After performing for some time in the Boston underground, the duo, known at the time as God Complex, released their first single in 1996 to critical acclaim. This lead to the release of the Rebel Alliance LP, a compilation of Boston talent that featured acts such as Virtuoso, Mr. Lif, Tony Infamous and Force Five. Also at this time the two dropped the God Complex moniker becoming simply 7L & Esoteric.
Word Association
7L & Esoteric Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm gonna give you a word, you tell me exactly what comes to mind
Cool, let's go
Brain - tumor, suede - Puma
Natalie - true, Liv Tyler - rumor
Lionel - my man, weapon - mic stand
Moogoo - gai-pain? Essex - fry clan
Mescaline - dumb fake, rent money - month late
Aguilera - lame slut, Cameo - change cut
Lance Rivera - shank up, Rawkus Records - bankrupt
[Esoteric]
Sittin here gettin my brain exam'd
Like I'm a, deranged man with the strangest plan
I got the, seat reclined in the therapy spot
The psycho-analyst is lookin at me like I'm a crackpot
Now sit back and relax - I'm doin that already
Please keep your hands steady - Why? - Your face is all sweaty
Yo I'm ready to heave
Mr. Ryan just breathe
I'll do a few more of these, then I'm gonna leave
Okay Tom Cruise - Ray*Ban, Elton John - gay man
Backpack - wack flow, fur coat - Fat Joe
Farrakhan - Nation, mad soul - Haitian
A title, for this joint? Word Association
{*7L scratching*}
"Listen up as I take out the rhyme book"
"From the rude attitude, done got in it to win it"
Okay, now tell me a little bit about your education
I didn't breeze through school, well actually I did
I breezed through the campus center back to my crib
You like to socialize? - Yeah - Well that's no surprise
Plus it's somethin that a lunatic mostly denies
Chill, whatchu tryin to say, that I'm about to explode?
My last crazy episode was during (?)nematode(?)
"Disguising his microbiotics.." that was dope
Well it goes without saying like old folks, continue
Okay Tiger - Chun Li, Crocodile - Dundee
Big pimp - Rocky V, hook shots - from three
Revelie - no crew, nerd bath - tofu
Richard Lewis - beaucoup, where is he? No clue
Groupies - free throws, Aria - need hoes
Chinatown - peep shows, cellos - umm, cheap clothes
Pedophile - pulpit, De La - cool skit
How do you feel about this exam? I think it's bullshit!
{*7L scratching*}
"Well, well, well! I'll be damned"
"Say what?" - "is the word" - "I don't know"
"Like I.. like I said before.."
"Listen up as I take out the rhyme book"
"I'm dead serious and I won't fess it.."
".. but chill 'til I finish the third verse"
"Now, listen-listen to the past"
This is going well, tell me a little about uhh, Metzer
[Esoteric]
The punk stand front and center
Red carpets roll, ladies trumpet as they enter
Light years beyond, my title's number one contender
Mind of an inventor with the grace of a fencer
Look, I gives a fuck if you're white, black or octaroon
I'll lock you in a room, make you pop balloons
filled with toxic fumes, yeah you shoulda bought a tomb
Cause Esoteric puts the Metal to your Face like Dr. Doom
Is-is that true? - Nah but it's a hot rhyme
Just give me a word, I'll say what pops to my mind
Okay cell - phone or prison? Esoteric - vocalism
Freestyle - old tradition, Mass Ave. - Pole Position
Dirtbag - chopperhead, Trevski - knock him dead
Big troops - knuckle up, Jedi Mind - fuck you up
Diesel - buttonfly, cool Keith - Russian spy
No press - no Es, hope chest - slow death
This a joke? Hell no, kangaroo - velcro
Fat lace - shelltoe, Spud Webb - Elmo?
Letterman - great host, Moltar - Space Ghost
Applebee's - tastes gross, lap dance - pesos
Kid Rock - white trash, Limp Bizkit - don't ask
Handgun - under stress, LSD - Hunter S.
Thanks for your time
Peace
That I can't allow
Huh?
You're legally insane, you'll be living here now
What?
The song "Word Association" starts off with Esoteric engaging in a word association game with 7L. Esoteric quickly raps out words that come to his mind after he is given a single word by 7L. Interestingly, the associations are not a direct connection to the given word. For instance, instead of saying the word "brain" for the given word "brain," Esoteric says "tumor." Another example is instead of clicking out "dumb" for "dumb fake," he gives a rhyme with "mescaline," which is a psychedelic drug.
Esoteric seems to be in a therapy session, and he is examined thoroughly. However, as the song continues, it's revealed that this is no ordinary therapeutic session as Esoteric is declared legally insane and asked to live in the hospital. Throughout the song, we get a glimpse of Esoteric's creative ability to form perfect rhymes in a word association game. We also see his wits and sense of humor with lines like "I got the seat reclined in the therapy spot, The psycho-analyst is lookin at me like I'm a crackpot."
Line by Line Meaning
Brain - tumor, suede - Puma
Esoteric associates brain with tumors and suede with Puma shoes.
Natalie - true, Liv Tyler - rumor
Esoteric thinks that Natalie is true and Liv Tyler is followed by rumors.
Lionel - my man, weapon - mic stand
Esoteric considers Lionel as his man and thinks of mic stand as a weapon.
Moogoo - gai-pain? Essex - fry clan
Esoteric is confused about Moogoo and finds anyone from Essex as a part of the fry clan.
Sample - truncate, 45 - drum break
Esoteric associates truncating samples with drums breaking in a 45 record.
Mescaline - dumb fake, rent money - month late
Esoteric considers Mescaline as a dumb fake and relates rent money being a month late.
Aguilera - lame slut, Cameo - change cut
Esoteric dislikes Christina Aguilera and refers to Cameo's hairstyle change.
Lance Rivera - shank up, Rawkus Records - bankrupt
Esoteric thinks of Lance Rivera being stabbed and Rawkus Records being bankrupt.
Sittin here gettin my brain exam'd
Esoteric is getting a brain exam done.
Like I'm a, deranged man with the strangest plan
Esoteric relates himself to a crazy person with a weird plan.
I got the, seat reclined in the therapy spot
Esoteric is seated in the therapist's chair with the seat reclined.
The psycho-analyst is lookin at me like I'm a crackpot
Esoteric feels like the psycho-analyst thinks he's crazy.
Now sit back and relax - I'm doin that already
Esoteric is already relaxed and asks the analyst to relax as well.
Please keep your hands steady - Why? - Your face is all sweaty
Esoteric asks the analyst to keep their hands steady while analyzing him and wonders why their face is so sweaty.
Yo I'm ready to heave
Esoteric feels like he's going to throw up.
Mr. Ryan just breathe
Esoteric asks Mr. Ryan to calm down and breathe.
I'll do a few more of these, then I'm gonna leave
Esoteric says he'll answer a few more questions and then leave.
Okay Tom Cruise - Ray*Ban, Elton John - gay man
Esoteric associates Tom Cruise with Ray*Ban and Elton John with being a gay man.
Backpack - wack flow, fur coat - Fat Joe
Esoteric thinks of a bad rap flow when he hears the word backpack and associates fur coat with Fat Joe.
Farrakhan - Nation, mad soul - Haitian
Esoteric thinks about Farrakhan's Nation of Islam and associates mad soul with someone from Haiti.
A title, for this joint? Word Association
Esoteric asks for a title for this song and suggests Word Association.
Okay Tiger - Chun Li, Crocodile - Dundee
Esoteric associates Tiger with Chun Li and Crocodile with Dundee (Crocodile Dundee movie).
Big pimp - Rocky V, hook shots - from three
Esoteric associates a big pimp with Rocky V and hook shots with basketball from a distance of three-point line.
Revelie - no crew, nerd bath - tofu
Esoteric thinks that Revelie has no crew and associates a nerdy bath with tofu.
Richard Lewis - beaucoup, where is he? No clue
Esoteric thinks about Richard Lewis having a lot of something and doesn't know where he is.
Groupies - free throws, Aria - need hoes
Esoteric thinks groupies are like free throws and associates Aria with someone who needs hoes.
Chinatown - peep shows, cellos - umm, cheap clothes
Esoteric associates Chinatown with peep shows and considers an umm sound when hearing the word cello, while cheap clothes come to his mind when hearing Cellos.
Pedophile - pulpit, De La - cool skit
Esoteric associates pedophile with pulpit and thinks a cool skit is what De La produces.
How do you feel about this exam? I think it's bullshit!
Esoteric thinks this exam is worthless.
Is-is that true? - Nah but it's a hot rhyme
Esoteric admits that it's only for the sake of rhyming that he said that.
Just give me a word, I'll say what pops to my mind
Esoteric asks to be given a word and says he'll associate it with something that pops into his mind.
Okay cell - phone or prison? Esoteric - vocalism
Esoteric associates cell with phones and prison and relates himself with vocalism.
Freestyle - old tradition, Mass Ave. - Pole Position
Esoteric thinks of freestyling as an old tradition and associates Mass Ave. with Pole Position arcade game.
Dirtbag - chopperhead, Trevski - knock him dead
Esoteric associates a dirtbag with having a chopperhead and someone named Trevski with knocking someone dead.
Big troops - knuckle up, Jedi Mind - fuck you up
Esoteric thinks of big troops knuckling up and associates Jedi Mind with fucking someone up.
Diesel - buttonfly, cool Keith - Russian spy
Esoteric associates Diesel with buttonfly jeans/pants and thinks of Cool Keith as a Russian spy.
No press - no Es, hope chest - slow death
Esoteric thinks that having no press means no Es and thinks a hope chest signifies slow death.
This a joke? Hell no, kangaroo - velcro
Esoteric confirms that this isn't a joke and associates a kangaroo with velcro.
Fat lace - shelltoe, Spud Webb - Elmo?
Esoteric associates fat laces with shelltoe shoes and wonders if Spud Webb is Elmo.
Letterman - great host, Moltar - Space Ghost
Esoteric thinks David Letterman is an excellent host and associates Moltar with Space Ghost.
Applebee's - tastes gross, lap dance - pesos
Esoteric thinks Appleee's food tastes bad and associates lap dances with pesos (currency used in Mexico).
Kid Rock - white trash, Limp Bizkit - don't ask
Esoteric thinks Kid Rock is white trash and doesn't want to talk about Limp Bizkit.
Handgun - under stress, LSD - Hunter S.
Esoteric associates handguns with causing stress and thinks of Hunter S. Thompson when hearing LSD.
Thanks for your time
Esoteric thanks the analyst for their time.
That I can't allow
The analyst tells Esoteric that they can't let him leave.
Huh?
Esoteric is surprised and confused.
You're legally insane, you'll be living here now
The analyst deems Esoteric legally insane and tells him he'll be living there (in the mental institution) now.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Spike-ee6om
"This is going well, tell me a little about uhh, Metzer
The punk stand front and center
Red carpets roll, ladies trumpet as they enter
Light years beyond, my title's number one contender
Mind of an inventor with the grace of a fencer
Look, I gives a fuck if you're white, black or octaroon
I'll lock you in a room, make you pop balloons
Filled with toxic fumes, yeah you shoulda bought a tomb
Cause Esoteric puts the Metal to your Face like Dr. Doom
Is-is that true? - Nah but it's a hot rhyme
Just give me a word, I'll say what pops to my mind
@cyrusgraham292
Real hip hop, no mumble stuff, real beats.
@-raccoonbro3583
Exactly
@cyrusgraham292
And they know how to dress
@GOOCHIElicker
Mumble rap is the REAL HARD SHIT YO!
@gabecole2740
@brad taylor lol you wildin nigga 🤣
@TonyFulbright
7L & E are definitely some of the best in the underground.
@djskizmarkey
Esoteric lived at the corner of my neighborhood. He drove a white lexus... he was awesome..nothings cooler than having your favorite rapper living on your block...lol..if you like this album..tbh this ones not as good. As the first e.p. it's Called "speaking real words"..its incredibly good
@newera5238
I remember I first heard this about 10 years ago in Washington State, I always used to play the song because I heard it on a mixtape first. After all these years later, I'm happy I found it again😃!
@GRIMJONESMUSIC
I haven't heard this in like ten years. Awesome as ever.
@unclepaulie4233
So good