Donkey of the Day goes to Donald J. Trump for wanting to get reparations for himself... 😳 Tap into DOTD powered by @msllegal. #MichaelTheBull #TheBullNYC 🐂

🚨 EBUKA OKORIE GAME WINNER 🚨

Bro… that finish from Okorie in the clutch was FILTHY

They've got a music one, and a movie one too. I might do the movie one tomorrow.

Here are two masterclasses in motifs executed by two masterful technicians, @MsLaurynHill and 2Pac. 2Pac and Ms. Hill are the king and queen of rap. They are the two greatest poets to ever exist. This breakdown isn't just about the motifs they employed; read everything. "Now look here, I see her clutching her son/sun; in her arms, she's hurt. Her heart bleeding as she watch her seed die in the dirt." He's metaphorically comparing the mother's son (seed) to a flower seed. It's an implied metaphor. Flower seeds can die in the dirt if they're not planted properly. Her seed (son) didn't get the chance to grow because of death. A flower seed doesn't get the chance to grow into a flower when it dies in the dirt. He uses the word "sun" as a homophone for the word "son" because of the role the sun can play in seed germination. Keep in mind that he also used "The Rose That Grew From Concrete" simile and analogy in this song. There's a correlation. He also has a poem with that title. Peep the plant motif: Let me feed you all (plant fertilization). "I'd hate to see the seed she created, so we waited." "Though it takes time, to build the body and the mind, she reclines nine months then finally it's time." A flower can appear to recline. For example, it can appear to recline when it wilts. It takes time for a flower to grow, and some flowers can take up to nine months to grow. What do we find? A little growing boy of mine. Peep the use of the word growing. "Had no time for the growing stage." Flowers have a growing stage, which obviously requires time. If a flower does not have the proper time required to grow, that'll lead to stunted growth, and it might not complete its life cycle. "He learned his values on the streets at an early age."The Rose That Grew From Concrete" went from being on the sidewalk to the streets way too soon. A plant can flower prematurely due to its environment. "Like a Rose from the concrete growin' within, blessed with twins." The "like a Rose from the concrete, growing within" part is obviously a part of the motif, but so is the blessed with twins part. There is an actual flower called the twinflower. Two roses identical in appearance on the same stem, resulting from fasciation, are commonly referred to as twins. Plus, Mama said the seed was corrupted. "The gunshots rang, they came from the 'caine spot." Makaveli is referring to both cane and cocaine. Cocaine comes from a plant called coca. Cane: 1 a (1) : a hollow or pithy, usually slender, and often flexible jointed stem (as of a reed or bamboo) (2) : any of various slender woody stems especially : an elongated flowering or fruiting stem (as of a rose) usually arising directly from the ground "I see her clutching her son/sun" As she watch her seed die in the dirt. "You wouldn't ask why the rose that grew from the concrete had damaged petals on the contrary, we would all celebrate its tenacity. We would all love its will to reach the sun. Well, we are the roses, this is the concrete. And these are my damaged petals." Sidenote: He is the juxtaposition and internal rhyme king. My favorite MC and artist in the world, Ms. L Boogie, said, “And that bullet doesn’t have to be literal,” but the bullet is actually metaphorical symbolism throughout the entire verse. It's just expressed in various ways. It serves as the basis of the motif she employed. This is clever and genius. She stated that it was not literal because Lumumba, Fred Hampton, Sam Cooke, Medgar Evers, Kennedy, Malcolm X, MLK, Huey Newton, and Bob Marley (not fatally) were all shot. She also talked about young Black people who were subjected to police brutality and unjustly shot and killed prematurely by cops. She wanted to clarify that the “bullet” is not only referring to being literally shot. This helps drive the point home. The bullet is always metaphorical in this verse and never actually literal, because they were not all shot by the same literal bullet. When she references the “bullet” literally, it still functions metaphorically in the context of the verse. In a figurative sense, they were all victims of the same personified bullet. Symbolically, she turned the oppressive system (systemic racism) and its creators and controllers (the oppressors, The Powers That Be) into a single concrete bullet. A bullet is inherently an object in a literal sense; she gave the projectile bullet and the symbolic one (system) human characteristics, and that makes it personification. To be even more specific, the recurring 'bullet' is anthropomorphism which is the broader umbrella term. She treated the 'bullet' (oppressor, systemic racism) like a human, and by definition, that is anthropomorphism. She simultaneously objectified the oppressors and humanized the object (the bullet) in a way that is not sympathetic, empathetic, or positive. “The bullet” (The Powers That Be) use different methods. They don't always literally assassinate people using literal bullets or by literally murdering them in general. They or it can attempt to kill you in various ways, such as character assassination, which she mentioned in the lyrics shortly after stating that the bullet doesn't have to be literal. When she says 'they'll try to take a man down just for being political,' this is an example of the non-literal bullet she was referring to, because it's not about the 'bullet' taking anyone down by literally fatally shooting or murdering them in general. She tells her daughters to watch for verbal assassins because they'll send them after you. The non-murderous attacks or actions she's referring to are still being metaphorically compared to a bullet, but they're different manifestations of the same bullet, which represents the same oppressive system and oppressor. This was all brilliantly and masterfully done. Motif is one of my favorite literary devices, and this is one of the best usages of it. She showcases great mastery of that specific literary device, and in general. It is a masterclass in literary devices. Motif is not inherently wordplay, but you can use it to contribute to or add layers to your wordplay. It is an advanced technique. Here are a couple examples: “If you don't hold your peace/piece, they'll come after you too (two).” “Assassinate their characters with a click of their thumbs, like a gun that makes the people go deaf, blind, and dumb.” Both examples are wordplay with or without a motif, but since it is a part of the bullet motif she employed, it adds another layer to it. Her technical skills are very sharp. “They're like puppets, they're controlled with strings, levers, and pulleys.” This simile is implicitly a part of the extended personification/anthropomorphism (bullet). She’s saying that if her daughters don’t take heed of her guidance and advice and decide not to cash in, the verbal assassins of the ‘bullet’ (oppressors, oppressive system) will make them their puppets. It's also personification because she figuratively gave puppets human characteristics. 'Verbal assassins' is also a part of the motif because assassins typically carry guns and tons of bullets. These verbal assassins are a part of the 'bullet', and they figuratively and verbally shoot bullets at people.Stay tuned for the full breakdown of this brilliant verse. Sidenote: She is the best at using the literary device, motif.