Here, I'll just try to sum up what everyone's pretty much saying in one thread:
I never lived in the 80's, but I remember from documentaries about the outbreak of HIV/AIDS (back when it was still called GRIDD), many were not fully sure how the disease was caused, whether it was sexually transmitted, psychological, or caused by other external factors. Also many sought to blame a certain genre of people for the spreading of the disease, going from Gays, to particular ethnicities, even as far as to African bush-meat hunters.
I don't believe Lupe meant this song to solely be about AIDS, but instead he uses AIDS as a metaphor for "the cool." And as many of us know, "the cool" embodies the philosophy of the characters "the Streets" and "the Game"; a philosophy consisting of narcissism, avarice, and bigotry...a philosophy which the protagonist of the album learns from "the Streets" and "the Game."
Through each verse, Lupe makes another metaphor by comparing the philosophy of "the cool" to mainstream pop-culture, and perhaps even to the current "rap game" as some critics on this page might say. This is especially prevalent in the lines from the 3rd verse:
"Every dream is designed and broadcasted
From the masters to the masses
From the antennas on top of the shrines
As far as the receiving planet during a panic is shorted
It reports back everything in your mind."
Shortly after Lupe raps this in the 3rd verse, Matthew sings, "And she likes it, and she loves it," which basically shows how our female character, "the Streets" is reveling in how her philosophy of "the cool" is heavily affecting the minds of everyone on the streets themselves (an interesting metaphor in itself), and chaos has ensued as everyone blames each other for the spread of the disease ("the cool), yet noone quite knows the culprit.
Also in the lines from the 3rd Verse:
My femme fatale my darling fraudulent angel
Once caught her changing her batteries in her halo
Receipt for her wings and everything that she paid for
And the address to the factory where they made those"
I believe Lupe is simply offsetting the fact that "the Streets" is obviously the culprit for this chaotic outbreak of "the cool," within an interesting allegory between "the Streets" heavenly innocent facade, and her inner devilish demeanor.
Lastly, in the hook Matthew sings:
"Death is on the tip of her tongue and dangers at the tip of her fingers. Streets are on fire tonight."
The most evident meaning one can pull from this line is that the streets (as in the urban world that Lupe refers to) are in utter chaos because of the devious actions of the character, "the Streets." One could also pull an allegory out of this line in thinking that the character "the Streets" is actually "on fire," after performing all of her devious actions. If one takes "on fire" to mean feeling remorse, or being punished, or being consumed, then I think this allegory is questionable, as "the Streets" does not really show any signs of remorse, penitence, or punishment for her actions. However, if one believes that Lupe's using the slang meaning of "on fire," as in having a winning streak or a streak of accomplishment, then I believe the allegory could definitely be correct, since it seems like "the Streets" has gained nothing but successes from her devious plot of inflicting "the cool" upon the masses.
Here, I'll just try to sum up what everyone's pretty much saying in one thread:
I never lived in the 80's, but I remember from documentaries about the outbreak of HIV/AIDS (back when it was still called GRIDD), many were not fully sure how the disease was caused, whether it was sexually transmitted, psychological, or caused by other external factors. Also many sought to blame a certain genre of people for the spreading of the disease, going from Gays, to particular ethnicities, even as far as to African bush-meat hunters.
I don't believe Lupe meant this song to solely be about AIDS, but instead he uses AIDS as a metaphor for "the cool." And as many of us know, "the cool" embodies the philosophy of the characters "the Streets" and "the Game"; a philosophy consisting of narcissism, avarice, and bigotry...a philosophy which the protagonist of the album learns from "the Streets" and "the Game."
Through each verse, Lupe makes another metaphor by comparing the philosophy of "the cool" to mainstream pop-culture, and perhaps even to the current "rap game" as some critics on this page might say. This is especially prevalent in the lines from the 3rd verse:
"Every dream is designed and broadcasted From the masters to the masses From the antennas on top of the shrines As far as the receiving planet during a panic is shorted It reports back everything in your mind."
Shortly after Lupe raps this in the 3rd verse, Matthew sings, "And she likes it, and she loves it," which basically shows how our female character, "the Streets" is reveling in how her philosophy of "the cool" is heavily affecting the minds of everyone on the streets themselves (an interesting metaphor in itself), and chaos has ensued as everyone blames each other for the spread of the disease ("the cool), yet noone quite knows the culprit.
Also in the lines from the 3rd Verse:
My femme fatale my darling fraudulent angel Once caught her changing her batteries in her halo Receipt for her wings and everything that she paid for And the address to the factory where they made those"
I believe Lupe is simply offsetting the fact that "the Streets" is obviously the culprit for this chaotic outbreak of "the cool," within an interesting allegory between "the Streets" heavenly innocent facade, and her inner devilish demeanor.
Lastly, in the hook Matthew sings:
"Death is on the tip of her tongue and dangers at the tip of her fingers. Streets are on fire tonight."
The most evident meaning one can pull from this line is that the streets (as in the urban world that Lupe refers to) are in utter chaos because of the devious actions of the character, "the Streets." One could also pull an allegory out of this line in thinking that the character "the Streets" is actually "on fire," after performing all of her devious actions. If one takes "on fire" to mean feeling remorse, or being punished, or being consumed, then I think this allegory is questionable, as "the Streets" does not really show any signs of remorse, penitence, or punishment for her actions. However, if one believes that Lupe's using the slang meaning of "on fire," as in having a winning streak or a streak of accomplishment, then I believe the allegory could definitely be correct, since it seems like "the Streets" has gained nothing but successes from her devious plot of inflicting "the cool" upon the masses.