Rasputin vs Stalin/Rap Meanings

Rasputin:
Cool mustache, Wario.

(Rasputin compares Stalin to Wario, an antihero from the Super Mario Bros. franchise because Stalin's and Wario's mustaches are similar. Just as Wario was created to be a "bad Mario" [Wario is a portmanteau of "warui", which is Japanese for "bad", and Mario], EpicLLOYD's Stalin bears a striking resemblance to Mario, whom he played in Mario Bros vs Wright Bros. Wario's 'stache isn't exactly like Stalin's, however, as his is more of a zigzagged one, resembling a chain of W's, which is Wario's "brand" in the titles that feature him.)

Try messing with the Mad Monk, you'll be sorry, yo!

(Rasputin was known as the "Mad Monk", and he says Stalin will regret battling him.)

How many dictators does it take,

(A rhetorical joke based on the classic "How many _____ does it take to change/screw in a lightbulb?" followed by a punchline. The joke finishes on the following line.)

To turn an empire into a union of ruinous states?

(A joke like this doesn't usually get an answer that can be proven, but this one has one: Before the Revolution in 1917, Russia was an empire stretching over most of Eastern Europe and much of Asia. Following a civil war and a short-lived republic, the Soviet Union was formed. Six despots (Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchyov, Brezhnev, Andropov, and Chernenko) ruled the USSR until the mid-'80s, creating what Rasputin terms a "union of ruinous states". This could also be a reference to the former Soivet satellites; countries controlled by the former USSR.)

It's a disgrace what you did to your own people!

(Stalin was responsible for the deaths of millions of Russians. Many of them were evicted or executed, and Rasputin finds this to be shameful.)

Yo' daddy beat you like a dog and now you're evil!

(Stalin's father was an alcoholic and severely abused both Stalin and his mother during Stalin's childhood. Rasputin believes this is the reason behind Stalin making the lives of others so miserable.)

You're from Georgia, sweet Georgia,

(Stalin was born in the country of Georgia, which was a Soviet state in Stalin's time. Ray Charles wrote "Georgia On My Mind" about the US state of Georgia, not the country, with "Georgia, Sweet Georgia" as part of the chorus. A stereotype about people from Georgia (the US state) is that they have sweet personalities.)

And the history books unfold ya,

(Stalin was, by many accounts, an evil mass-murderer, especially in history books that reveal the truth about him and his dictatorship, having ruled a country with an iron fist. He is often compared to Adolf Hitler, who murdered many Jews. Textbooks also talk about Hitler being very evil.)

As a messed up motherfucker bent in the mind,

(Stalin was pretty crazy, and according to Rasputin, possibly insane because of his actions.)

Who built a superpower but he paid the price,

(Stalin's USSR became a superpower, but collapsed in the early 1990s, resulting in the former Russian empire being split between a large number of poor, underdeveloped countries in eastern Europe and north Asia. Stalin was known for making rash decisions, which ultimately cost him his life as he died from heavy smoking and drinking.)

With the endless destruction of Russian lives!

(Stalin murdered many Russians throughout his reign, often for reasons clear only to himself.)

If you're the man of steel, I spit kryptonite!

('Stalin' literally means 'Steel' in Russian. Stalin's birth name was Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili: he adopted Stalin as a nickname in his early writings. "Man of Steel" is also Superman's nickname. Superman is weak to kryptonite, so Rasputin says that his raps are Stalin's weakness.)

Big dick mystic, known to hypnotize!

(Rasputin, as an infamous seducer, supposedly had sex with many women and is also said to have performed miracles, and even hypnotize. When Rasputin was killed, his balls and penis were supposedly removed and preserved in formaldehyde.)

I can end you with a whisper to your wife.

(It was rumored that Rasputin had been bedding Tsar Nikolai II's wife, Alexandra, while he was there to help cure their son. Rasputin was also said to manipulate the Tsar through his wife, making this one of the most important factors in the Tsar's downfall. Rasputin says he'll cause Stalin's downfall in the same way.)

Joseph Stalin:
Look into my eyes, you perverted witch!

(Rasputin can be seen as a witch, due to his healing and supposed psychic powers. Stalin calls Rasputin a pervert due to his rumored sexual deviancy.)

See the soul of the man who made Mother Russia his bitch!

(Russia is often referenced as "Mother Russia" by its people, so it might be personified as a woman. With this as the case, Stalin could say he broke her and made a slave of her. With his reported talents, Rasputin could see one's soul, and Stalin wants him to see his by looking him in the eyes. The eyes are often said to be "windows to the soul", therefore one should  be able to see that Stalin ruled over Russia with an iron fist.)

You think I give a fuck about my wife?

(Referencing Rasputin's last line about Stalin's wife, Stalin was known to not really care about his family, so his wife wouldn't be an exception and he probably wouldn't care if Rasputin seduced her.)

My own son got locked up in prison, and I didn't save his life!

(Stalin's first son, Yakov Dzhugashvili, was captured by the Germans during WWII, and was sent to prison. Stalin considered all prisoners traitors to their homeland, and when the Germans offered to free his son in exchange for German prisoners, he refused the offer. Afterwards, his son committed suicide.)

You got off easy when they pickled that moose cock!

(According to an urban legend, Rasputin's large penis is preserved in a jar and is speculated to have actually belonged to a moose. Stalin says that this wasn't torturous enough by his own standards, so Rasputin "got off easy" when his penis was amputated and preserved.)

I'd leave your neck in a noose in a trench and shot!

(Stalin was infamous for executing dissidents, so he says that he would hang Rasputin with a rope, shoot him, and leave him there for dead. This may also be a reference to Rasputin's death, in which he was poisoned, shot, stabbed, and bludgeoned before finally dying of drowning when he was thrown into a river. Stalin is saying that he would kill him using multiple methods to make sure he was dead.)

'''Your whole family, shot! All your wizard friends, shot!'''

(Stalin will then execute all of Rasputin's relatives, friends, and anyone else who was close to him. Two years after Rasputin died, the Tsar and his family were executed by firing squad.)

Anyone who sold you pierogi, shot!

(Pierogi are Slavic potato dumplings that have more in common with ravioli than they have with dumplings. If anyone even sold Rasputin food, Stalin would shoot the donor.)

Starve you for days till you waste away.

(Stalin will starve Rasputin to death as he did with his other prisoners.)

I even crushed motherfuckers when I'm laid in state.

("Lying-in-state" is when the coffin of a deceased person is placed in view, so that the public can pay their respects to him/her. After Stalin's death, he was laid-in-state for 3 days. Thousands of people lined up to see him, but it was so chaotic outside that people were crushed and killed underneath the crowd. Around 500 people lost their lives during this event. This could also mean that even after Stalin's death, millions of people were still being killed in his name.)

Pride of Lenin, took Trotsky out of the picture.

(Vladimir Lenin was Stalin's mentor, though Stalin's leadership was not one he had pride for. Leon Trotsky was a friend of Lenin who was assassinated by one of Stalin's operatives in Mexico for his opposition to totalitarian rule. He was then blotted out of any photographs that showed him and Lenin together.)

'''Drop the hammer on you harder than I bitch-slapped Hitler! '''

(The Soviet emblem includes a hammer and sickle, the symbols of communism. When Hitler attempted to advance into Russia, the results were ugly. Stalin's army was better-equipped for adverse weather, the story goes, and Hitler's was not, so the Nazis were decimated. Stalin says he's going to "drop the hammer" on Rasputin, or hit him hard with all he has in order to defeat him--harder than he did Hitler. Another note: Hitler, another mass-murdering dictator like Stalin, was also played by Lloyd in the Darth Vader vs Hitler battles.)

Vladimir Lenin:
I have no pride for you who ruined everything,

(Lenin breaks in, claiming that he never approved of the government Stalin created, contrary to what Stalin's second to last line stated.)

My revolution was doing to stop the bourgeoisie!

(Lenin led the Bolsheviks in revolution against the Tsarist government to empower the working class against the owners of the means of production (upper class – bourgeoisie) to shift the balance of power. His intention was for a "vanguard of the proletariat" to pave the way for a classless utopian society (communism), but instead Stalin consolidated power in a firm repressive dictatorship.)

I fought the bondage of classes, the proletariat masses,

(Lenin succeeded in his objectives. The proletariat is the working class Lenin worked for.)

Have brought me here to spit a thesis against both of your asses!

(He was summoned to diss both Stalin and Rasputin in the battle. This may be referring to Lenin's April Theses, in which he encouraged the middle class to rise against the Empire.)

Let me start with you there, Frankenstein,

(Lenin starts out with rapping against Rasputin, and he pokes fun at Rasputin's homely appearance, saying he looks like the monster of Frankenstein (not Dr. Frankenstein).)

Looking like something out of R.L. Stine!

(R.L. Stine was the author of Goosebumps, a book series with supernatural things occurring inside. Lenin is calling Rasputin so homely that he kind of looks like a Goosebumps creature.)

It's hip-hop chowder, red over white,

(A veiled reference to both sides of the Revolution; royal loyalists were white, and the socialists were red. Lenin's faction won, so it was red over white. There's a nod in here to red and white chowder; some prefer the tomato-based red chowders over the cream-based white ones, so based on this, Lenin says he'll be victorious in this rap battle.)

Cause the Tsar's wife can't do shit tonight!

(Rasputin was very close with Tsar Nikolai II's wife, and it is thought that they had an affair. Lenin calls him out for hiding behind a woman when challenged. 2 years after Rasputin was assassinated, the Tsar, his wife, and their children were all executed.)

And Joseph, you were supposed to be my right-hand man,

(Stalin was Lenin's subordinate during the Revolution and was eventually promoted to a higher rank within what became the CPSU behind Lenin. His title may have been equal to a vice-chairman, which would also place him at Lenin's right hand in order of succession)

But your loyalty shriveled up like your right hand, man!

(After a carriage accident that happened to Stalin when he was 12, his left arm was shortened and stiffened at the elbow, while his right hand was thinner than his left and frequently hidden, so there is a mistake in the line which Lenin says that Stalin's right hand was shriveled, when it was really his left. This is also referenced in the battle when Stalin looks at his right hand, confused. Stalin betrayed Lenin during the Russian Revolution, so he lost his trust, and Lenin says it was gone like his injured hand.)

'''Our whole future was bright! You let your heart grow dark,'''

(Lenin's rebellion might have worked in the USSR's favor if not for Stalin's insanity, and their future could have been better. He uses opposite adjectives, light and dark, to describe the effects. This could also refer to the book "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad, which details events in which Colonel Kurtz defects to the enemy faction)

And stopped the greatest revolution since the birth of Marx!

(Karl Marx was a German philosopher whose ideas birthed socialism. His works were the inspiration for the Russian Revolution and Lenin's policies. Stalin broke from Lenin's ideals.)

Mikhail Gorbachev:
Knock knock knock knock.

(Gorbachev opens a hidden door. Here, he literally tears down the fourth wall. Also, a reference to Gorbachev being the person who "knocked" down the Berlin Wall.)

Did somebody say birthmarks?

(Gorbachev enters after hearing Lenin's "birth of Marx" thinking he said "birthmarks". Gorbachev is well-known for the port-wine stain birthmark on his head.)

Yo, I'm the host with the most Glasnost!

(Glasnost was Gorbachev's directive of "openness" toward the West.)

Assholes made a mess and the war got cold.

(The Cold War was a series of conflicts and tension between Soviet Russia and the Western world from 1947 to 1991. Under Stalin and Lenin, the Russian economy and culture were suppressed by the regime; and thus, the people were in a mess that was largely obfuscated (covered up) by the Party.)

Shook hands with both Ronalds, Reagan and McDonald's, no doubt.

(Gorbachev shook hands and made peace with US President Ronald Reagan. During his leadership, the first McDonald's was opened in the Soviet Union. The McDonald's mascot is Ronald McDonald, who has the same first name as Reagan, referring to the fact that, beginning with McDonald's, Russia's market was opened for Western investors and companies.)

If your name end with "in", time to get out!

(Rasputin, Stalin, and Lenin all have names ending with "in".  Gorbachev wants them to step aside while he raps. This is also a pun since the word "out" is the opposite of "in".)

I had the balls to let Baryshnikov dance, playa!

(Mikhail (Misha) Baryshnikov is a ballet dancer from the USSR who defected to North America. Fact check: Misha Baryshnikov's defection took place in 1974 under Leonid Brezhnev, not Gorbachev. But even after Baryshnikov's defection, Gorbachev still allowed Baryshnikov to dance in front of him as Head of State.)

Tore down that wall like the Kool-Aid Man, oh yeah!

(Reagan famously demanded that Gorbachev "tear down" the Berlin Wall. The Kool-Aid Man was an official mascot for the powder drink through the '80's. During advertisements he would break in through a wall and say "Oh yeah!".)

You two need yoga (Дa), you need a shower (Дa),

(Gorbachev says Stalin and Lenin need to relax, and Rasputin needs to clean up. Rasputin rarely bathed or showered, and Stalin and Lenin have a lot of pent-up stress from being in power.  Yoga is said to release stress, and it could calm the two leaders.)

And you all need to learn how to handle real power!

(True power is neither psychic, nor acquired by force, Gorbachev says. It's attained through understanding of what the people want.)

Vladimir Putin:
Did somebody say real power?

(After Gorbachev says "real power", Putin busts his way in to the battle, demonstrating to these Russians what true power is like.)

Дa, you want to mess with me?

("Дa" /DAH/ actually means "yes" in Russian. Here: "Yeah, you want to mess with me?" Putin basically says he can take them all on, since he's known to be a badass president.)

I spit hot borscht when I'm crushing these beats.

(Borscht (or more accurately borshch) is a beet (pun on rap beats) soup served many ways in Russia and surrounding areas, such as in the Ukraine from whence it came. Putin is using the stuff to roast his opponents. Incidentally, the Russian word for Power is мощность/Moshchnost, a similar sounding word to Borscht which enhances Putin's prior line about him having real power.  )

Blow it up like a tuba while I'm balling in Cuba.

(Putin refers to his recent visit to Cuba, the first by a Russian president since the end of the Cold War, but says he's going to "blow up the mic", or rap hard and fast. Tuba players make their unique sound by blowing into their instruments. The analogy is strange, but it works with the rhyme.)

Doing judo moves and schooling every Communist сука!

(сука [suka] /SOO-ka/ is Russian for "bitch". Putin has studied Judo since he was 14 years old. He says he will use his experience to beat up every Communist, i.e. all but Rasputin.)

I'm a president in my prime, my enemies don't distract me.

(Putin is the current President of Russia, having held that title since he was 48, quite young for someone at his position. Russia has been secure ever since Putin became president; not even half-naked punk-rocker human rights protesters faze him. The use of "prime" may also refer to Putin's tenure as Prime Minister of Russia from 2008-2012; during this time the President of Russia was Dmitry Medvedev, though it is widely perceived that Putin held the real power in the Russian government - in other words, being the real president in all but title.)

The last man who attacked me lived a half-life, so Comrade, come at me!

(A half-life is the amount of time it takes for one half of a quantity of radioactive material to decay into more stable material. The "last man who attacked" Putin is Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissident, who died in exile in London after ingesting polonium-210, a radioactive element. It's widely believed Putin ordered it or knows who did. Regardless, he invites all to try and beat him, but in so doing invokes a common stereotype of Russian-English speech. Russians do NOT currently use "Comrade" as a form of address, though they did use "товарищ" (tovarishch) during the socialist period. That term implies "business partner".)

You don't know what you're doing, when you try to bust a rhyme against a mind like Putin.

(Putin is essentially saying that it wasn't smart of the other four men to rap against him.)

You'll find that the ex-KGB is the best MC in the ex-CCCP!

(Putin was an agent of the Soviet State Security Committee, better known as the KGB, before becoming the second and fourth President of the Russian Federation. СССР is the Russian abbreviation for the USSR, read as "SSSR" . But since the Cyrillic S looks like Latin C and the R like Latin P, it's often read that way in English, leading to this line becoming a wacky "alphabet soup". Finally, MC is the term used for rappers, and Putin uses these abbreviations to claim that he is the best rapper in all of Russia.)