THE SUN

Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, RZA & Slick Rick - 'The Sun' (Bulletproof Wallets 2001)

The Wu & Ricky D get their heliocentric on. This song is a celebration of the Sun and is really very positive and informative. "The Sun kiss scrumptious son, it's nutritious" exclaims Ghost likening the Sun to a juice drink. "Prisoners get out, look up, run at you and then kiss the ground", explains Rae, reminding us of the lack of sunlight & exercise many prisoners receive whilst incarcerated.

It's clear in the way Ghost & Rae drop it that they are paying homage to Rick in their verses. Ricky D comes with signature water flows & his distinct storyteller tone, extolling truth and wisdom in his effortless drawl, "Isn't it cool how it spreads joy, hons lay in it/And it's hard to go back to work, when your lunch breaks finished."

Ricky D gets deep and philosophical with his closing bars:

"...since dinosaurs, and Adam and Eve
That Sun's hovered, to the extermination of us
It's a peephole, which leads to the firmament above us."

Rick poignantly reminds us of our own mortality and insignificance, The Sun will one day engulf this planet when it reaches the end of it's life cycle. Firmament is also not a word rappers typically use. He has a great vocabulary! Rick does state earlier in his verse that, "A theory I've clung to deep within/Souls have to go through the sun to reach Heaven", which is an interesting concept.

RZA chimes in with two bars after Rick's verse about the Sun's role in the water cycle:

"Who can take a raindrop
And turn it to 3?
And drawn up 6 miles, over tropical isles
And bring it to the sea."

This track is straight poetry, philosophy and science. It is a celebration of the Sun and an explanation of it's impact on the peoples of Earth. In my humble view it makes more sense to make a song about the Sun than any God(s).

RZA got the sample from the track 'Does He Treat You Better' by Unique Blend , a beautiful soul record.

Peace.