Dead Man's Tetris
Flying Lotus feat. Captain Murphy & Snoop Dogg Lyrics

The song "Dead Man's Tetris" by Flying Lotus is a melancholic hip-hop track that continues the theme of death and mortality which has been present in the album "You're Dead!" in which the track appears. The lyrics begin with the singer questioning the audience's assumption that they are dead, with the repetition of the phrase "hold up, hold up" providing a sense of hesitation and uncertainty. The singer then references a bullet in their head, and asks their mother to repeat the words she said, signaling that the singer may be experiencing some sort of existential crisis or confusion around the nature of life and death.

However, despite the seriousness of the lyrics, the tone of the song becomes playful and even surreal as the singer describes smoking and drug use while bouncing on the Astral Plane, a reference to out-of-body or psychedelic experiences. The reference to Freddie Mercury also adds a whimsical touch, as the flamboyant lead singer of Queen is an icon of rock and roll excess and theatricality. The repetition of the phrase "hold up" throughout the song creates a sense of suspended animation or paralysis, as if the singer is frozen in a moment between life and death.

The second half of the song introduces a new speaker, who raps about death and violence in a more conventionally aggressive style. The lyrics describe a shooting and the aftermath, as friends and family gather around a victim who may or may not be dead. The singer grapples with the concept of mortality, wondering if the victim died from drugs or alcohol or some other cause. The lyrics are ambiguous and provocative, and seem to suggest a relationship between death and artistic success, as the victim is described as "considered dope." Overall, the song is a haunting meditation on the transience of life and the uncertainty of what lies beyond the threshold of death.