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Rap Meanings


Bruce Banner vs Bruce Jenner Rap Meanings

Bruce Banner:

I'll school you in this battle of the baddest Bruce,

(Banner wastes no time in establishing the connection of the two, claiming that since he's the smarter of the two, Jenner needs to be taught a thing or two about how to rap well.)

With your He-Man haircut and your Daisy Dukes.

(Jenner's haircut is fairly similar to He-Man's, a popular animated character of the 1980s who was known for a flamboyant appearance. Daisy Dukes are extremely short and tight-fitting denim shorts typically worn by women. Banner claims that with these two items, she gives the appearance of a woman even though she hasn't transitioned yet.)

I hear you're good at running; you're just like the Flash,

(The Flash, like Banner, is a comic book superhero. He has the ability to run so fast that he can travel back in time, so Banner compares him to Jenner's figure as an Olympic decathlete.)

Especially in the 100 meter ditch-your-wife dash!

(Typically, Olympic events are titled by their length in track events (i.e. 450 meter dash). Jenner has left three wives so far, so Banner makes the connection that she literally thinks marriage is a sport and is dashing to the end with a divorce.)

I'm an ace in the lab, acid, base and treble,

(Banner claims to be a great scientist, specifically in his field of chemistry. In chemistry, most compounds can be classified as acids or bases on the pH scale. Banner compares basic compounds to the musical terms bass and treble, which refer to a low and high frequency or range, respectively. Using this work around, Banner is saying his skills in chemistry directly apply to rapping.)

So let me break you down on a molecular level:

(Banner says that he will, quite literally, break Jenner down by beating both physically and verbally to her most basic form just as acids and bases break down things at a molecular level with the exchange of hydrogen atoms.)

You turned one gold medal to a lifetime of green!

(Jenner has actually only competed in one Olympic Games in 1976 during the Cold War. This is important because a Russian had won the year prior, and thus Jenner became an American icon. She exploited this to cross-promote herself with many brands, most notably Wheaties. Banner claims that even with the gold medal, Jenner only did those cross-promotions for more publicity and money.)

The most overrated athlete anyone's ever seen!

(Banner simply states that Jenner is overrated because she only competed in one Olympics.)

You need to carry fatherhood across that finish line!

(Jenner had many wives, and with that, many children, most of which she didn't care for. A tradition in the Olympics is carrying a torch across the finish line. Banner says that instead of a torch, Jenner needs to carry, or support, her children until they are mature adults.)

(Argh!) Kept up with the Kardashians, but left some kids behind!

(Keeping Up with the Kardashians is a reality television show that focuses on the lives of the Kardashian family. The series used to showcase Jenner while she was married to Kris Kardashian. Jenner was married two times before this, leaving the children she had with said spouses. She chose to stay with the Kardashians and focus on their life together, and even had two new children with her. Banner says that Jenner literally kept being with the Kardashian family, whilst neglecting her other children.)

Now, run along; you'll thank me 'cause I'm getting kinda cranky,

(A pun on Jenner's chosen sport, Banner states that she should use her running to escape from the battle, since he is getting angry, which is explained in the next line.)

And trust me, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry!

(Banner often says, "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry," to warn people that since his anger triggers his transformation into the Hulk, they should not agitate him too much. Banner also means that Jenner, even though she is a gold medal-winning Olympic athlete, will never be able to compete with his opposite form.)

Bruce Jenner:

I think you're in your element when you're behaving badly.

(Jenner thinks Banner is better, or in his element, when he's the Hulk. An element is a term in chemistry used to organize kinds of atoms.)

Honestly, you're kinda boron when you're happy.

(Jenner continues her opinion from the last line, saying Banner isn't a good rapper while in human form. It is also a pun on the chemical element boron, with "boring.")

I'll lap and pass your ass ten different ways!

(Jenner boasts that she is much faster and better than Banner in rapping and athletics. She competed in the decathlon in the Olympic Games, which is an athletic event consisting of ten different track and field events.)

Decathlon athlete, blast through you like some gamma rays!

(While supervising a trial of a gamma bomb, Banner was accidentally struck by the gamma radiation. Banner's rage caused him to turn into the Hulk as a result, so, indirectly, Jenner says she would make him mad, with Banner ending up being angry and transform into the Hulk like how the gamma radiation affected him.)

The truth is, there's no truce between the Bruces!

(Jenner claims that she and Banner are not equals and there won't be any peace between them.)

You're a drifter being useless; I'm a winner, no excuses!

(Banner tends to move around the world as to keep people safe from his alter ego, thus classified as a "drifter", or a person who moves around from place to place. Jenner says that, while Banner goes from place to place not helping the world in any way, she is winning medals and gaining achievements.)

(Uh!) Beautiful women all up on my jock!

(Athletes at high school who are able to get large amount of girls to like them and like to abuse their popularity are called jocks. To be up on one's jock means to impress another person with extreme effort, mostly due to they are sexually attract to that other person. Jenner boasted how she was jock herself, that she had many ladies fell in love with her, ending up being their wives, even if a lot of them got divorced.)

I got a home gym; check me on the cereal box, doc!

(Wheaties is a brand of cereal well-known for featuring athletes on their cereal boxes. Jenner was featured on the boxes in 1977 and 2012, and even became a spokesperson for the brand. Doc is the short for doctor, which was the title that Banner has. Jenner is also stating that she works out at home by being put running on a cereal box, which is found in most households.)

You big green freak, don't try to flex!

(Jenner calls Hulk a "freak" and telling him not to "flex", the urban slang for showing off. She could also be telling the Hulk not to physically flex, as in showing off muscle, which is one of the Hulk's defining features.)

If it wasn't for your cousin, you'd never have sex!

(Jennifer Walters, also known as She-Hulk, is Bruce Banner's cousin who also has similar superpowers to Banner. It is mentioned in the comics that She-Hulk is the only person that Banner could have sex with due to the fact that both their bodies were filled with gamma radiation. Walters needed a blood transfer to survive, and Banner lent her his blood to save her, which turned her into She-Hulk.)

(Oh!) You're so strong when you get mad!

(Banner's powers rely on his level of anger, with Jenner admitting the fact that the Hulk is stronger than her.)

Too bad you can't go back and protect your mom from your dad!

(Banner came from a broken home with an abusive father who often beat him and his mother, who died due to said abuse. Jenner says that as the Hulk, he could've easily been able to beat his father, but as Bruce Banner, all he could do was watch.)

The Hulk:

(Urrrgh!) That painted face don't give you class!

(While most of the world praised Caitlyn Jenner for coming out, the Hulk says that her being a transgender woman just gives the false sense of pride.)

Just one more thing Bruce do for cash!

(Jenner made a large amount of money from sports. The Hulk claims that she is so greedy that she only transitioned for fame and more money.)

Best thing you make: Kylie ass!

(Despite all her accomplishments, including winning a gold medal and becoming an icon in the transgender community, the Hulk claims that the best thing Jenner made in her life is her daughter Kylie's curves.)

She eighteen? Hulk SMASH!

(In the comics, the Hulk is known for yelling, "HULK SMASH!" in combat. "Smash" is also a euphemism for having sex. Capitalizing on the last line, the Hulk realizes that Kylie is 18, which is the age of consent for someone to legally have sexual intercourse in the United States, and states that from that point on, he is legally allowed to have sex with her, or as he puts it, "smash" her.)

Caitlyn Jenner:

That's my teenage daughter, man; I have to forbid this!

(As Kylie's parent, Jenner does not approve of the Hulk wanting to have sex with her and sees it as her job to prevent him from doing so.)

I'll put a javelin through your jolly green discus!

(Javelin throwing and discus throwing are both track and field events in the Olympics, which Jenner took part in. Discus is used as a pun on "dick." She refers to Hulk's testicles as "jolly green," in reference to the Jolly Green Giant, mascot of the Green Giant brand of frozen and canned vegetables, who Jenner relates back to the Hulk because of their similar appearance. Jenner says, to prevent the Hulk from having sex with her daughter, she'll stab the Hulk's genitalia with a javelin.)

Kylie not the type of girl I'mma let you smash on!

(Jenner reiterates here that she disapproves of the Hulk wanting to have sex with her daughter, reusing "smash" in allusion to having sex.)

(Hmm.) You'll get the medal without the decathlon!

(Decathlons are Olympic events involving several different kinds of exercise. For her multiple performances in said events, Jenner was awarded a number of medals over time. In this case, Jenner makes a double meaning on medal, saying that Hulk will earn the "medal" without participating in a decathlon - "medal" in this case meaning the homophone "metal," which is used to imply bullets, which Caitlyn then uses against Hulk as she shoots him several times.)

The Hulk:

(Argh!) Hulk is Hulk; no identify as man!

(The Hulk has a hatred towards Banner as a "puny" version of himself, and chooses not to identify himself as a man. This is also responding to Jenner's first line calling him a man.)

Me thinks Cait might understand!

(Just as the Hulk identifies as a non-man beast, Jenner identifies as a woman despite being assigned male at birth.)

No gender issue; this Jenner issue!

(The Hulk claims that he is not bothered by Jenner's gender transition, but rather, his hatred towards Jenner is fueled by Jenner herself.)

Just you being you is enough to diss you!

(He then follows up with this by claiming that the way Jenner acts is material enough for him to insult her, considering her long history with taboo cases such as her divorces, parental abandonment, and even vehicular manslaughter case.)

Caitlyn Jenner:

Look, I understand that you hate yourself,

(Banner deals with self-hate, as he dislikes what he has become as the Hulk.)

But you don't need to blame yourself!

(Banner blames himself for the damages that the Hulk causes in his bursts of anger, as he was the reason for his own creation of the Hulk.)

You're a tiger; stop trying to tame yourself!

(Jenner states that Banner should learn to embrace his alter ego to calm down, comparing him to a tiger being tamed.)

You gotta be big enough to contain yourself,

(The word "contain" has two different meanings: one being having control over others, and two being accepting another individuals respectively; in this case it was the Hulk himself.)

And get hit with a little forgiveness!

(Jenner preaches the importance of forgiveness, which she intends to use with the Hulk for any hurtful accusations he used against her.)

Be green; it ain't none of my business,

(Jenner decides not to bug Banner for being himself, a green beast. This is a reference to the Kermit the Frog meme, in which Kermit is seen drinking tea–like Jenner did in the scene–saying, "But that's none of my business," used in comparison as both Kermit and the Hulk are famously green characters. This is also a reference to the song by Kermit, "Bein' Green".)

But if you think you looking good in those torn-ass clothes,

(Jenner insults Hulk's sense of fashion, as he wears the remains of Banner's clothes that were destroyed in the transformation.)

You're lying, which means you need a new wardrobe!

(Jenner proposes that Hulk knows he has a bad sense of fashion but can't fix it, which means he needs to get a complete change of clothes. This is also a pun on C. S. Lewis' fantasy novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. A rendition of this line was used in a rap battle between Bruce Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner (in which NoShame played Caitlyn), said by Rone (who portrayed Bruce).[1])

(Aw!) The vision of those shorts kinda scarred me.

(Jenner was emotionally scarred by Hulk's bad fashion sense. This could also reference Vision, a Marvel Comics hero who is a part of the Avengers like Hulk.)

What'd you just rage at a Barney-themed party?

(Hulk is commonly depicted wearing purple shorts, and his green skin adds to that to recreate the color scheme of popular children's character Barney the Dinosaur. Jenner implies Banner got angry and transformed while attending a party themed around the aforementioned character, where he would be wearing something of that color scheme.)

That's probably not something you seen as a child!

(Jenner realizes Banner wouldn't have seen Barney the Dinosaur as a kid due to his poor childhood.)

Not one day did you see your daddy smile!

(Jenner emphasizes Banner's childhood problems as a result of bad parenting. Banner's father, Brian Banner, abused Bruce Banner and his mother, which helped give Bruce his mental illness that helped fuel his Hulk condition.)

"Hulk not strong enough to deal with denial!"

(Even if the Hulk is physically powerful and able to cause mass destruction, Jenner still believes that he is weak in his mental aspect, not having the strength to cope with his own denial.)

Laying you down, easy; that's kitchen tile!

(Jenner says that she can lyrically beat Hulk to the floor and lay him down similar to laying down a kitchen tile.)

Examine this under your microscope:

(As a scientist, Banner uses a microscope to examine small things in greater detail. Jenner recommends that Banner uses the microscope of his to examine the following diss in greater detail.)

You got no neck, but you still fucking choked!

(The Hulk's appearance is so buff that his neck is obscured from view, making him seem like he does not have one. Choking is used as a double-meaning here: to choke is obviously to take great difficulty in breathing, usually due to something obstructing the airway, but to "choke" in a metaphorical sense is to mess up. Jenner describes that, though Hulk appears to have no neck, making it impossible for him to choke, he was still capable of "choking" in way of botching his lyrics.)

After battling me, you're gonna always be pissed,

(The Hulk is known for his immense anger, resulting from Banner's transformation being activated by this emotion. Jenner claims that her rapping will make the Hulk permanently angry. This is also a reference to a famous scene in The Avengers where Banner reveals that his key to keeping the Hulk at bay is not to suppress his anger, but to control it, telling fellow Avenger Captain America, "I'm always angry.")

So the Hulk will stay forever; neither Bruce will exist!

(The Hulk does not revert his original form until he calms down, as Banner's anger is the source of his power. Jenner believes that the Hulk will remain mad perpetually, since he was dissed, and thus he cannot turn back into Bruce Banner. This might also be a callback to Banner's earlier line about Jenner's "lifetime of green", as Banner will remain the green Hulk permanently and therefore he will be the one doomed to a literal "lifetime of green". Jenner will stay as her identity as she is proud to be herself. Therefore at the end of the battle, Banner and Jenner will be permanently in their transformations and will no longer be Bruces.)

Scrapped lyrics

Caitlyn Jenner:

My transformation is a giant celebration

(Many people praised Jenner for her transition.)

Say hi to Caitlyn, the voice of the next Jenneration

(Jenner reintroduces herself as Caitlyn, representing the next generation (pun on Jenner's name). Many teenagers today have come out as transgender, and in response society has become more open to people being who they are in such a way.)

You're scared of the monster you have trapped inside

(This line appears to be what developed into the sequence beginning with, "Look, I understand that you hate yourself," and ending with, "Be green; it ain't none of my business.")

I changed on purpose like a butterfly of pride

(While Banner tries to control the Hulk and keep him at bay, Jenner transformed intentionally as a caterpillar would to a butterfly.)

Bruce Banner:

You look like a melted action figure of Glenn Close

(Banner calls Jenner grotesque and disfigured, like a plastic action figure that is partially melted, while comparing her to Glenn Close, a woman with a very bold chin and other similar facial features to Jenner.)

Went from cover of Wheaties to ugly bunches of gross

(Banner mentions that Jenner's transition went from a strong, able athlete with sponsorships, appearing on the Wheaties cereal box to an ugly woman. "Ugly bunches of gross" is a reference to the cereal Honey Bunches of Oats, comparing that to Wheaties.)

Scrapped lyric ideas

  • what are you running and jumping and skipping and vaulting away from - (Jenner would perform these during the decathlon.)
  • keeping up with the Kardashians but left your kids behind - ("Kept up with the Kardashians, but left some kids behind!")
  • sell out - (Refers to the large amount of sponsors Jenner had in her sporting heyday.)
  • mullet HE-MAN haircut - ("With your He-Man haircut and your Daisy Dukes.")
  • go the distance and cut off your discus - (Jenner changed genders from male to female. "Discus" here refers to the penis.)
  • HULK Kar-SMASH-IAN - (A pun on "HULK SMASH!" and "Kardashian." Possible reference to Jenner's hit-and-run incident involving a car smash.)
  • call this my victory lap I'm a trans-champion - (A "victory lap" is commonly done in sports as a celebration of winning, in which the winner runs a lap around the field (or in the case of a track sport, the track). Jenner is a champion at the decathlon, and a champion amongst the transgender community.)
  • your change was accident - (Banner transforms into the Hulk in accidental circumstances.)
  • Have a Banner - (Likely refers to the LGBT+ flag, or banner. Name pun on Bruce Banner.)
  • your change hurts people, mine empowers them - (The Hulk normally goes on fits of destruction, hurting the population, while Jenner became a heroine that helped inspire people that were uncomfortable with themselves to be empowered.)
  • Green giant - (Referring to the Hulk, a large green beast, and Green Giant, a canned food distributor with a large green mascot.)
  • shot put you to bed - (The shot put is a track and field sport involving the launching of a ball. Banner will be put to bed, or knocked out.)
  • Wheaties Box - ("Check me on the cereal box, doc!")
  • hired by Wheaties fired by CHIPS - (Jenner appeared on the Wheaties box and portrayed Officer Steve McLeish on CHiPS, but was taken off after seven episodes.)

References

Rap Meanings
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