R.A.G.E.
J-Live Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

(Chorus)
The rule of Allah is God's equality
Desire for my brothers the same as I desire for me
But when my brothers stay physically and mentally trapped in a cage
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
The rule of Allah is God's equality
Desire for my brothers the same as I desire for me
But when my brothers stay dying of everything else but old age
My heart fills up with what? Rage!(x3)

Against the machine that come in between
Me and my other mothers siblings
That's caught up in the green and things
That you can get beyond food, comfy clothes, and a home
And so the streets they roam without a civilized dome
To realize that the traps is set
Hounds is loose, pigs is juiced
To put another neck in a noose
Without a second to lose
So powers abused and brothers are bruised
The devil's amused as squad cars cruise through
Ghetto's, where governments hold
Everything that you own to a level where your poverty prone
So half of us will sell whatever it takes to make papes
While the other half are customers with hopes to escape
As they hallucinate sealing our fate
Despite the fact that your legacy's great
They'd rather sit home and wait
While the means to survive and thrive are shut down
So those that know wrong but can't afford right
Say what now

Chorus

Against my babies fake educators
The lieutenants to the legislators that hate us
Consistently fade since our traders betrayed us
With the sadist plot to decimate and degrade us
Before we old enough to be first graders
Putting pins in my babies heads
He could have grown to be physically thoroughbred
But mentally dead
They hide the lies in the books that were meant to be read
In the schools that either ignore em or can't afford em
Now the bigger they come the harder they fall
But the younger they fall the harder it gets to stand tall
Cause the blind mans deaf son
Will be the dumb father of a blind child
Saying to hell with them all
With no family ties
So the next man's family cries
At the funeral cause somebody tries
The wrong brother with the wrong nine doing the long time
Where he learns that he committed the wrong crime in the first place
(Bust this)
He need to point the same gun
At the criminally insane justice
System that dissed him and kissed him goodbye
From the start
Cause his world view was based on a lie

The rule of Allah is God's equality
Desire for my brothers the same as I desire for me
But when a fight breaks out
Everytime there's some hip hop on stage
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
The rule of Allah is God's equality
Desire for my brothers the same as I desire for me
But when you talk trash like you hard
But your heart pumps lemonade
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
When it's war time and you don't know where to throw the grenade
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
When my babies said role models fall victim on the front page
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
When my brothers stay physically and mentally trapped in a cage
My heart fills up with what? Rage!
When my brothers stay dying of everything else but old age
My heart fills up with what? Rage!




My heart fills up with what? Rage!
My heart fills up with what? Rage!

Overall Meaning

In J-Live's song "Rage," the artist expresses his frustration and anger towards the injustices and inequalities present in society towards his community as a black man. The chorus emphasizes the idea of equality and mutual respect among human beings, but J-Live acknowledges that this idea is hindered by the traps set up by the system, the lack of opportunities, and the ignorance that blinds people from the truth.


The first verse of the song criticizes the system that sets up traps for black men, such as the police force and the government that deprives them of resources and opportunities, which often leads them to a life of crime or drugs. He also highlights the fact that poverty is a vicious cycle that affects half of the black community, where some will do whatever it takes to make ends meet, and others will become customers hoping to escape poverty. J-Live also talks about the fact that wrongdoers often blame the justice system for doing wrong to them, while the whole worldview of these individuals is based on a lie.


The second verse addresses the institutional racism present in the education system against black children, who are exposed to lies and propaganda about their community's history and people. J-Live calls out the educators and legislators who hate them and fade them out since their traders betrayed them. He emphasizes that the bigger they come and the harder they fall, that younger they fall, the harder it is to stand tall, showcasing the lack of support and resources present for young black children. J-live concludes the song with the powerful line of "My heart fills up with what? Rage!" which emphasizes the frustrations and anger that African Americans face in today's society.


Line by Line Meaning

The rule of Allah is God's equality
Allah's rule promotes equality among us


Desire for my brothers the same as I desire for me
I want good things for my brothers as I want them for myself


But when my brothers stay physically and mentally trapped in a cage
But when my brothers are stuck in difficult situations


My heart fills up with what? Rage!
I become extremely angry


But when my brothers stay dying of everything else but old age
But when my brothers die prematurely from various reasons


Against the machine that come in between
Against the system that separates us


Me and my other mothers siblings
Me and my other brothers and sisters


That's caught up in the green and things
That are consumed by money and material possessions


That you can get beyond food, comfy clothes, and a home
That aren't necessary for survival


And so the streets they roam without a civilized dome
So they wander the streets without structure


To realize that the traps is set
To understand that they're being manipulated


Hounds is loose, pigs is juiced
Police are aggressive and corrupt


To put another neck in a noose
To condemn someone unfairly


Without a second to lose
Without any time to waste


So powers abused and brothers are bruised
Those in power misuse their authority and our brothers suffer


The devil's amused as squad cars cruise through
Society's problems amuse the corrupt government


Ghetto's, where governments hold
Ghettos, where the government has control


Everything that you own to a level where your poverty prone
Controlling everything you own to keep you in poverty


So half of us will sell whatever it takes to make papes
Half of us will do whatever necessary to make money


While the other half are customers with hopes to escape
While the other half are trapped and seek to escape


As they hallucinate sealing our fate
As we imagine our destiny has been decided


Despite the fact that your legacy's great
Despite the fact that we have great potential and history


They'd rather sit home and wait
They'd rather be passive and wait for change to come


While the means to survive and thrive are shut down
While opportunities for success and growth are limited


So those that know wrong but can't afford right
Those who recognize what's wrong but can't afford better


Say what now
What can we do about it?


Against my babies fake educators
Against educators who deceive my children


The lieutenants to the legislators that hate us
The enablers of lawmakers who despise us


Consistently fade since our traders betrayed us
We consistently lose out because of our own kind betraying us


With the sadist plot to decimate and degrade us
With a cruel plan to destroy and humiliate us


Before we old enough to be first graders
Before we even reach first grade age


Putting pins in my babies heads
Damaging our children's minds


He could have grown to be physically thoroughbred
He could have grown up healthy and strong


But mentally dead
But instead, become mentally detached and hopeless


They hide the lies in the books that were meant to be read
They conceal truths in educational materials


In the schools that either ignore em or can't afford em
In schools that either neglect or cannot provide education


Now the bigger they come the harder they fall
The more powerful they are, the greater their downfall


But the younger they fall the harder it gets to stand tall
But the younger they are, the more difficult it is to recover


Cause the blind mans deaf son
Because the son of the deaf man is also blind


Will be the dumb father of a blind child
Will become a foolish father to a child with similar disabilities


Saying to hell with them all
Refusing to care about anyone else


With no family ties
Without emotional connections to others


So the next man's family cries
So another family grieves over their loss


At the funeral cause somebody tries
At the funeral because someone made a violent attempt


The wrong brother with the wrong nine doing the long time
The wrong person with the wrong weapon serving lengthy prison sentences


Where he learns that he committed the wrong crime in the first place
Where he realizes that he made a mistake from the very beginning


Bust this
Listen to this


He need to point the same gun
He should aim his weapon at


At the criminally insane justice
The corrupt and unjust legal system


System that dissed him and kissed him goodbye
The system that betrayed and abandoned him


From the start
From the very beginning


Cause his world view was based on a lie
Because his perception of reality was founded on falsehood


When a fight breaks out
When physical violence occurs


Everytime there's some hip hop on stage
Whenever there's a hip hop performance


But your heart pumps lemonade
But you lack the courage and toughness you portray


When it's war time and you don't know where to throw the grenade
When you're in conflict and don't know how to fight back


When my babies said role models fall victim on the front page
When my children notice their role models being negatively featured in the media


My heart fills up with what? Rage!
I become extremely angry


When my brothers stay physically and mentally trapped in a cage
When my brothers are stuck in difficult situations


When my brothers stay dying of everything else but old age
When my brothers die prematurely from various reasons


My heart fills up with what? Rage!
I become extremely angry


My heart fills up with what? Rage!
I become extremely angry




Contributed by Jackson C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found

More Versions