B
Lupe Fiasco Lyrics

Yeah, I say
The singer is introducing the topic he wants to discuss in this song.

Bitch bad, woman good, lady better
The singer is commenting on how society perceives women and how that perception changes as women are regarded with higher esteem.

Hey, hey
A repeated phrase for emphasis

Now imagine there's a shorty, maybe five maybe four
The artist is setting the scene for a hypothetical situation to explain how young children learn their perceptions of women.

Ridin' 'round with his mama listening to the radio
Describing the mother-child setting in which the child is learning about society.

And a song comes on and a not far off from being born
The child is soon to be born and is being exposed to external stimuli, contributing to their learning about women.

Doesn't know the difference between right and wrong
The child has not yet developed the moral or ethical compass to distinguish right from wrong.

Now I ain't trying to make it too complex
The artist doesn't want to complicate the situation, but expresses that it is still necessary to examine this early-childhood learning about women.

But let's just say shorty has an undeveloped context
The child has not yet developed an understanding of the societal context surrounding women's identities.

About the perception of women these days
The artist is discussing the current conceptions of women today.

His mama sings along and this what she says
The mother is singing along to the lyrics of the song, modeling for her child how to perceive women.

"Niggas, I'm a bad bitch, and I'm that bitch
The lyrics of the song feature a woman calling herself a 'bad bitch' which the mother is repeating along with.

Something that's far above average"
The woman singing identifies herself as exceptional and above others.

And maybe other rhyming words like cabbage and savage
The other rhyming words that could be used to rhyme with bitch can reinforce negative stereotypes of women.

And baby carriage and other things that match it
Other phrases that rhyme with 'bitch' can be innocuous, but the connotations of that word will still have a negative impact on children's perceptions of women.

Couple of things are happenin' here
The situation described is complex.

First he's relatin' the word "bitch" with his mama comma
The child is associating the term 'bitch' with his mother because she is the one using the word 'bitch'.

And because she's relatin' to herself, his most important source of help
The mother is a role model and influential in terms of shaping the child's perceptions.

And mental health, he may skew respect for dishonor
The child may develop a skewed or unhealthy respect for dishonoring women based on his association of the term 'bitch' with his mother.

Yeah, now imagine a group of little girls nine through twelve
The artist is setting the scene for a hypothetical situation in which young girls are being influenced by music and media.

On the internet watchin' videos listenin' to songs by themselves
The young girls are unsupervised and consuming content on the internet which can have negative impacts on their perceptions of women.

It doesn't really matter if they have parental clearance
Despite needing parental clearance to access certain online content, children may find ways around this.

They understand the internet better than their parents
Children today are digital natives and are more adept at using technology than their parents and other older adults.

Now being the internet, the content's probably uncensored
The internet is often uncensored, which means that children are viewing and listening to inappropriate content.

They're young, so they're malleable and probably unmentored
The singer suggests that because the children are young and impressionable, they are susceptible to negative influences online which may go unaddressed if there is no supervision or mentorship.

A complicated combination, maybe with no relevance
The factors that influence children's perceptions of women are complex and potentially may not have any basis in reality or reasonable perceptions of women.

Until that intelligence meets their favorite singer's preference
When children encounter music or media content that they enjoy or admire, it becomes influential in shaping their worldview.

"Bad bitches, bad bitches, bad bitches
The lyrics of the song are using the term 'bad bitches' which reinforces negative connotations of women.

That's all I want and all I like in life is bad bitches, bad bitches"
The artist is singing that his preference is for women who are labeled as 'bad bitches'.

Now let's say that they less concerned with him
The girls are less concerned with the artist and more focused on the video girl, who embodies idealized or sexualized versions of women.

And more with the video girl acquiescent to his whims
The video girl is shown being subservient to the artist, which creates a warped perception of women for young viewers who are watching.

Ah, the plot thickens
A moment of reflection from the artist as he points out the increasing complexity of the situation he is describing.

High heels, long hair, fat booty, slim
The characteristics of the video girl are presented as stereotypically feminine in a way that can be harmful to young girls' perceptions of themselves and women at large.

Reality check, I'm not trippin'
The artist is making a point that his concerns about the social impact of media content with questionable messages about women are valid, and not a product of alarmism.

They don't see a paid actress, just what makes a bad bitch
Young girls do not necessarily recognize that the video girl is a paid performer enacting particular roles, but instead internalize those behaviors and images as what it means to be a 'bad bitch.'

Disclaimer, this rhymer, Lupe, is not usin' "bitch" as a lesson
The artist is providing a disclaimer that he is using the word 'bitch' not as a lesson, but as cultural criticism of how the term influences young people.

But as a psychological weapon
The singer is using the term 'bitch' as a metaphorical weapon to illustrate how the term can be used in music and media as a tool of shaping our understanding of women.

To set in your mind and really mess with your conceptions
The use of the term 'bitch' in music can shape how people perceive and understand women in their everyday lives.

Discretion's, reflections, it's clever misdirection
The singer is explaining that the messaging about women in music and media can be very subtle, making it harder to recognize the underlying messages as harmful or inaccurate.

'Cause, while I was rappin' they was growin' up fast
The artist is reflecting on how fast children grow up, and the pace at which they are learning about their world.

Nobody stepped in to ever slow 'em up, gasp
The artist is indicating that there was no one stopping the media or the consumption of potentially harmful messages about women in front of young children.

Sure enough, in this little world
The singer is setting the scene for yet another hypothetical scenario in which children learns about women.

The little boy meets one of those little girls
The singer is presenting a scenario where children construct their understanding of women and what it means to be a 'bad bitch.'

And he thinks she a bad bitch and she thinks she a bad bitch
Both children are thinking of themselves and each other as 'bad bitches' which can have a negative impact on how they perceive each other.

He thinks disrespectfully, she thinks of that sexually
The boy may show disrespect to the girl, while the girl may interpret that behavior as flirtation or attraction, which can lead to further misunderstandings.

She got the wrong idea, he don't wanna fuck her
The boy may be thinking of the girl as a sexual object, but does not actually want to pursue a romantic or sexual relationship with her.

He think she's bad at bein' a bitch, like his mother
The boy's perception of women and what it means to be a 'bad bitch' are influenced by his mother's behavior and the media and will affect his perceptions of the girl.

Momma never dressed like that, come out the house hot mess like that
The boy's mother does not dress or behave in a way that coincides with the video girl, and that's why her actions matter so much to her son in shaping his attitudes towards women.

Ass, titties, breasts like that, all out to impress like that
The characteristics of the video girl are juxtaposed with those of the boy's mother to illustrate the negative and positive portrayals of women in the media.

Just like that, you see the fruit of the confusion
The singer illustrates that, in this scenario, the children's confusion about the label 'bad bitch' is resulting in misunderstanding and mistreatment of each other.

He caught in a reality, she caught in an illusion
The boy and girl each have different understandings of what it means to be a 'bad bitch,' and these shifting perceptions are creating conflicts and misunderstandings between the characters.

Bad mean good to her, she really nice and smart
The girl has internalized that 'bad' means good, which contributes to some of the confusion and misunderstandings around women's identities.

But bad mean bad to him, bitch don't play your part
The boy on the other hand, still understands 'bad' as a negative quality, which generates tensions in their relationship.

But bitch still bad to her if you say it the wrong way
The term 'bitch' continues to have a negative impact on the girl's perceptions of herself and other women regardless of the generalized cultural perception of it.

But she think she a bitch, what a double entendre
The girl knows that the term 'bitch' is used negatively against women but now the boy thinks she is one and it creates an ironic scenario.

Greatest motherhood
The artist is wrapping up the song with a double meaning; motherhood being the greatest thing in life, but also a reference to motherhood as women being great rather than bad bitches.