Remembering When Killah Priest Dropped B.I.B.L.E, A Song About Acquiring a Knowledge Of Self. Image credit: The Offering ("Killah Priest" album)
“Liquid Swords” is considered one of the great hip-hop albums. The second solo studio album by Wu-Tang Clan founder GZA, it was released on Nov. 7, 1995, by Geffen Records, and it is still a must-listen for most hip-hop heads. While the album includes track after track of hits, one of the gems is “B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)” by fellow Wu-Tang member Killah Priest.
“B.I.B.L.E” explores the religious fallacies that have been instilled in the Black community, as well as the hypocrisies in organized religion that many children are forced to accept, NYS Music reported.
Killah Priest is known to spit intense spiritual lyrics containing religious metaphors. He often references the Black Hebrew Israelites in his music. “B.I.B.L.E.” flows right along those lines. The hip-hop artist used the song to talk about acquiring knowledge of self.
When GZA decided to include “B.I.B.L.E.” on the “Liquid Swords” album, producer and Wu-Tang co-founder RZA didn’t know where to put the song in the track lineup, Killah Priest said in an interview with Righteous Disorder TV.
Ultimately, it became a bonus track.
Making “B.I.B.L.E.” “was a process. I just kicked a rhyme for GZA one day before it was even a song and GZA always loved that verse,” and soon after, it was turned into a full song, Killah Priest told Righteous Disorder TV.
Here are some of the lyrics for the highly personal song: “Knowledge this wisdom, this goes back when I was 12 I loved doing right but I was trapped in Hell Had mad ideas, sad eyes and tears Years of fears but yo, my foes couldn’t bear I searched for the truth since my youth”
Killah Priest then raps about seeking out his history as a Black person. “He is ignoring the teachings of the church and doing his own research on the bible and what it means, as well as who it is meant for. As he learns more, he uncovers new mysteries that he was never taught, and he begins to teach others what he has learned,” NYS Music explained.
Killah Priest rhymes, “But I ignored and explored my history that was untold And watched mysteries unfold And dropped a jewel like Solomon but never followed men ‘Cause if you do, your brain is more hollow than Space oblivia or the abyss With no trace of trivia left with the hiss Does it pay to be deaf, dumb and blind? From a slave, we was kept from the mind.”
He addresses “the basic instructions before leaving Earth”: “For years religion, did nothing but divide The Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth The first shall be last and the last shall be first The basic instructions before leaving Earth.”
Of his own lesson of knowledge of self, Killah Priest rhymes: “Before I converted, I was perverted and knowledge was asserted The study of wisdom, I preferred it The understanding, it gave me mental freedom I even learnt Caucasian were really the Tribe of Edom The white image of Christ is really Cesare Borgia And uhh, the second son of Pope Alexander The Sixth of Rome and once the picture was shown That’s how the devils tricked my dome.”
Though the song was released 26 years ago, it is still inspiring people as much today as it did when it first came out.
“B.I.B.L.E by Killah Priest is in my top 5 hip-hop tracks of all-time, severely underrated,” tweeted The Moguldom Nation CEO Jamarlin Martin. “For someone acquiring a knowledge of self for the first time, it was like an anthem you could play 50x back to back. This certainly wasn’t a normal pen. Music that makes you think”.
The song also gets love on YouTube.
“That’s why I love priest! One of my favorite rappers! HE SMART! “ Phillip Prince posted.
Others found the song inspirational. “Knowledge is FREE. You just gotta be willing to step outside the box u were raised in and go get it. Cuz ya aint gone learn much from ya parents, or teacher if they are in that same exact box you are in. Its a cycle that keeps going,and going. It wont end until u have the heart and soul to step outside of it and seek real,uncut,unbiased,pure,raw TRUTH and KNOWLEDGE,” HateOn Playa commented.
“Crazy that the jewel on Liquid Swordz was a KP joint,” Tony Spraks comments.
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