Trevor Blanchard
Professor Armstrong
Rap & Society
Analysis of Literary and Poetic Devises in Immortal Technique – “Dance with the Devil”
The song “Dance with the Devil” by Immortal Technique uses various literary and poetic devices to convey the reality and dangers of the gangster illusion. The primary devices utilized in the song include imagery, allusion, alliteration, and point of view.
Imagery is possibly the most powerful device used throughout “Dance with the Devil”. Immortal Technique uses imagery to captivate the dark, graphic, and realistic actions and consequences associated with those who attempt to follow the gangster images portrayed in the mainstream hip-hop media. “Dance with the Devil” is the story of the young gangster Billy Jacobs and imagery is used to convey the desires that he had which lead him on a destructive pathway. The line “He used to fuck movie stars and sniff coke in his dreams” demonstrates Jacobs yearning for the luxurious lifestyle of hyper-sexuality and drug use that he has seen through others and has begun to fantasize for himself. The escalation of his desire is further conveyed by imagery. Billy Jacobs was not content with small time hustling and this is evident by the line, “smoked until his eyes would bleed, but he was sick of selling trees and gave in to his greed.” This simple rhyme indicates how smoking so much that “his eyes would bleed” along with the petty crime of selling “trees”, slang for marijuana, was no longer enough for him to feel contempt. After giving into temptation, his egregious acts were emphasized and well described through the use of Immortal Technique’s powerful imagery that sticks with the listener. Once Billy Jacobs got to meet the real gangsters that exist in society, his reality would forever be changed. The dark picture that many face, but the media doesn’t portray, is painted through Immortal Technique’s story. Billy Jacobs and the gangsters he was with sought out and kidnapped a female in the dark, and Immortal Technique states, “The shirt covered her face, but she screamed and clawed. So Billy stomped on the bitch, ‘til he broken her jaw.” Gangsters are often portrayed as being so tough that they easily command the sexual attention of women, but this line shows how in actuality many gangsters take what they want by force, and that they don’t consider the lives of the innocent bystanders that they are severely harming. Initially, it appears that this song will follow suit of most hip-hop songs with the gangsters being rewarded for their crimes, but the twist in this song shows the harshest of consequences that one may face when they live a lifestyle of crime and disregard for anyone other than themselves. This is perfectly conveyed when the song and story’s twist is revealed, and Immortal technique provides all the details that allow the listener to visualize Jacob’s daunting realization while on the dark roof top that he dragged the women to. Immortal Technique rhymes, “Cocked the gat to her head, and pulled back the shirt cover, but what he saw made him start to cringe and stutter, ‘cause he was staring into the eyes of his own mother.” The listener likely feels chills as they realize with Billy Jacobs that he has committed one of the worst atrocities imaginable, raping one’s own mother. This connection is extremely powerful, as the progression of events is fully described, including all of the actions such as cringing and stuttering, and “staring into the eyes” that occurred that night. These visuals are sure to leave the listener as speechless as Billy Jacobs.
Immortal Technique uses several allusions to popular culture in order to help explain the corruptive and devious thoughts that circulated through Billy Jacobs’ brain. Immortal Technique explains that part of Jacob’s transition from small time drug dealing to crack cocaine was because of the influential movies that he had seen. Immortal Technique states, “Hit the jackpot and wanted to move up to cocaine, fulfilling the Scarface fantasy stuck in his brain”. While the movie Scarface does not have a positive ending, any listener familiar with the movie understands the literal and emotional highs that Tony Montana experienced, and the vast power he achieved that a vast majority of the population will never be able to even dream of. In essence, the Scarface reference is indicative of the original gangster illusion that has been shifting and changing into the illusion that exists in modern day.
Furthermore, Immortal Technique uses alliteration to show the realistic negative experiences the victims of gangster violence have that often do not sell, or are not told. One example of alliteration is featured in the line “When they were done and she was lying bloody, broken, and bruised, one of them niggas pulled out a brand new twenty-two”. The repetition of the b sounds in “bloody, broken and bruised” is not only appealing to the ear of the listener; it also shows the trauma that victims of gang violence are exposed to.
Lastly, the song uses varying points of views that add meaning to the song and differentiate it from a vast majority of songs within the rap genre. Immortal Technique often uses a third person point of view when describing Billy Jacobs troubled upbringing, but he jumps into the story in the first person to describe his personal relations with Jacobs or his thoughts about him. In addition, Immortal Technique will shift into the second person, often acting as if Jacobs and the listener is the same person, as to possibly give his advice to anyone who shares Jacobs’ mindset. At the beginning of the song, Immortal Technique describes Jacobs’ family in the third person and states, “Nigga never had a father and his mom was a fiend.” This unfortunate family upbringing begins to explain how one can feel unhappy with their present standing in life and look to outside sources, such as media that perpetuates the gangster illusion, as a means of greater satisfaction. Immortal Technique uses the first person to describe his problems with gangsters that don’t accept their own failures. Billy Jacobs sold out others in order to get a reduced sentence and Immortal Technique reflects on this in the first person by stating, “me and niggas like this have never been equal, I don’t project my insecurities on other people.” Finally, Immortal Technique advises the listener to avoid the temptations of the gangster lifestyle in the second person, as he believes that evil will follow someone after unrighteous actions, even if they face no other consequences. In reference to the devil, Immoral Technique declares, “He could be standing right next to you, and you wouldn’t know, the devil grows inside the hearts of the selfish and wicked.”
In conclusion, Immortal Technique’s use of literary and poetic devises reinforces the idea that the gangster lifestyle really is an illusion, and that its glamorization in media such as hip-hop is grossly misrepresentative of the harsh realities that actual gangsters face.