to have not reached the level of success Wayne has. Again, this is far from the most obscene thing the rapper has "eaten" during his songs.
"Life is a b---h and death is her sister, sleep is a cousin, what a f----n' family picture"
Wayne plays off of the classic Threepenny Opera quote by introducing other concepts to disdainfully refer to as "b-----s." He then ties the three now female characters together with a family picture allegory. Note that Wayne for once does not make reference to fornicating with the female characters...
"Married to the money, f--- the world, that's adultery"
...until this line. Many rappers promote keeping money at the top of the list, and many also display an anti-conformist streak by declaring "f--- the world." Wayne avoids cliché by turning both lines into an allegory for his own diverse love life. True, money is still—to use his words—his "main b---," but he can't resist ruffling the world's feather as well. He ties it all together with the adultery reference.
"If these n----s animals, then I'm'a have a mink soon"
Wayne has obviously never shied from making sexual innuendos that would appall parents everywhere, but this line is truly the most disturbing in the track. Weezy refers to his haters as animals, and then follows it with the claim that he'll "have a mink soon." If taken literally, Wayne seems to suggest that he's going to skin his enemies and wear them as a coat, Leatherface-style. As he mentions during the song: "People say I'm borderline crazy, sorta kinda."
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