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Rap Meanings


ERBoH32Meaning

Skrillex:

My name is Skrillex, man! Welcome to the Devil's Den!

(Skrillex introduces himself to Mozart. "My Name Is Skrillex" is the name of his first EP (extended play), and "The Devil's Den" is another one of his notable songs.)

I'm a scary monster stomping this sprite in frilly pants!

(Skrillex made a song called "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites", which is regarded as one of his most well-known songs. He states that he's the frightening monster while Mozart is the weak sprite who will be beaten in this battle. Sprites are typically considered as peaceful and silly beings, and therefore, figuratively speaking, are most incompetent for a showdown between such a terrifying foe as Skrillex. This line is also a taunt towards Mozart's classical dressing style due to the fact that men in his time period wore frilly pants.)

You're a weirdo, Wolfie! You're into powdered wigs and poop,

(Mozart's first name was Wolfgang, and Skrillex shortens it to Wolfie, a nickname he was given to him by his wife in his film, Amadeus. This is the English version of Mozart's childhood nickname, Wolferl. Wearing powdered wigs was popular in his time, and Mozart was known for his fondness of scatological (fecal) humor, both in his personal life and in his music. Skrillex points out that not all of Mozart's songs are prestigious and noteworthy.)

And your cousin blew notes on your little Magic Flute!

(The Magic Flute was one of Mozart's most famous compositions. To play the flute, you have to blow into the instrument, and to blow someone means to suck their penis. Mozart was said to have fallen in love with his cousin, so in addition to his list of disturbing things, Skrillex says she sucked Mozart's dick, replacing the word with "magic flute", as well as calling his manhood little.)

Your daddy issues make the Jackson 5 look like the Family Circus!

(Mozart's father Leopold Mozart was very strict when it came to his son's talent for music. He would not let Wolfgang stop playing, and he made him play everywhere for everyone, similar to the Jackson 5, the pop band that Michael Jackson was a part of when he was young. Just like Leopold was to Wolfgang, Michael Jackson's father, Joseph Jackson, would make his children practice non-stop until they perfected their music. Mozart had actually started his music career at a younger age than Michael did (Mozart was five at the time he began composing music and Michael Jackson was eight when he started singing). Skrillex thinks Mozart's dad was even harder on him than the Jacksons' dad, making them look like the family in The Family Circus in comparison, which is a comic strip about an apathetic family with no real problems.)

You might have been a genius, but you died baroque and worthless!

(Mozart was a genius from an early age. However, it is widely believed that he died penniless and of no importance (in reality, at the time of his death, Mozart was actually still fairly rich for the day, though still in debt due to him having squandered a lot of his money through gambling and other endeavors). Baroque is a period of musical history that ended before Mozart's birth, and he used some aspects from this period to create his own works. Baroque here is used to sound like "broke", which means to have no money.)

I'm rich, acclaimed and famous! I'm on playlists! I'm the A-List!

(Skrillex gains a lot of wealth for his music; he has a net worth of $46 million and earns $100,000 per show. Many people buy his songs and put his works on playlists. At the time of the video, he was also an "A-list", or bankable, celebrity.)

You're the lamest! Kiss my ass, A-A-A-A-Amadeus!

(Skrillex says Mozart is an unappealing composer because classical music is not a high point of interest in modern society. He tells Mozart to kiss his ass since he's getting beaten by him, though "kiss my ass" could also refer to "Leck Mich Im Arsch", a song composed by Mozart meaning "Lick Me In the Arse", which is one of his aforementioned poop-oriented songs. Amadeus was a part of the name that Mozart went by, though it was not in his birth name. Skrillex refers to him as this while stuttering the A sound, which is something commonly done in his dubstep music. Mentioning his name references the Falco song, "Rock Me Amadeus", which features a similar lyric, and the way Skrillex says it references sound effects in dubstep music. This line may also be a reference to the play and film Amadeus which is a fictionalized account of the life of Mozart and his alleged (though likely fictitious) rivalry with the composer Antonio Salieri. )

Mozart:

Was that a verse, or did you just get the hiccups?

(Mozart insults the stuttering part of Skrillex's verse, claiming that he sounds like he had hiccups towards the end. Electronic Dance Music or EDM (which is Skrillex's genre) is often criticized for sounding like random noises or machines.)

I'm a prodigy, Sonny, and I'm about to smack a bitch up!

(Mozart was a child prodigy. Skrillex's real name is Sonny John Moore, but it can be used as a reference to how old people stereotypically call young people "sonny", as Mozart was from an older part of the musical era, while Skrillex was in his twenties at the time of the battle; even then, Mozart lived to be 35, which is still older than Skrillex when he was portrayed in the battle. Mozart says that he will beat him, both lyrically and physically. This line also references English EDM group The Prodigy and their hit song "Smack My Bitch Up".)

My music is 200 years old, and it's still excellent!

(Mozart died over two centuries ago, yet his music is still regarded as being among the greatest compositions of classical music ever. )

In two more months, the world will forget about your Skrill-excrement!

(Modern music normally tends to only be popular for a couple of months, meaning that in such a span, Skrillex's music have faded away. Mozart contrasts how his music is still popular 200 years after his death with how modern music, like what Skrillex makes tends to fade in popularity quickly in the span of a few months. Skrillex's name is combined with the word "excrement", a technical term for feces, meaning that Skrillex's music is bad, which is another reason it will not be memorable. Mozart's mention of excrement is likely another reference to his interest in feces.)

I can't believe the way you dress when you dubstep out of the house!

(Mozart is appalled at Skrillex's clothing and hairstyle because it's different from what someone would normally wear out in public. Mozart replaces "step" with "dubstep", house music and dubstep being two genres that Skrillex's music falls into.)

You're like an emo Steve Urkel, and you (ooh!) reek of dead mouse!

(Steve Urkel is a fictional character from Family Matters made to seem annoying and dress strangely. Since Skrillex wears glasses similar to Urkel and had long hair at the time the rap battle was made, he appears to be the emo version of him. Deadmau5 (pronounced "dead mouse") is Skrillex's friend, a Canadian electro house artist. Mozart says Skrillex and his music stinks like a dead mouse, which can also imply Skrillex copied deadmau5.)

I am the world's greatest composer! No one knows what you are,

(Mozart is considered one of the greatest composers in history. Skrillex, on the other hand, was not very familiar with some people on the day the battle launched and thus, they had no clue who he was. Although Skrillex is currently well-known, he probably will not be remembered much in the next couple of years, and will most likely fade away like most modern musicians and composers. In short, the latter sentence is there simply to relate with people who never heard of Skrillex beforehand. Furthermore, the exact phrasing "no one knows what you are" references Mozart's work, Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman", the melody for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.)

Except a lonely little troll who knows how to press a space bar!

(Mozart insults Skrillex's music being computer-generated. Skrillex is also called a troll, a slang term for a hater on the internet (some of which are said to act this way from being lonely), meaning that he only throws petty insults. Some software of its kind uses only about two buttons: the left-click and space bar. The space bar is also the button usually used as the play button for a lot of software, meaning that Mozart is suggesting all Skrillex has to do at a live concert is press the spacebar to play the music.)

Skrillex:

I attack! You decay! Can't sustain my releases!

(Skrillex's music makes him look larger than life. He is also still very much active, as Mozart has already died 200 years ago and is decaying, so Mozart cannot withstand the music Skrillex creates. This may refer to the four main parameters in a sound synthesizer: attack, decay, sustain, and release.)

Sidechain, Wolfgang! Bangarang you to pieces!

(Sidechaining Compression is a technique used in many sub-genres of electronic music. Sidechaining allows multiple instruments to be placed on the same frequency without clashing or peaking by compressing the sidechained sounds when they play at the same time, resulting in a more professionally sounding track. Wolfgang is the first part of Mozart's stage name, as well as the same name as another dubstep artist Skrillex works with, Wolfgang Gartner. "Bangarang" is one of Skrillex's most famous songs, so he implies that he will rip Mozart to pieces.)

I'm a self-made man. You're a slave to your papa!

(Skrillex worked his way to fame on his own. Mozart, however, was forced into music by his father, who (as previously mentioned) controlled most of Mozart's early career so he could become famous for his music and their family could climb up the social ladder.)

I'm a r-r-rock star, mix you with the bass and drop ya!

(Skillex's musical career started in a rock and roll band called From First To Last. After he worked solo, he later produced a song called "Rock n' Roll (Will Take You to the Mountain)". The word "rock star" is stuttered to imitate dubstep, like Skrillex used at the end of his first verse. "Mix" refers to audio mixing, the process of combining multiple recordings into one. In dubstep, "bass drops" happen when the beat kicks into overdrive after a lull in the song. He implies he'll drop both the bass and Mozart together. When Skrillex says "drop ya", the bass has been dropped, and so his voice drops several octaves in that instant. It was done to spoof the real effect of bass-dropping: that a song's percussion gets amplified, becoming more powerful.)

Global! My strobes glow like Chernobyl!

(Skrillex is known internationally for his music. Strobe lights are light fixtures that cast a pulsing light, often seen at raves and dance clubs, which dubstep music is often played at. Chernobyl was a city in Ukraine where a famous nuclear disaster took place in the 1980s that caused radiation to spill through the entire area. Skrillex says his lights shine at an intense rate, just like a nuclear explosion.)

Kids explode and get mobile! No one even knows you!

(Modern artists like Skrillex appealed to the contemporary youth because his music is the kind to which teens would download on their devices (including mobile phones) and listen to. Skrillex counters Mozart's verse where he says that no one knows what he is, claiming that Mozart's works are no longer remembered by younger generations to the point that kids do not even know who he is either.)

I make the whole world move! You play community theatre!

(Skrillex's music makes people around the world want to dance to the beat, and his music is played in international shows and festivals which are often attended by lots of people. Mozart played his compositions in community theaters to smaller audiences, so Skrillex insults him for mostly playing in a small area to fewer people.)

I gained your same fame from home on a blown out speaker!

(Skrillex started out his career at home with a dysfunctioning speaker. Eventually, he became just as well-known as he is today, as Mozart was in his time. A speaker can also blow out if the music is too loud, and Skrillex's music is known to have high volumes. Also, in the battle, the line is compressed to sound like an actual blown out speaker.)

Mozart:

Oh yes, I've heard that EP, and see, I transcribed it here.

(To transcribe a song means to list all the instrumental notes. Mozart was able to listen to a song once and transcribe the music from memory, as he just did with Skrillex's songs. An EP is an acronym for extended play (a musical record with more tracks than a single but less than an album), of which Skrillex has a lot.)

Tell me, what comes after the 68th measure of diarrhea?

(After transcribing Skrillex's music, he finds it to be a sloppy piece of crap, like diarrhea - yet another reference to Mozart's scatological obsession. The music drags on for a while, being over 68 measures long. 68 is the number before 69 (a number often used to refer to sex).)

And what kind of drugs does it take to enjoy this? I've no idea!

(Mozart thinks that Skrillex's songs can't be appreciated unless you take strong party drugs while listening to it. This references how people take recreational drugs at parties, clubs, and festivals where Electronic Dance Music (which is Skrillex's genre) is played in order to induce feelings of increased energy, emotional warmth, empathy, and pleasure (despite the fact that such drugs can have dangerous effects).)

I've seen more complexity in a couch from IKEA!

(IKEA is a large furniture store, originally from Sweden. Furniture bought in IKEA is often sold disassembled, and the customer must follow instructions and put it together on his/her own own. IKEA furniture is intended to be easy to assemble, but Mozart takes a jab at Skrillex's music by saying that even assembling furniture bought from IKEA is more complex and exciting than it. A common criticism of modern Electronic Dance Music is that it is too simplistic and lacking in complexity.)

You go piano to fortississimo!

("Piano" and "forte" are dynamics in musical notation meaning "soft" and "loud" respectively, and "issimo" is added to them as a modifier to mean "very" (pianissimo "very soft"/fortissimo "very loud"). Mozart uses this to tell Skrillex his music starts at a low volume, and it later becomes extremely loud extremely quickly and at unpredictable times. A common tactic in dubstep songs is to lower the sound levels so the listener thinks the song is almost over as the track nears the end, and then startle or surprise them by quickly increasing the volume to an extreme level.)

That means soft to very, very loud 'cause I'm guessing that you didn't know!

(Piano and Fortississimo are basic key words known by all classical musicians and composers. Mozarts guesses that Skrillex does not know something as simple as that, and thus does not know much about music in general. This is also a direct jab at modern EDM music as it tends to be incredibly loud and relatively homogeneous, in contrast to how classical music can be more heterogeneous and dynamic. Ironically, Skrillex himself is fairly well-versed in music theory. )

Why don't you put down your Cubase and pick up a real bow?

(Cubase is a piece of software, a digital audio workstation (DAW), most likely used by Skrillex. He is being told to use a commercially acceptable musical instrument rather than use a computer to make music. While saying this, Mozart also takes out a double bass and a bow, demonstrating what a real musical instrument looks like.)

I rocked harder than you when I was 5 years old!

(Mozart learned music at a very young age and composed his first piece at the very young age of five. He finishes the battle by saying that the music he made as a kid is better music than anything Skrillex has made. Also, because of his fame at the time, Mozart is considered by some to be one of the first "rock stars" ever.)

Scrapped lyrics

Mozart:

Was that a verse, or just a series of hiccups?

(This lyric is what developed into the lyric, "Was that a verse, or did you just get the hiccups?")

Why don't you step aside and let a prodigy smack a bitch up?!

(This lyric is what developed into the lyric, "I'm a prodigy, Sonny, and I'm about to smack a bitch up!")


You better run as fast as you can, 'cause you're a flash in the pan,

(Mozart tells Skrillex to run away fast, calling him a "flash in the pan," or something that was relevant for only a short period.)

And pretty soon all your fans will drag your tracks to the trash cans!

(Mozart predicts that it won't be long before people become tired of Skrillex's music and delete it from their devices. The “trash can” referenced here is a special folder on a computer that holds deleted files until it is emptied. To mark a file for deletion, one must drag it over the trash can using the mouse.)


Your obnoxious, preposterous songs sound like dog shit.

(Mozart calls Skrillex's music annoying, ridiculous, and just generally not sounding good, so far as calling it shit that came out of a dog, another instance of Mozart's obsession with feces.)

I was supporting my parents with music before you even knew you were adopted!

(Mozart became skilled at music at a very young age, playing music and receiving payments for said performances to support his parents at an age younger than Skrillex was when he learned that he was adopted.)

Skrillex:

You claimed your skill with ages, years of practice, kid, obtained it,

(Skrillex mocks Mozart for going through the bearing process of learning music.)

But I gained your same fame with broken speakers in my basement.

(This lyric is what developed into the lyric, "I gained your same fame from home on a blown-out speaker!" Skrillex managed to get the same recognition Mozart did while working on music on his computer in his basement with speakers that did not work well.)

Face it dude, you're a weirdo, with your powdered wigs and poop

(This lyric is what developed into the lyric, "You're a weirdo, Wolfie! You're into powdered wigs and poop!")

Plus you let your cousin blow notes on your Magic Flute!

(This lyric is what developed into the lyric, "And your cousin blew notes on your little Magic Flute!)


You spent most of your life baroque

(This lyric is what developed into the lyric, "You may have been a genius, but you died baroque and worthless!" Skrillex notes that Mozart spend much of his everyday adult life life in poverty and debt. The line originally was a jab at Mozart's everyday adult life (spent in poverty and debt) instead of just his death.)


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