Boombox
Blueprint Lyrics


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You are disturbing me!
You are disturbing my customers!
No service till you turn that shit off!
I can't even hear myself think!

The smooth criminal on beat breaks
Never put my in your box if your shit eats tapes
The smooth criminal on beat breaks
Never put my in your box if your shit eats tapes

I got a Panasonic with a set of fifteens
Black with the silver grill, shining, lookin' clean
Glove on my right hand, face on lean
I keep it by my side like Radio Raheem
Ghetto blastin', you know the sound
Everywhere I go I get asked to turn it down
I'll tell you hell no to your face, I ain't a coward
And if you keep trippin' I'm a turn it up LOUDER
I don't give a damn about your quiet or your peace
The only time I turn it down is when I see police
The last thing I need is being sweated by the beats
Trying to throw me in the hole and take away my beats
Me hear nothing but the music, I'm slipping
So fuck hip-hop, I'm easy listening
Me hear nothing but the music, I'm tripping
So fuck hip-hop, I'm easy listening

[Chorus: x2]
You thought it was gunshots, the way my boombox knocks
Before you see me, you hear me coming down the block
Loud enough to make your eardrums pop
But it won't stop, it don't stop

The smooth criminal on beat breaks
Never put my in your box if your shit eats tapes
The smooth criminal on beat breaks
Never put my in your box if your shit eats tapes

Some cats decorated theirs with hand styles and stickers
I decorated my piece with Polaroid pictures
Extra bass boost so you know I ain't frontin'
Tinted deck with a missing pause button
A pocketful of tapes from the latest mix shows
With one in the deck 'cause the door won't close
I might get it fixed when I get some cheddar
Auto-reverse, one side sounds better
My pulse meter pulsates when I play my jams
My equalizer got thirty-two bands
This cat try to battle, he didn't know me
I drowned him out with my tapes on Dolby
Plus, I only had the volume on five
God forbid, he really woulda tried to get live
Me hear nothing but the music, I'm slippin'
So fuck hip-hop, I'm easy listening

[Chorus: x2]

Some cat bought the same model and thought he was equal
But he lost the battle 'cause he couldn't freak the EQ's
He shoulda known better than to battle me
He dug his own ditch with them Ray-O-Vac batteries
Now he mad as hell
I told him not to come back unless he had some Duracell's
My boombox, fully equipped
With a microphone jack whenever cats want to spit
Wherever I'm at, the be boys follow
My box turns bus stops into the Apollo
I give you fifteen minutes of fame
And had a downtown sidewalks looking like Soul Train
Me hear nothing but the music, I'm slipping
So fuck hip-hop, I'm easy listening
Me hear nothing but the music, I'm tripping
So fuck hip-hop, I'm easy listening

You come to Sal's, there's no music




No rap, no music, no music, no music
Capice? Understand?

Overall Meaning

The song "Boombox" by Blueprint is all about the power of music and the way it can be a sort of weapon. The song's narrator is a hip hop head who carries his boombox everywhere he goes, always playing his favorite music at high volume. This is obviously a problem for some people, including the singer's coworkers and various people on the street. But the singer doesn't care. He blasts his music because it's important to him and it makes him feel alive.


The song's first few lines set the tone: "You are disturbing me! / You are disturbing my customers! / No service till you turn that shit off! / I can't even hear myself think!" These are the words of a shop owner telling the singer to turn off his boombox. But the singer isn't interested in anyone else's opinion. He celebrates his music and the way it makes him feel: "Me hear nothing but the music, I'm slipping / So fuck hip-hop, I'm easy listening." He even claims that playing his music loud enough is like having a gun: "You thought it was gunshots, the way my boombox knocks / Before you see me, you hear me coming down the block."


The song is an ode to the boombox, which was an important icon of hip hop in the 1980s and 90s, and to the power of music itself. Though some people may find it annoying or disruptive, the singer in "Boombox" sees his music as a crucial part of his identity and refuses to let anyone else's opinion change that.


Line by Line Meaning

You are disturbing me!
You are disturbing my customers!


No service till you turn that shit off!
I won't serve you until you turn off your boombox!


I can't even hear myself think!
Your boombox is too loud and I can't concentrate!


The smooth criminal on beat breaks
I am a skilled DJ who can mix beats seamlessly


Never put my in your box if your shit eats tapes
Don't use my tapes in your boombox if it's in bad condition and ruins them


I got a Panasonic with a set of fifteens
I own a Panasonic Boombox with 15-inch speakers


Black with the silver grill, shining, lookin' clean
It's black with a silver grille that looks shiny and new


Glove on my right hand, face on lean
I have a glove on my right hand and a cool expression on my face


I keep it by my side like Radio Raheem
I always carry my boombox with me like Radio Raheem in the movie Do the Right Thing


Ghetto blastin', you know the sound
I'm playing my music loud like a ghetto blaster


Everywhere I go I get asked to turn it down
People always ask me to turn my music down when I'm in public


I'll tell you hell no to your face, I ain't a coward
I won't back down and will say no to your face, I'm not afraid


And if you keep trippin' I'm a turn it up LOUDER
If you annoy me, I'll turn up the volume even more


I don't give a damn about your quiet or your peace
I don't care if you want peace and quiet, I'll still play my music


The only time I turn it down is when I see police
I'll only lower the volume of my music when I see the police


The last thing I need is being sweated by the beats
I don't want to be harassed by the police because of my music


Trying to throw me in the hole and take away my beats
I don't want them to put me in jail and take away my music


Me hear nothing but the music, I'm slipping
I get lost in the music and forget everything else


So fuck hip-hop, I'm easy listening
I don't care about hip-hop music anymore, I prefer easy listening


You thought it was gunshots, the way my boombox knocks
The sound of my boombox is so loud that people mistake it for gunshots


Before you see me, you hear me coming down the block
My music is so loud that you can hear me from far away


Loud enough to make your eardrums pop
My music is so loud that it could damage your hearing


But it won't stop, it don't stop
I won't stop playing my music, it's my passion


Some cats decorated theirs with hand styles and stickers
Some people decorated their boomboxes with graffiti and stickers


I decorated my piece with Polaroid pictures
I decorated my boombox with Polaroid photos


Extra bass boost so you know I ain't frontin'
I added a bass boost to my boombox to show I'm serious


Tinted deck with a missing pause button
The cassette deck on my boombox is tinted and the pause button is missing


A pocketful of tapes from the latest mix shows
I have a lot of tapes from popular music shows


With one in the deck 'cause the door won't close
I can only fit one tape in the deck because the door is broken


I might get it fixed when I get some cheddar
I might repair it when I have enough money


Auto-reverse, one side sounds better
My boombox has an auto-reverse function, and one side sounds better


My pulse meter pulsates when I play my jams
My pulse goes up when I play my favorite music


My equalizer got thirty-two bands
My EQ has 32 settings for superior sound quality


This cat try to battle, he didn't know me
Someone tried to challenge me, but they didn't know who they were up against


I drowned him out with my tapes on Dolby
I played my tapes in Dolby to overpower my challenger


Plus, I only had the volume on five
I won the battle even though I only had the volume on 5


God forbid, he really woulda tried to get live
It's good he didn't try any harder to compete against me


Some cat bought the same model and thought he was equal
Someone bought the same boombox as me and thought they were as good as me


But he lost the battle 'cause he couldn't freak the EQ's
He lost the music competition because he couldn't use the EQ settings effectively


He shoulda known better than to battle me
He shouldn't have challenged me in the first place


He dug his own ditch with them Ray-O-Vac batteries
He made a mistake by using cheap Ray-O-Vac batteries in his boombox


Now he mad as hell
Now he's really angry


I told him not to come back unless he had some Duracell's
I told him not to bother competing unless he used better Duracell batteries


My boombox, fully equipped
My boombox is complete and has everything I need


With a microphone jack whenever cats want to spit
It has a microphone jack for people to rap or sing along


Wherever I'm at, the be boys follow
Hip-hop fans always follow me and my music


My box turns bus stops into the Apollo
My boombox turns bus stops into a showcase for talented performers, like the Apollo Theater


I give you fifteen minutes of fame
I give people a chance to show their talent and gain some recognition


And had a downtown sidewalks looking like Soul Train
People dancing to my music on the sidewalk resemble the Soul Train TV show


You come to Sal's, there's no music
If you come to Sal's pizza parlor, there's no music playing


No rap, no music, no music, no music
There's no hip-hop or music playing at all


Capice? Understand?
Do you understand my point of view?




Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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