"I Am The Stone That The Builder Refused..." About 'Boondocks' Theme Song - and some other thoughts on hip-hop...

The theme song from Boondocks gets in your head. This morning, it was there as soon as I woke up. No idea why, but the lyrics are playing in my head. No choice but to write about them, I suppose. It'll either solve that song-stuck-in-my-head dilemma, or make it stay in there all day. Either way works for me, since it's an awesome song.

Boondocks is a show I hadn't watched until I got married. Not sure why, but before Joshy-Gina era, there was no Boondocks-show-watching going on in my life. Those were sad times, my friend...

When I watched the first few episodes, I was surprised that Josh knew all the words to the show's opening theme song. Then again, I wasn't all that taken aback since my husband knows more hip hop than most people. Before long, I learned the lyrics. How could you not?

The beat is catchy, but it's the writing that makes this song...

STICK IN YOUR HEAD.

At least, that's what does it for me. Lyrics, rather than music style, are what I tend to admire about music. I gained an appreciation for (what Josh calls,) "good hip-hop", by setting aside my preferences of music style...

"Listen to what it's saying, Gina!"

My husband would say while he blared Immortal Technique, Jurassic 5, and all sorts of other"awesome rap"...

"Okay, I'm trying.
 It's just... so... LOUD, though."

"So you can hear this line he's about to drop, babe... It's genius."

Only by cringing through songs that I sometimes considered offensive or just unpleasant for my untrained ears, did I gain appreciation for "Good Music".

Moreover, I started to like rap. 
Not the mainstream pop-py rap that I'd always heard on the radio, though. The "talented, O-G-rap stuff". I was taught that OG means "Original Gangster", which is pronounced: "Original Gangsta", depending on an individuals's cultural background and familiarity with this little fact that everybody else was knew about, except for this little white country girl.

Anyway,
I found songs that I would've never given a chance to be some of the VERY BEST.
I watched shows I'd never given time to consider, once my small-town-world was opened up by a liberal city boy, to whom I'm still married.

Enough about me and my former state of closed-minded ignorance.
I have Josh to thank for broadening my appreciation for musical genres, as well as other critical turning points in my life...

About Boondocks Theme Song... (because that's why you're here, 
right?...)

First, let's review the lyrics... 


I am

Annotate the stone that the builder refused
I am the visual, the inspiration
That made Lady sing the blues

I'm the spark that makes your idea bright
The same spark that lights the dark
So that you can know your left from your right

I am the ballot in your box, the bullet in the gun
The inner glow that lets you know to call your brother son
The story that just begun, the promise of what's to come
And I'mma remain a soldier till the war is won

[Judo flip...chop chop chop]

Click for the original link source of awesomeness.

If you don't hear the beat in your head when you read those lyrics above, 

you should listen...

There. 
Now, you have the same problem I woke up with today...
It's stuck in your head now. 

To get an idea about the show's central themes & characters-
Watch the show.
Or, 
if you want a quick synopsis instead of adding a good show to your life, click here - - - > I like bad tv shows and don't want to watch good shows.

WHAT DO THE LYRICS MEAN?

Good question. 
Answers vary, depending on who you ask...
See some interpretations of Boondocks Theme Song lyrics here... 
- - > About Boondocks Lyrics & Meaning

Biblical verse origin information about lyrics can be found here: 
- - - - - > The Stone Refused, The Capstone

If you ask me what the lyrics mean, (which won't happen in probably, ever...,)

..here's what I think...

Biblical and culturally-specific historical factors are central roots of Boondocks Theme Song's origin and meaning.

Whether you approach your interpretation of the lyrics from a biblical standpoint or not, numerous scriptures reference "the stone that was rejected/refused by builders". Repeated verses, throughout biblical passages, conclude that the stone rejected is the stone and/or becomes the stone that is central/essential to a strong foundation or building. Basically, the stone rejected is KEY to build upon and without the rejected stone, nothing can be established, build-up/founded, advanced, ..., etc.

So..., 

one may next consider cultural aspects that apply to 'cornerstone' verses found in scripture. African-American history is a core theme of The Boondocks show. The contributions and advancements of African Americans are key to our establishing of modern civilization, to tie in cultural and biblical lyric root-references. This concept, though culturally specific, can be applied to the individual influences we all make to society as a whole. 

It's okay to be "the stone that the builder refused".

That stone is the special one, anyway. 

It's what holds everything else together, 

regardless of rejection, trial, and tribulation...

It is the stone that overcomes. 

The cornerstone.

"Ballot in Your Box, The Bullet in Your Gun "

Malcom X Speech

Watch Boondocks. 

Learn the lyrics. Decide what they mean to you. 

I guarantee you'll have the theme stuck in your head for a while. 

:) Happy Wednesday. :)