Michael Jackson vs Elvis Presley/Rap Meanings

Michael Jackson (Young):
'''Oooh! Elvis Presley as I live and breathe.'''

("As I live and breathe" is an idiomatic expression used to show surprise at something. Michael Jackson can't believe he's up against Elvis Presley in this battle. He also references Elvis impersonators, or people who dress themselves like Elvis, and how they perform at fake Elvis concerts, normally titled things like "Elvis Lives".)

You stole rock and roll, gave us rockabilly cheese!

(Elvis, though known as the "King of Rock and Roll", didn't create the genre. At the time, African Americans were the people dominating rock and roll music, and Elvis made music out of it with his early works by melding rock and country elements in what became known as "rockabilly". In other words, he changed the music to his own style, and Jackson accuses him of stealing it, as well as calling Presley's music cheesy.)

'''You dance like an epileptic, nothing but left feet. I've seen it!'''

(Having two left feet means being clumsy (especially when referring to dancing). Michael Jackson is saying that Elvis's dancing is comparable to epilepsy, a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures, and he has two left feet, or dances bad.)

Every record you set, man, I beat it!

(Michael Jackson wrote the song, "Beat It", and he's saying that he beat every record Elvis Presley made in the music entertainment industry, still holding these world records today.)

Here's a tip: don't swallow a bucket of drugs,

(Presley's death came from drug abuse, so Michael Jackson says he shouldn't have overdosed on so many drugs.)

So you won't die on the toilet dropping hunks of Burning Love.

(Elvis Presley was found dead on his toilet, and "Burning Love" is one of Presley's songs in which he says "I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love" A hunk is a lump or large chunk of something so Michael is using this phrase as a euphemism for excrement. MJ may also be calling Presley's song shit.)

I'm Bad, I'm a Smooth Criminal, better face up.

("Bad" and "Smooth Criminal" are both songs from Michael Jackson. He says that like his songs, he is tough compared to Elvis.)

Call me Ed Sullivan, shoot you from the waist up!

(Both Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show". When Presley first showed his dance moves on the show, Sullivan was so unnerved by Presley's "vulgar" dancing that he made the cameraman shoot him from the waist up in order not to show viewers his throbbing crotch. Michael Jackson is making a joke where shoot can mean shooting a gun and shooting a camera, in this case, meaning shoot him with a gun.)

Watch me moonwalk, and I step on your blue suede!

(Michael Jackson's signature move was his moonwalk, and Elvis Presley covered Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes", for which Presley's adaptation is more well-known. The chorus says, "Now don't you step on my blue suede shoes," so in stepping on his shoes, Jackson hopes to irritate Presley.)

Even in death, I go platinum on Blu-ray!

(Michael Jackson's final concert, "This is It", came out on Blu-Ray Disc shortly after he died and was certified 5x Platinum in Ireland.)

Spitting out hits since I was six years old!

(Michael Jackson started singing at a very young age as a member of the Jackson 5.)

I'm the King of Pop, you're the King of Jelly Rolls!

(Michael Jackson is referred to as the King of Pop, and Elvis, known as the King of Rock and Roll, became fat in his later years. Jackson says his title should be the King of Jelly Rolls instead of the King of Rock and Roll, since jelly rolls were a type of junk food from their era, as was pop, otherwise known as soda.)

Elvis Presley (Young Adult):
Well, I died on the shitter, but I don't give a crap.

(Elvis Presley references back to Michael's previous line, in which he told him he was found dead on the toilet, or the shitter, but Presley is saying he doesn't give a crap, which plays on the fact that people crap when they're on the toilet.)

You ain't got half the badass battle raps that I have.

(Presley says Jackson doesn't have enough ammunition in the chamber to be able to freestyle against him; that is to say Jackson is the weaker rapper and can easily be beaten by the more experienced Presley.)

I got one for your monkey, two for your clothes.

(Michael Jackson had his own monkey named Bubbles, and Jackson was noted for his odd wardrobe in his adult years. This line and those which follow it are again referencing Elvis'  cover of Blue Suede Shoes, in which he sings, "Well it’s one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go cat go.")

Three for your family, and four for your nose!

(Joe Jackson, father of the Jackson 5, was abusive and an imposing manager, who made all of his children practice and perform music nonstop, and made the family dysfunctional. This was also referenced before by Lady Gaga when she said to Sarah Palin, "You are the sum of everything I despise with the most dysfunctional family since the Jackson fucking Five." It was also mentioned later by Skrillex to Mozart, "Your daddy issues make the Jackson Five look like the Family Circus." The second part of the line is referring to Michael Jackson's multiple plastic surgeries on his nose.)

You better surrender talkin' bout them ABC's,

(Elvis is saying Jackson should stop singing innocent songs and confess to his true nature. "ABC" was a Jackson 5 hit single in which Jackson had lead vocals.)

Cause all you wanna do is teach kids the birds and the bees.

("The birds and bees" is a way to try to explain sex to children. There are rumors about Michael Jackson sleeping with little children, so Elvis taunts him for trying to show these kids what sex is like.)

'''This is the big time, Jacko. No dress rehearsal.'''

(By the late 1980s, due to numerous bizarre reports, some but not all true, MJ was dubbed "Wacko Jacko", a name he despised. Elvis also says that this is live and not a rehearsal.)

I'll light you up like your hair in a Pepsi commercial.

(During the filming of a Pepsi commercial in the 80's, Michael's hair famously caught on fire. Afterwards, he needed reconstructive surgery.)

I can tell you're angry, but I can't comprehend it.

(Elvis thinks Michael looks mad at him, but doesn't know why, since in the next line, he thinks he shouldn't be mad at him after he became white.)

I stole from black culture, why are you offended?

(Jackson surgically altered his features and lightened his skin until he no longer looked black, prompting speculation that he actually wanted to be white. Since MJ no longer was a black man, he shouldn't get mad over Elvis stealing from their culture, as he had mentioned in Michael's opening lines.)

Your Daddy beat gold records out of you like alchemy.

(Again, Joe Jackson would beat his children until they got the parts right. He was also the driving force behind the Jacksons perfecting their act. Elvis may be implying Michael's success was due to his father’s abuse. Alchemy is the faux science of converting matter into gold, which references the gold records Michael Jackson sold worldwide.)

Don't make me spank you and dangle your ass over a balcony!

(Michael Jackson is infamous for hanging his youngest son, Blanket, over a balcony as an infant, and Elvis is saying he will do the same if provoked.)

Michael Jackson (Adult):
Ohhh, it's about time for a Thriller.

(Michael Jackson turns from a black kid to a white adult, as he does in real life. He starts off with his famous falsetto vocal, "Ohhh!" One of Michael Jackson's most known songs is "Thriller", which became the best-selling music video of all time.)

Didn't lose any chocolate, I just added vanilla.

(Due to vitiligo, a rare autoimmune condition that destroys melanin-producing cells, Michael Jackson's skin color went from being black to white. Even so, Jackson says he hasn't lost his chocolate side, merely adding another flavor (vanilla) to it.)

'''I'm going Off the Wall. I won't stop 'til I get enough.'''

("Off the Wall" was a Michael Jackson album, most notable for being his first solo album as an adult; "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" was another one of Michael's hit songs, which was also in the "Off The Wall" album.)

Whooping your big fat ass with my shiny glove.

(One of Michael Jackson's trademark clothing articles was wearing a shiny glove on one hand, which he will use to beat Elvis, who had become out of shape and gained weight.)

How you gonna talk about the birds and the bees

(A reference to a line that Elvis Presley previously said, meaning Elvis shouldn't be the one talking about Michael.)

When you met your own wife when she was only 14?

(Elvis Presley met his wife Priscilla Ann Wagner when she was 14 years old, and married her seven and a half years later.)

Then you made one daughter; she (ahh) came to me.

(Elvis' only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, befriended Michael Jackson and married him.)

I took her to my Neverland Ranch to Hee-Hee!

("Hee-Hee" is another one of Jackson's singing filler phrases. The use of "Hee-Hee" as a censor for sex is more likely used for the purpose of humor than actual censorship. Neverland Ranch is the famous residence of Michael Jackson, and MJ says he brought Elvis' daughter here to supposedly have sex with her.)

You shoulda stayed in the army, dude.

(Elvis was drafted into the army in 1958, receiving the notice only two days after his final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, and spent two years as a soldier in Germany until he was honorably discharged in 1960. He said that, despite his fame, he wanted to be treated as any other soldier. Upon his return, he began focusing on low-budget movies that were widely panned. Michael is suggesting that his music started getting worse after his return from the army, and he should have quit while he still had his dignity.)

Shamone, even Tito looks better than you.

("Shamone" was another word Michael Jackson used to say this as an exclamation on his songs (however, is written as "come on" in Jackson's album booklets). Tito Jackson is Michael's older brother, and was oftentimes referred to as the "ugly duckling" of the family. Michael says that even Tito (at his worst) looks better than Elvis does.)

I'm singing aaaahhhhhh, you're singing Don't Be Cruel.

(Michael sometimes screamed his vocals in his songs. Elvis Presley wrote a song called "Don't Be Cruel", so Jackson thinks the title of the song makes him sound weak.)

'''There's only one crown, baby. Let the one King rule!'''

(Michael and Elvis both have the title of King in their music genre, and Michael says only one of them deserves the true title.)

Elvis Presley (Adult):
'''You're a creeper, dude. You like to grab your own wanger.'''

(Elvis Presley is pointing out that Michael Jackson looks like a creep, or a pedophile, with all the facial reconstruction he got and was accused of molesting kids. Michael Jackson's other signature move is his crotch grab. Wanger in this verse means penis.)

I only let you marry my daughter cause I knew you'd never bang her.

(Elvis Presley jokes that Michael Jackson married his daughter, but wouldn't have sex with her because he was accused of being a pedophile. The marriage only lasted 2 years, so Elvis didn't have much to worry about with him.)

'''You think you're tough? Man, you look like Tootie.'''

(Elvis Presley says that Michael Jackson isn't too strong. Then Elvis says that Michael, when he was younger, looks like Tootie Ramsey from "The Facts of Life". Tootie also appeared as a cameo played by the same person who played young Michael Jackson, Bentley Green.)

I was badder than you in my Blue Hawaii movie.

(Elvis Presley wrote a musical called "Blue Hawaii". Elvis played as a man who came back from the army, and he claims his character is tougher than Michael Jackson is.)

'''You lost your damn mind. That's why they cast you in The Wiz.'''

(Elvis Presley says that Michael Jackson was perfect for the role that he played in The Wiz, a funk adaptation of The Wizard of Oz cast on Broadway. Michael Jackson played the Scarecrow, who wished he had a brain; Presley thinks MJ lost his mind like the scarecrow.)

You're like a sad white woman, who never got to be a kid.

(Elvis Presley jokes that Michael Jackson looks like a white woman in his adult years because of his vitilihgo and long hair. Michael Jackson, who had been bossed around by his father throughout his whole childhood, never got the chance to act like a normal kid. Because of this, Michael always acted like a kid as a grownup, which is why he was seen playing with kids. He also called himself Peter Pan, as he never grew up in heart, and that became a reason he named his house the Neverland Ranch.)

I'm out, before you try to hold me, and free your willy.

(Michael Jackson wrote and performed a song for Free Willy, a 1993 movie about a killer whale. Presley making a joke about Michael Jackson wanting to free his willy because he thinks he's perverted, so he's gonna get out of the rap battle, as it's near the end. "Hold Me" was the song that Michael Jackson wrote for Free Willy.)

Later weirdo, Elvis is leaving the building!

(Elvis ends his verse by saying that he's leaving the building, or the battle. After Elvis concerts, they would typically state "Elvis has left the building" to make the encore-awaiting audience leave.)