MF DOOM’s curls a bar for bar dissection.
The worst myth in the hip hop community remains
“All DOOM does is rhyme”

So today I’m here to bust that myth and break down the meaning behind every line in this legendary joint off MF DOOM and Madlibs Classic
Madvillany

In the text marks will be the lyrics from the song and below each lyric I will analyse his message and break down the meaning of each bar.

Curls is such a fantastic display of such dense and layered lyricism stacked with meaning and entendres. Where he gets deeper and reflective referencing his lust for girls ,struggling with drug use and theft and the harsh upbringing which made the villain we know.

“Villain get the money like curls”

A simple opening line where DOOM adresses himself in 3rd person. The getting the money like curls phrase is an entendre because curls come naturally and therefore DOOM will get the money with ease.

“They just tryin' to get a nut like squirrels in his mad world”

This line again showcases a technique we see throughout the song where DOOM delivers bars with multiple different meanings and phenomenal skill.

The term get a nut refers to DOOM’s hunger for sex and effection as well as the continual push to acquire money as referenced in the first line.

“Land of milk and honey with the swirls”
“Where reckless naked girls get necklaces of pearls”

The term land of milk and honey is an incredibly smart reference firstly it mentions the hebrew bible where it speaks of an abundance of land in Israel,DOOM is basically saying he can get the things he needs and there’s more than enough girls and money for him

This line relates to the saying curls get the girls as DOOM feels like females will come to him naturally.

He simelatinously references sexual actions with the line with land of milk referring to sperm and honey referring to girls ( a sweetheart) and how the swirl in the honey brings the two together.

the line “where reckless naked girls get necklaces of pearls” talks of how he buys girls pearl necklaces after engaging in sexual activity ,at the same time referring to a dirty sexual deed where a man ejaculates on the woman's neck which itself is called a pearl necklace.

Absolutely crazy how in a few lines DOOM can provide so many a layered entendres with so much meaning and depth

where he references giving her a pearl necklace in return for sexual favours, getting females naturally, phrases from the Hebrew bible and a sexual deed called pearl necklace all in one tightly put together set of lines.
Painting a picture of his lust for effection.

“Compliments of the town jeweler
Left back now-schooler tryin' to sound cooler
On the microphone known as the crown ruler”

The town jeweler line plays into the previous bars on necklaces, he then uses the line “left back now schooler trying to sound cooler” To tell about how he’s moving on from his earlier days critiquing himself as well as touching on the criticism he’s felt throughout his career.

“Never lied to ma when we said we found the moolah
Five-hundred somethin' dollars layin' right there in the street”

DOOM lets us know here he was always honest as he remains on a quest for money and is desperate at times. The dollars in the street being a metaphor for his desperation for money throughout his childhood.

“Huh, now let's try and get somethin' to eat
Then he turned four and started flowin' to the poor
That's about when he first started going raw”

A slightly more cryptic line however it seems like DOOM is using the money to acquire food as times have been tough. This line paints the picture well of how the more he grew the worse the crimes got

“Kept the 'dro in the drawer”

Dro is a slang term for when marijuana is grown in hot conditions inside referring to DOOM beginning to selling drugs. Again we see a downward spiral of DOOM committing worse deeds and slowly going down the wrong path in life.

“A rhymin' klepto who couldn't go up in the store no more”

The term Kleptomania is a mental condition when people become almost addicted to stealing.
DOOM refers to himself as a Klepto saying he became addicted to stealing and the adrenaline rush meant he couldn’t resist.

Which saw him banned from the store for good. However this Kleptomania did not go away and the adrenaline rush he got from crime would later see DOOM commit worse and worse deeds.

“His life is like a folklore legend
Why you so stiff, you need to smoke more, bredren”

By referring to himself as a folklore legend DOOM talks about his earlier career as well as his villain persona as he refers to his re-emergence onto the scene as a masked villain

Comparing himself to a real life super villain as he re-emerged from the dust.
The second part of this line tells us he faces stress and has used drugs to cope since a young age.
by saying Bredren he tells us he is smoking with close friends or family to calm himself down.

“Instead of trying to riff with the broke war veteran”

These next few lines are layered with entendres which all come together perfectly. The first line is slightly cryptic with multiple interpretations, as we see Him reflecting on a earlier conflict with a war veteran.

He also uses the term riffing with a veteran to refer to his status in the rap game and how hes almost looked down upon or seen as unfavourable by some,an outsider.

“Spliff made him swore he saw heaven he was seven”

With Spliff referring to cannabis this line lets us know that DOOM had experiences with drugs from a very young age. “Swore he saw heaven”referrers to being extremely high with this line also playing into the underlying theme of this song,his rough Upbringing

“Yup, you know it, growin' up too fast”

The entire theme is continued on with this line as DOOM looks pitifully on how he lost his innocence at such a young age.

Ever since his first time doing weed at the age of seven he's always felt like he's been forced to grow up and never really had the chance to enjoy a normal childhood. With this line we see the beginning of a pattern where DOOM uses drugs & alcohol to cope

“Showin' up to class with Moet in a flask”

Years after his first encounter with drugs things didn’t seem to get better for DOOM as he developed an alcohol addiction throughout the years brigning expensive champagne to school in a small flask.

These lines tell a really important message about how substance abuse at a young age can ruin lives and really give insight into his struggles

In a matter of a years he went from a normal and happy child to an addict who relies on substance and alcohol abuse.

“He ask the teacher if he leave will he pass
His girl is home alone he tryin' to get the …”

The first line tells us DOOM’s been struggling in school and he is worried he may not pass however too see the girl he wants he must leave which creates a moral conflict.

DOOM continues telling us in the second line about his desperation to see his girl. However he uses a technique we see occasionally and leaves the last syllable empty making this line open to interpretation.

The last syllable could either be Ass or Bone as both rhyme with a previous word. Despite this the end message is that DOOM must choose between school or a quick fling.

Creating a true Moral dilemma in the head of young DOOM which keeps the listener engaged. And showing DOOMS thirst for female effection

“If you want a sip get a paper water fountain glass
How I'm 'posed to know where your mouth been last?”

The first line is very cryptic but it seems to refer to DOOM offering his girl some of the moet he's been keeping around in his flask.

However he says she must drink out of a cup if she wants some painting DOOM as a somewhat quirky character and even hinting at some OCD.

“Hands so fast he can out-spin the Flash
Known to smoke a whole mountain of hash to the ash”

Another witty double entendre with the first line mentioning how DOOM has faster hands than producer grandmaster flash who's constantly spinning records on turntables at a fast speed.

With the second line talking about his unhealthy cannabis addiction basically saying he can smoke weed faster than the flash the worlds fastest superhero. Really portraying how DOOM went through large amounts of it in short times.

“Boom-bash leave the room with the stash
Assume it's in a smash, DOOM get the cash”

DOOM ends the song with hard hitting lines that tie back into the song perfectly as we see him about to commit a major robbery.

Telling the listener he truly is a villain who gets an adrenaline rush from theft and crime. With this last line saying so much about who DOOM is, a true villain. Such a fitting line to finish a masterpiece of a song

Throughout Curls we see a much deeper and more vulnerable side of DOOM he really dives into his harsh upbringing and manages to tell such a layered and vivid story which is so technically impressive.

DOOM uses such terrific literary devices and entendres and his ability to rap in 3rd person is incredible.
From the continued kleptomania to DOOM’s lust for females to addiction we really see the full picture of his entire childhood.

Curls is almost DOOM’s backstory as he takes us back to his early days to make the listner really relate to the villain

With an underlying message of there are truly no bad people just bad circumstances and people who do bad things which is what really makes a villain.

a phenomenal display of both lyricism and storytelling and one of the greatest rap songs.

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