Break da Law by 21 Savage Lyrics Meaning – Decoding Rebel Anthems in Modern Hip-Hop
Lyrics
Yeah
Cut the bullshit, I’m not with it
Call your main bitch, she let me hit it
Haha, ha
(Metro Boomin want some more, nigga)
Diamonds got dripped in a lake (a lake)
I don’t be goin’ on dates (no dates)
She got an ass, but it’s fake (it’s fake)
He savin’ hoes, need a cape (cape)
Lil’ mama’s head supreme (straight up)
But I’m still rockin’ this Bape (on God)
All I know is two guns, nigga
If you a plate, you get ate (brrat)
Had to put a bitch on pause (pause)
Me and my dawgs break laws (laws)
21 Gang ’til I fall (fall)
You could get hit in the jaw (your jaw)
The chopper can hit all of y’all (straight up)
Your brother, your goldfish and dog (all)
Most of my niggas just rob (wow)
They cut off and hand you your balls (on God)
Hit your BFF, I’m petty (21)
Can’t leave the streets, I ain’t ready (21)
Me and my hood got married (21)
And my wedding ring was a machete (straight up)
Need me a Keisha like Belly (straight up)
Dissin’ me, got a nigga’s homeboys buried (on God)
They don’t come outside, they scary (scary)
When we start spinnin’ niggas’ blocks, they telling (pussy)
Got your baby mama in a yolk (yolk)
I don’t smoke weed, I sell dope (21)
Ain’t no back and forth, it’s smoke (smoke)
Pull up on you and your folks (your folks)
Try to give me head, she choke (ugh)
We call you a rat ’cause you spoke (bitch)
All these tennis chains like I’m in a tennis game
Y’all niggas wearin’ gold ropes (you’re broke)
Killers out the 6 (Zone 6)
Got ’em all hired (straight up)
Ex-girlfriends (old hoes)
Got ’em all fired (bye-bye)
Don’t you cross the gang, dawg
We’re like barbed wire (straight up)
Stackin’ up these M’s
I’m a habitual car buyer (skrrt)
Actin’ Hollywood, I kicked her out on Wilshire (bye)
Got a model and she tighter than a grill plier (fine)
Sneak and steal my flow, lot of these rappers slick biters (21)
I’m 4L gang for L, dawg, and we got big rifles (on God)
Let me pop my shit (yeah)
Keep a big Glock on my hip (yeah)
One up top, my shit (on God)
I don’t like to cock my shit (straight up)
Y’all niggas gossip and shit (on God)
No more beef, we drop that shit (straight up)
Y’all niggas talk that shit (straight up)
Never had a payment, I bought that shit (straight up, straight up)
VS1 on my wrist (wrist)
Can’t put my tongue on no bitch (no bitch)
‘Cause I still kiss my kids (I do)
Ho, you need to fix your wig (you do)
All my brothers did a bid (straight up)
When they came home, we was rich (straight up)
Fuck forty acres and a mule
They got fifty racks and a brand new Sig (on God)
Lil’ boy, get up out the way (yeah)
Lil’ boy, we didn’t come to play (yeah)
And I got a partner named Dre (Dre)
You can get beats by Dre (on God)
You can get hit by K (K)
K hit you, that’s your last day (day)
Glock 27, that’s bae (21)
Stick the 30 in it, had a baby (yeah)
My strippers got S-Class ‘Cedes (straight up)
Ride me slow like you drivin’ Miss Daisy
I ain’t go to school ’cause I was too lazy
Had to cut her off ’cause she was too crazy
Moncler jacket, a letterman (letterman)
I gotta keep a Beretta, man (Beretta, man)
She screamin’ and scratchin’ and yellin’, man (and yellin’, man)
I got her in a falsetto, man (falsetto, man)
Had to put a bitch on pause (pause)
Me and my dawgs break laws (laws)
21 Gang ’til I fall (fall)
Me and my dawgs break laws (laws)
21 Gang ’til I fall (fall)
Me and my dawgs break laws (laws)
You could get hit in the jaw (your jaw)
The chopper can hit all of y’all (straight up)
Your brother, your goldfish and dog (all)
Most of my niggas just rob (wow)
They cut off and hand you your balls (on God)
21 Savage’s ‘Break da Law’ resonates with a raw energy that captures the ethos of defiance central to much of hip-hop’s thematic arsenal. With a pounding beat crafted by producers Southside and Metro Boomin, the track is a relentlessly aggressive anthem that seems to revel in chaos and an unapologetic embrace of the street lifestyle.
But beneath the brash aggression and foreboding bravado lies a nuanced exploration of the psyche of someone entangled in the complex web of urban survival, loyalty, and the pursuit of prosperity by any means necessary. This article dives into the layers of meaning beneath 21 Savage’s charged lyrics, moving past the surface to uncover the rebellious heart that beats within ‘Break da Law.’
An Ode to Street Codes and Unbreakable Bonds
21 Savage’s verse ’21 Gang ’til I fall’ is more than mere bravado; it’s a declaration of allegiance to a fraternity formed on the streets. The rapper’s loyalty to his crew, his ‘dawgs,’ echoes a sentiment common in communities where brotherhoods often substitute for unstable family structures.
The repetition throughout the song underlines the absolute nature of this allegiance. By breaking laws with his crew, 21 Savage is adhering to an unwritten code of conduct that often holds more weight than legal laws in the microcosms of urban street life.
The Hidden Vulnerabilities Behind The Bravado
Despite the aggressive facade, ‘Break da Law’ subtly exposes the vulnerabilities of living a life on the edge. For instance, the line ‘Need me a Keisha like Belly’ touches on the desire for a ride-or-die companion, referencing the 1998 crime drama film ‘Belly,’ hinting at a craving for stability amid chaos.
This glimpse of yearning within the hardened exterior is a classic hip-hop juxtaposition—a reminder that beneath the hardened persona required to navigate a perilous environment, there’s a human being seeking connection and certainty.
A Carnivorous Approach to Challenges and Threats
In ‘Break da Law,’ threats are met not with fear, but with a carnivorous appetite for confrontation. The line, ‘If you a plate, you get ate,’ lays bare the predatory nature of 21 Savage’s world. You either consume or become the consumed; it’s a dog-eat-dog mentality that informs survival.
This metaphor extends to the visceral imagery of ‘They cut off and hand you your balls,’ which is an intense representation of dominance and emasculation, both literally in street justice and metaphorically in taking away one’s power.
Rejecting Conventional Success Metrics for Personal Triumphs
21 Savage negates the historical reparations promise of ‘forty acres and a mule’ with a modern measure of success: ‘They got fifty racks and a brand new Sig.’ The replacement of agricultural toil for quick economic wealth reflects a change in what’s perceived as valuable and a direct response to the immediacy of his environment’s needs.
The idea of rejecting traditional pathways to success underscores not only a generational shift in goal orientation but also a critique of the system that has historically failed to deliver on its promises to marginalized communities.
Memorable Lines: ‘Your brother, your goldfish and dog’
It’s not just the aggression in ‘Break da Law’ that grabs the listener; it’s the oddly inclusive nature of the targets mentioned. The line serves a dual purpose—it showcases the indiscriminate nature of violence in the streets, while at the same time injecting a dark humor into the narrative.
Lines such as these underscore the absurdity of the extremes of street life but are delivered with such deadpan seriousness that they also become chilling. This contrast creates memorable and provocative moments that linger in the mind long after the track ends.
