I will never hide it - I’m a huge Star Wars fan. My parents raised me on the original (and best) trilogy. I’d spend hours as a young kid pretending my flashlight or TV remote was a lightsaber. While I was to young to remember these early years, Mum and Dad tell me how obsessed I was with Han, Chewie, Luke and the gang. Then in 1999 when I was 5, The Phantom Menace, the first of the prequel trilogy was released. This trilogy didn’t end until 2005, when I was 11. This meant that I’d grown up with Star Wars an important part of my life, and definitely my favourite movie series of all time. To this day, I’m obsessed with anything and everything star wars, and can’t wait for the new trilogy to begin in December this year.
The original star wars movie, A New Hope, debuted in 1977. That means for 38 years Star Wars has been a part of society in some capacity. There is a history of Star Wars references in almost all media, which shows the universality and popularity of the series. With the impending release of The Force Awakens, the latest instalment in the series; I thought it would be fitting to explore the history of Star Wars references in Hip Hop.
Song: Eminem - Rainman
Lyrics: “He used to be like a hero to me / I even believe I had one of those 25-cent stickers on my refrigerator right next to Darth Vader / And Darth must have put a hex on him for later.”
Song: Lupe Fiasco - Failure
Lyrics: “No plaque but a whole lot of cheese / This the drill / Mr. Chill gave me the green light like Yoda knife.”
Song: The Notorious B.I.G - Hypnotize
Lyrics: “Tell them ho take they clothes off slowly / Hit ‘em with the Force like Obi…”
Song: A Tribe Called Quest - Wild Hot
Lyrics: “No, ‘cause he move like the wind, in flight / Counter-attack like a Jedi Knight.”
Song: Eminem - Stay Wide Awake
Lyrics: “How you cower / Jump out on you now like I was Jawa from fucking ‘Star Wars’ / Jabba the Hutt, beddy-bye-bye”
Song: Mf Doom - Hoe Cakes
Lyrics: “Smackin rookies, he is the ‘Super!’ / Look like a black wookie when he let his beard grow”
Song: Busta Rhymes - Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check
Lyrics: “Through like G.I. Joe / ‘Star Wars’ movie deal like Han Solo / Make you bounce around like this was calypso”
Song: Inspectah Deck - Hellz Wind
Lyrics: “Lethal weapon, step through your section with the Force like Luke Skywalker / Rhyme author, orchestrate mind torture.”
Song: Method Man - Bring The Pain
Lyrics: “Who da boss? Niggaz get tossed to the side and I’m the dark side of the Force”
Song: Blow Your Mind - Redman
Lyrics: “Next to Yoda I’m a Star at War…”
Song: Rocking with the G.O.A.T - LL Cool J
Lyrics: “LL the boss, like luke wit the force / My techniques ugly, dirty like rugby / Drop jewels like yoda my young students love me”
Song: Rap Phenomenon - The Notorious B.I.G Ft. Redman & Method Man
Lyrics: Star Wars I’m Han Solo, with three egoes / And three charges, I got to “See-three-P.O.’s”
Song: Mic Check - Malice
Lyrics: “I was in the spot from the First to the Fifth / With a mean come-back like the Return of the Sith!”
Song: Booby Trap - RZA
Lyrics: “Pocket fat be Jabba the Hutt”
Song: NYC Crack - Wu-Tang Clan (RZA)
Lyrics: “Deep in space like the Millenium Falcon”
Song: Drink, Smoke & Fuck - RZA
Lyrics: “Her cousin Tawanna, she’s hairy like Chewbacca”
Song: Bob N’l - RZA
Lyrics: “I’m in the clouds like my man Calrissian (and) Lando, bust shows like Marlon Brando”
Song: U-God - Coke (Raekwon)
Lyrics: “You know we cool and we Darth Vaders / Always in black uniforms, rocking Clarks and sharp gators”
Song: Black Friday - Mellowhype (Tyler, The Creator)
Lyrics: “So much fucking white make Darth Vader have a dimmer force”
Song: The Stand - Childish Gambino
Lyrics: “I keep a lightsaber like I fuck around with Greedo”
Song: Happy Valentine’s Day – Outkast
Lyrics: “Han Solo till I’m hit by the bullet, so may the Force/Be with you, and I’ll hit you when better time permits.”
Song: Shaolin Worldwide – Wu-Tang Clan
Lyrics: “The Jedi only use The Force if ya force me / Shaolin What? Don’t get it fucked up and cross me.”
Song: Do It – Beastie Boys
Lyrics: “Like gravy on potatoes / Luke to Darth Vader / I’m a souped-up sucker and I’ll see you all later.”
Song: Gone – Kanye West
Lyrics: “If they ever flip sides like Anakin / You would sell everything, including the mannequin”
Song: Change Clothes - Jay Z
Lyrics: “Let I breathe, Jedi Knight;/The more space I get the better I write/Whenever I write/But if ever I write/I need the space to say whatever I like”
Song: Feel It – House of Pain
Lyrics: “So catch me if you can, you know I’m the man like Chewbacca knows Han… Solo”
Song: Party No Mo - Ludacris
Lyrics: “And I keep the hood with me like Obi-Wan Kenobi”
Song: Get By - Talib Kweli
Lyrics: “We sell, crack to our own out the back of our homes / We smell the musk at the dusk in the crack of the dawn / We go through ‘Episodes II,’ like ‘Attack of the Clones’ / Work ’til we break our back and you hear the crack of the bone”
When you imagine Star Wars fans, I bet I know what comes to mind. An overweight middle aged man, balding, a tight shirt accentuating his man boobs with the crumbs from his devoured chip packet coating his belly; below his greasy, acne ridden face. Living in the basement of his mother's house, spending all day playing video games and abusing people on the internet. This imaginary Star Wars fan probably visits comic book conventions too, hiding his dishevelled frame inside a Stormtrooper outfit.
This article shows that Star Wars breaks through all barriers, when rappers - who I'd say are probably the functional opposite to 'nerds' in that the former are generally regarded as 'cool' people embrace the movies. I just implore you not to discard the thought that when you think of this imaginary star wars fan, remember, it could be your favourite rapper hiding under that stormtrooper helmet.
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