George Carlin vs Richard Pryor/Rap Meanings

George Carlin:
'''Here we go, it's George Carlin. I'm a mad dog snarling.'''

(Carlin introduces himself and compares himself to a mad snarling dog, which could relate to his gravelly voice.)

I was born in the Bronx and brought up in Harlem.

(Carlin was born in the Bronx, a borough in New York City, and was raised in Harlem, a neighborhood in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Both areas are known as tough places to live and an upbringing there is a commonly boasted for street cred.)

I'm dope at spitting bars and getting crowds hardy harr-ing,

(Carlin states his excellence at both rapping and making his audience laugh.)

While you're the least threatening black dude since Carlton!

(Carlton Banks from the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-air was primarily known for his sheepish nature and diminutive stature, making him non-threatening. Carlin says Pryor is the least frightening African-American on television since Carlton was around.)

Now, there's seven words you can't say on a TV set.

(The seven dirty words are seven English-language words that Carlin first listed in 1972 in his monologue, "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television".)

Well, this is the pissin' fuckin' cuntin' Internet,

(Carlin breaks the fourth wall and states that since he is on an Internet show, he is allowed to say the second dirty words. “Piss”, “fuck”, and “cunt” are three of the seven words being referred to.)

And my cocksucking motherfucking bits are the tits!

(“Cocksucker”, “motherfucker”, and “tits” are three more of the seven words being referred to. Saying something is "the tits" means that it is really good.)

Non-stopping brain droppings like my wit’s got the shits!

(“Shit” is the last of the seven words being referred to. To “have the shits” means to have diarrhoea, so Carlin says his brain is constantly dropping clever jokes like diarrhoea.)

So call this Pryor-hea: I doo-doo on you constantly!

(Carlin makes a pun on Pryor’s name and diarrhoea to say that he will shit on him, or beat him in the battle. This also follows on from the previous line and references his quick wit.)

No pauses in my punchlines, no commas in my comedy!

(Carlin says he never stops to take a break in his stand-up comedy. This may also be a reference to his material about the English language.)

You'll be down for the count when this counter-culture counter man

(To be “down for the count” refers to when a boxer has been knocked down. Counterculture is a way of life and set of attitudes opposed to or at variance with the prevailing social norm, referencing Carlin’s humour that was primarily based around the government and social norms he found irritating. A counterman is a person who works behind a counter serving customers, which leads into the following line.)

Serves you with a stand-uppercut you can't counter, damn!

(Carlin says that similar to a counterman and a boxer, respectively, he will serve (or beat) and uppercut an unsuspecting Pryor. Stand-uppercut is a pun on stand-up, the type of comedy Pryor and Carlin are involved in.)

Wilder than Gene when I'm killing the beat!

(Gene Wilder was an American actor and comedy partner to Pryor. Carlin says that his raps are wild.)

You're steady taking second place, that's a Silver Streak!

(Silver Streak was a 1976 film starring both Wilder and Pryor. Carlin says that Pryor will lose to him and take second place.)

Richard Pryor:
Any rap battles with you, I be winning 'em!

(Pryor disagrees with Carlin’s last line and says that he will always beat him in a rap battle.)

Your style's like two drinks: it's the minimum!

(For most comedy clubs, there is a policy that if you buy tickets to see a show, you are also required to purchase at least two alcoholic beverages while watching.)

(Ooh!) It's your boy from Peoria, Illinois!

(Pryor was born in Peoria, Illinois.)

One hand on my mic, one hand on my groin

(This could refer to Michael Jackson's Crotch Dance where you put your hand in the air, your other hand on your crotch. Richard tells Carlin that one hand of him is holding the mic to rap, and another is on his groin.)

'Cause ain't no set tighter in this whole damn game

(This might be refering to the other line, 'cause when you do the crotch dance, you usually wear tight pants. "Tight" could also mean "cool" in this situation.)

'''Even the shit that I spit off the top: flames! (Stand up!)'''

("Stand up" here might refer to the stand up comedies that both Pryor and Carlin does. Pryor is calling his rhymes flames, meaning that they are good. This is also a reference to the incident in 1980 in which Pryor set fire to his own hair while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.)

My delivery is rupture in the tummy!

(Pryor says the delivery of his jokes is tummy-rupturing, synonymous with the more common phrase ‘gut-busting,’ meaning it leaves someone laughing so hard they feel a pain in their torso.)

You tell a joke and people go, "Hmm, that's funny."

(Pryor compares his comedy to Carlin’s, saying that Carlin’s audience, while acknowledging the humor in Carlin’s jokes, don’t find enough entertainment in them to actually laugh.)

My momma was a prostitute and grandma ran the brothels!

(Pryor’s mother was a prostitute, and Pryor was raised in a brothel owned by his own grandmother.)

Seen some shit but not as awful as your haircut debacle!

(Pryor says that despite his rough upbringing, he’s still not seen anything as bad as Carlin’s hairstyle.)

'''I'm the original brother (Hey!) to give the scene some color! (Hey!)'''

(Pryor was an influential figure in comedy due to him paving a way for many future African-Americans in the industry. During this line, Bill Cosby interrupts him before his upcoming entrance, frustrated that Pryor is claiming this stance that Cosby feels he deserves, having also been an early African-American comedian. The interruption is also a reference to the cartoon Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, which Cosby appeared during the live-action segments.  The main character, Fat Albert, is known for his catchphrase "Hey, hey, hey!")

'''The most iconic stand-up comic! Stand down, motherfucker!'''

(Pryor says he is the most iconic stand-up comedian, before telling Carlin to “stand down”, or resign, which is a reversal on the term "stand-up".)

Bill Cosby:
Hey, you forgot the Cos and you know it's a mistake!

(Bill Cosby was another influential comedian in African-American culture.)

I eat MCs for breakfast like they're made of chocolate cake!

(“Chocolate Cake For Breakfast” is a stand up routine by Cosby. Cosby says he eats rappers for breakfast just like chocolate cake.)

I'm the greatest...

(Cosby goes on to say that he is the greatest before he starts to disorientate.)

'''What's wrong... what's wrong with my lip?'''

(Cosby continues to disorientate. This is a reference to a stand up routine by Cosby called “The Dentist”, which features lines such as “...and your bottom lip is in your lap.”)

Did somebody put something in my pudding?

(In 1974, Cosby began promoting Jell-O pudding for General Foods. Cosby believes he has been drugged, referencing to how Cosby was imprisoned for many allegations such as drug-assisted sexual assaults in his later life.)

'''I'm the... MC...'''

(Cosby continues to feel disorientated after being drugged but still makes an attempt to finish his verse, to no avail)

'''They put something in the pudding. It's in the pudding...'''

(Cosby repeats how he has been drugged, projecting a sense of astonished betrayal that he was drugged by a product that had so commonly been associated with him.)

Joan Rivers:
Oh, shut up, you stupid son of a bitch, you know you blew it!

'''I'd have attacked you two first but your hearts beat me to it! (Oh!)'''

(Richard Pryor died of a heart attack on December 10, 2005. George Carlin died of cardiac arrest on June 22, 2008. As well, both comedians suffered many non-fatal heart attacks throughout their lives. Rivers claims she would've attacked both of them but their hearts did the job before she could.)

'''Cosby, you can't be here! (Ah!) You're making people nervous (Ah!)'''

So let me end you real quick like I was Hannibal Buress (Ohh!)

(A comedy routine regarding rape allegations against Bill Cosby by Hannibal Buress on October 16, 2014, went viral and created a snowball effect, resulting in over 60 women coming forward with rape allegations against Cosby.)

It turns out you were just like your sweater: monstrous!

(Rivers is calling Cosby's sweater ugly while also saying that his personality and actions aren't any better.)

The men that I slept with only wish they were unconscious

My sex jokes offend, you’re on the sex offender registry!

(Joan Rivers has offended many with her sex jokes, along with her holocaust joke and about the Ariel Castro kidnapping. Over 60 women have accused Cosby of various crimes such as attempted assault, rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse, and sexual misconduct.)

'''Oh, who are you wearing now? Is that State Penitentiary?'''

(Rivers uses the common celebrity gossip phrase “Who are you wearing?” which refers to who the designer of a celebrity’s outfit is, to mock Cosby for being incarcerated, now wearing the uniform of inmates at the state penitentiary he’s locked up in.)

Enough with the roofies, let me move on to Rufus 

(Date-rape drugs are often referred to as roofies. George Carlin portayed the character of Rufus in the 1989 movie Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, all of whom appear in the Season 4 battle Lewis and Clark vs Bill and Ted as a cameo.)

My jokes always had bite, you started out toothless

And you just kept talking, you wouldn't shut up

(Carlin would always keep talking and barely stop (as stated in his verse.) 

'''Honestly, I'm glad you died. 14 specials was enough!'''

Carlin's 14th and final special "It's bad for ya" was released four months before his death.)

'''And Richard, can we talk? Can I call you Dick?'''

("Richard" is also short for "Dick".)

Like your fifth wife did when you remarried your sixth?

(After divorcing with his 5th wife, Flynn Belaine and then marrying and divorcing her again, Pryor went back to his fourth wife, Jennifer Lee and stayed married with her until his death in 2005. Also, in 2018, Quincy Jones and Jennifer Lee claimed that Pryor had had a sexual relationship  with American actor, Marlon Brando.)

At this point, I've got more plastic than flesh,

Rivers has gone through 348 plastic surgeries just to make herself look pretty.)

But my Tupperware body couldn't keep your raps fresh

(This is a reference to the Joan Rivers quote "I've had so much plastic surgery, when I die they will donate my body to Tupperware.”)

Bill Cosby :
I think my pudding got-

(Cosby reminds everyone that he believes his pudding was spiked before he gets knocked out by Rivers.) 

Joan Rivers :
'''So don't throw down with Rivers! The flow is too relentless!'''

(Rivers is telling Carlin, Pryor and Cosby that her flows are too relentless that non of them have a chance of winning and she warns them not to mess with her.)

I haven't trashed celebrities this bad since The Apprentice!

(Rivers was once a judge on The Apprentice. She was known to talk trash about a lot of contestants.) 

'''I'm closing this battle! No one else compares!'''

(Rivers' saying that no one else can compares to here and she will finish this battle all by herself.)

The only place I'm in the middle is on Hollywood Squares!

(Hollywood Squares is a game show that Rivers was in.)

Robin Williams:
'''Good morning, movie bombs! Nice shoulder pads, chief!'''

(Williams enters the fray referencing his role in Good Morning Vietnam. in which he played outspoken Armed Forces Radio DJ Adrian Cronauer.)

I'm a genie in a bottle for some comic relief!

(Williams played the Genie, the comic relief character in the 1992 Disney film, Aladdin. The way Williams delivers this line is a reference to the Christina Aguilera song "Genie in a Bottle". The end of the line reference the charity organization Comic Relief USA, for which Williams, alongside fellow comedians and friends Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg, co-hosted several live fundraiser events throughout the 1980s and 90s.)

O Carlin, my Carlin, what can I say about you?

(This is a reference to the movie, Dead Poets Society, in which Williams plays an English teacher who teaches his students the poem "O Captain, My Captain" about Abraham Lincoln.)

'Cept I don't think you've had a good shit since 1962!

Mork aged backwards and Joan, you must too!

'''80 years old but that nose looks brand new! Nanu!'''

Yo Pryor, I doubt fire makes a good shampoo

(Williams references his film "Mrs. Doubtfire" by using Pryor's infamous drug-induced breakdown where he set himself on fire, and jokes that the flames off the top of his head would make for a poor shampoo.)

Left you running down the street like "Oh, no!"

Comedy ain't easy, I've played plenty of dumps,

And believe me, we've all hit plenty of bumps (Yeah!)

But now I've got the Flubber flows that'll get the club jumping!

'''You got second-hand raps. "Found 'em Goodwill Hunting!"'''

Got more hair on my arms than Armand G did

(Throughout his career, Williams' particularly hairy body was often a subject of discussion, particularly in his own comedy routines. In the 1996 film The Birdcage, Williams' character Armand Goldman wears many short-sleeved shirts, showing off the thick hair on his arms.)

And I'll finish this battle like it's Jumanji!

(One of Williams' movies was Jumanji, in which he plays a board game of the same name that causes chaos that he must finish in order for the chaos to end. When the game does end, the player is required to say the name of the game. Williams says that he will end the battle like he ended the board game.)

I love the prince, you'll never have a friend like me!

(In Aladdin, Williams portrays the Genie who sings the song "You Ain't Never Had a Friend Like Me." He also turns the title character of the movie into a prince.)

'''Thanks folks, that's my time! Gotta set myself free!'''

(The Genie referenced in the previous line is imprisoned in his lamp until he is set free by Aladdin. This could also be black comedy reffering to Williams' suicide in 2014.)