When he was held by Washington, D.C., police regarding the murder of a drug dealer in 1987 ("Murder, Drugs, and the Rap Star" read a Washington Post headline), it gave him an even greater notoriety (he was never charged with the murder). Declaring war on D.C.'s go-go scene and loudly criticizing Run-D.M.C. (then the ruling New York hip-hop outfit), Just-Ice set a pattern for many a future hip-hop feud. Little could halt Just-Ice's ascension to hip hop stardom, though the departure of Mantronik from Sleeping Bag was a bad omen. KRS-One stepped in to produce 1987's Kool & Deadly, an album that swapped Mantronik's hi-tech skills for raw, elemental beats and rhymes. The British and New York public that had so enthusiastically embraced Back to the Old School were indifferent about this one, and 1989's The Desolate One (with KRS-One back in the producer's seat) was no great improvement. By 1990, both Just-Ice and Sleeping Bag appeared to be quickly fading as a new generation of MCs and labels overtook them. He continued to release albums at intervals across the 1990s, but they were on tiny independent labels, although one, 1993's Gun Talk, had major-label distribution and had five of the album's 10 cuts produced by Kurtis Mantronik; and were rarely noticed. Just-Ice was a member of hip-hop super session, the Stop the Violence Movement, which released one single ("Self Destruction") in 1990.
There It Is
Just-Ice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I couldn't see it
I'm just 39
They're saying just breathe in
It's your time
To float away
In a mist you'll become a shade
It's your time
There is nowhere to run
Breaking down at journey's end
Afraid that nothing is ahead
After all this time that I wasted here
Saving pennies that would in the end disappear
I turn to the mirror
Figure filled with regret
No brothers or sisters
No friends to forget
It's your time
To float away
In a mist you'll become a shade
It's your time
'Cause you're no use to us
There is nowhere to run
Breaking down at journey's end
Afraid that nothing is ahead
After all this time that I wasted here
Saving pennies that would in the end disappear
With freedom comes
Conformity
Lead me away
To the microwave
Breaking down at journey's end
Afraid that nothing is ahead
After all this time that I wasted here
Saving pennies that would in the end disappear
Just-Ice's song "There It Is" speaks about the experience of being at the end of one's journey and how it feels to reflect back on life at that moment. The artist starts by questioning if it is their time to go, and despite being just 39 years old, others are telling them to accept it and just breathe in. The chorus brings in the idea of drifting away in a mist, becoming a shade, and how this is their time since they are now of no use to anyone. The artist reflects on the pennies they have saved, which will eventually disappear, and the regret they feel for wasting time here. The last verse talks about the trade-off between freedom and conformity, and how the artist is lead away to the microwave, which can be seen as a metaphor to represent the monotonous routine of daily life. The song ends with the repetition of the chorus, emphasizing the finality of the journey's end and the fear of nothingness that comes with it.
The song gives a somber and introspective look at the end of life, where one is forced to confront their mortality and the way they have lived their life. It can also be interpreted as a commentary on the meaninglessness and futility of life and the feeling of being trapped in a monotonous routine without a purpose. The use of metaphors such as drifting away in a mist and becoming a shade gives a sense of detachment and acceptance of one's fate.
Line by Line Meaning
Is it really my time?
Am I really at the end of my life?
I couldn't see it
I didn't see my life ending so soon.
I'm just 39
I'm still relatively young, but my life is almost over.
They're saying just breathe in
People are telling me to calm down and accept my fate.
It's your time
It's time for me to die.
To float away
To die and become a ghost.
In a mist you'll become a shade
I will become an intangible, ghostly figure.
'Cause you're no use to us
People see me as a burden and don't need me anymore.
There is nowhere to run
There's no escaping death.
Breaking down at journey's end
Feeling helpless and vulnerable as my life comes to a close.
Afraid that nothing is ahead
Scared that there's nothing after death.
After all this time that I wasted here
Looking back and realizing I didn't make the most of my life.
Saving pennies that would in the end disappear
Wasting my time on insignificant things that won't matter in the end.
With freedom comes
Being free from the restrictions of life.
Conformity
Accepting that death is inevitable and everyone will face it eventually.
Lead me away
Guiding me towards death and the unknown.
To the microwave
Symbolic of an unremarkable, mundane ending to my life.
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Jared Lipka
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@WillyJunior
Did anyone else randomly get this song in their head and had to look it up?
@wambuikamau.
Me😀 in 2022
@lydiamorrell6920
Yep October 20th 2022:)
@mbalimkhwane1334
Yeah 😂 25th October 2022
@wifitechreviews2275
Thats me right now...rent free...its been years but till this day!!!
@wifitechreviews2275
@@mbalimkhwane1334 me too...🙂🤞🏽
@Henry-ew8hw
If there's any justice in the world...Lemar would not have disappeared
@itssaba9469
I saw him live yesterday x
@Naruto10000Fan
I’m seeing him live tomorrow🙏
@veronicaaccouche1478
It is because he could actually sing