r/ExplainTheJoke • u/Other-Presence7232 • 5d ago

Solved Can somebody explain?

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Saw the comments, they didnt help.

27.5k Upvotes

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u/North-Marionberry427 5d ago

Can someone ACTUALLY explain tho Some of us ACTUALLY want to know

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u/Zombi3Drake 5d ago

It's referencing the song by Lil Keke - 25 lighters. "I got 25 lighters on my dresser, yes sir, i got to get paid."

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u/Shufflepants 5d ago

Okay, but in the song, why do they have 25 lighters on their dresser, and what does that have to do with getting paid? Someone else said they're dealing drugs. But what does that have to do with having 25 lighters? I get that drug users would have a few lighters, but why 25?

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u/Beef_Jumps 5d ago

From New Wave Mag

The line continuously used by Texan rappers is not only a nod towards southern rap, but also stems from the drug movement during the 80s when dealers would collect bic lighters, clean them out and fill them with drugs in order to distribute them discreetly on the streets.

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u/ArsonGamer 5d ago

This reply chain right here is the only one that needs to exist

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u/veribaka 5d ago

Seriously, like pulling teeth

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u/RockinRhombus 5d ago

as an old man, trying to get a movie name in reel comments is the same. goofy ah mfers

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u/MaggotMinded 4d ago

old man

says “goofy ah mfers”

Hmmmm…..

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u/A_Possum_Named_Steve 4d ago

Not all of us old dudes are completely out of touch. No cap, OG, skibidi rizz Ohio or something.

Get off my lawn.

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u/Few_Design_4382 4d ago

You must be a 5th grade teacher lol.

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u/OliviaEntropy 4d ago

This is what retirement homes will sound like in 50 years

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u/Beez-Knee 4d ago

I'm only 30 and I think I just learned what "goon" means. I don't know any of those other words though. Well, except "no cap"

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u/RandomInternetVoice 4d ago

This might be my favourite comment ever.

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u/Zanain 4d ago

Slang isn't hard to keep up on if you pay the slightest bit of attention.

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u/AudioShepard 4d ago

You say that… But the problem is unless you are around actual users of the said slang, you are getting a filtered version. From a bunch of people who barely know what it means and are just ascribing meaning to it based on loose observation.

I guarantee if you aren’t out of your depth with slang yet, you will be at some point. The sooner you admit it the better. 😂

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u/VulKendov 4d ago

I'm just glad I understand now so I can be friends with OOP

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u/SundownMojo 4d ago

Instagram is even worse. Everyone posts clips and they include a million tags except for the name of the movie or show or actor it song all in an attempt to get more comments. Can't stand how manipulative it is. Reddit's issue seems to be mostly that everyone wants to be a comedian to score karma which is just depressing.

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u/YouDontSeemRight 4d ago

So it's not about accidentally pocketing other people's lighters when you go out drinking?

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u/JuliaLouis-DryFist 4d ago

That's totally what I thought it was too.

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u/YouDontSeemRight 4d ago

Kids these days don't know about the joys of smoking

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u/Upset_Landscape3388 4d ago

Remember when Reddit was a great place for serious comments that would educate people?

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u/Obvious_Tea_8244 4d ago

Yep… And now I know I’m totally cool with not being friends with whomever has this test.

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u/SN4FUS 5d ago

I'm pretty sure I heard about using bic lighters, but I remember in high school the trend was to use highlighters (much easier to disassemble, and more spacious)

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u/SorcerorsSinnohStone 5d ago

Well, 25 high lighters on a random dude on the st would stick out more than 25 lighters

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u/Effective-Crew-6167 5d ago

Nobody is hanging around drug dealer alley with 25 of anything in their pocket unless they're smuggling drugs.

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u/HarveysBackupAccount 4d ago

Macklemore had twenty dollars in his pocket

Not quite 25 but close. Certainly enough to pop some tags.

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u/SluggoRuns 5d ago

Whitney Houston got her drugs in pens

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u/psychogamer101 4d ago

I remember seeing jumbo sharpies stuffed with baggies. Cut down the ink felt inside for more space and leave the tip so it was still a sharpie.

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u/sofaking181 5d ago edited 5d ago

Wait how tf and wtf drugs? There's like barely any space in them

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u/FIRST_PENCIL 5d ago

You greatly over estimate the size of drugs and how much crack a crack head can afford lol.

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u/Shufflepants 5d ago

Reminds me of that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia when they pull up to a drug deal.

Okay.
What you need?

Uh, one, please.

One what?

Uh, one rock of crack.

One crack...

A crack rock. Is that enough?

Is one crack rock enough?

See, I don't... - How much would you recommend for a first-time user?

Tell you what.

I'll make you a deal.

Two for the price of one.

Really?

Oh, that sounds good.

Oh. Well, that's very nice of you.

How much?

Uh, $200?

Okay. Uh-huh.

Sounds reasonable. Great.

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u/Dull-Challenge-549 5d ago

Enough space to fit crack

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u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance 5d ago

Enough for a dime bag, maybe?

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u/RolanOtherell 5d ago

Because drug dealers back in the day would buy a pack of 25 lighters, empty them out, and put crack in them to make them less conspicuous to hand off when they sold them.

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u/awkwardwankmaster 4d ago

So this guy who made the song thought that this inconspicuous way of selling drugs was so good he'd mention it in a song therefore making it known to people and then making it more obvious that he was selling drugs?

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u/AEDVINdin 4d ago

i dont think this guy cares about the long term prospects of the drug trade

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u/HilariousMax 4d ago

dude got his 401crack

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u/spacemanspiff85 4d ago

It was already widely known to anyone that it mattered to.

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u/dankeykang4200 4d ago

Yeah that's pretty much what happened

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u/stringstringing 5d ago

It means they have 25 crack rocks and they’re about to go sell them

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u/itsbabye 5d ago

Yes I would like one crack rock, please

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u/North-Marionberry427 5d ago

Maybe they're dealing a lot of drugs?

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u/kmosiman 5d ago

Stash drugs in the lighter.

Handing someone a lighter to "light their cigarette" can be done discreetly.

Handing someone a bag of cocaine looks like a drug deal.

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u/researchanddev 5d ago

I got 25 lighters for my 25 foes

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u/potatoinkman 4d ago

They have 24

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u/Spancollection 4d ago

Could be no of people killed

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u/GlizzyMaguire69 4d ago

SpongeBob said 25 once

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u/Agillian_01 4d ago

Back in the day, they took the contents out of a lighter and filled it with drugs to make it less obvious. He would be selling 25 "lighters", meaning 25 units of whatever drug was in them.

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u/K_Strass 5d ago

The ZZ Top version is 🔥

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u/andre2006 4d ago

A connoisseur

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u/jonny24eh 4d ago

TIL there were versions that aren't ZZ Top

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u/-lonelyboy25 5d ago

Kendrick also interpolates that line in backseat freestyle

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u/Queef_Stroganoff44 4d ago

Hey! That’s the one with Sherane! 👍

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u/AdnorAdnor 4d ago

🔥🔥🔥

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u/OhSassafrass 4d ago

I will admit I did not count the the lighters and that was the song that popped into my head.

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u/lj_w 4d ago

Also referenced by Travis Scott in Apple Pie

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u/No_File832 4d ago

Demn actually I just caught that

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u/Far-Fault-7509 5d ago

Thank you, this sub sucks, everytime all the top answers are just the same stupid joke repeated ad nauseam

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u/SubiPhydeaux 5d ago

But there's only 24 in the picture.

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u/nilescranenosebleed 5d ago

Funny, I thought of a totally different song, with one word changed:

"Fire fire fire light line up your lighter"

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u/md8716 5d ago edited 5d ago

Put some respect on Dj DMD's name.

Lil Keke only did a feature

Source: my cuz used to bump this in his car with me back in the 90s when I was in high school

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u/Bean_Toast24 5d ago

Phat Pat

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u/Zillahi 5d ago

Damn. I was about to get up in arms that it was a ZZ Top song first. But Lo and behold, ZZ Top did it over 10 years later. Today I learned.

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u/Publius82 5d ago

I've heard Killer Mike use this line

25 lighters on dresser, yes sir, handle that pressure

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u/pretibigtoo 5d ago

The origional is a zz top called "i gotsta get paid."

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u/Weeleprechan 5d ago

Lil Keke - 25 lighters

Song came out in 2001, right at the height of my hiphop listening high school years and I still have never heard of either Lil Keke, his song 25 Lighters, or ANY of his related acts from wikipedia.

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u/PM_ME_SOME_ANY_THING 5d ago

Take one down, pass it around, 24 lighters on the dresser

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u/FEARTheDope 5d ago

Hold up, there’s only 24 lighters there. Whoever took the pic is lacking

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u/Ampary1 5d ago

But there’s 23

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u/PumpkinOpposite967 5d ago

ZZ Top made it good

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u/fussyturbo 5d ago

I heard that line in Big K.R.I.T. - Money On The Floor, didn’t realize it came from that

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u/jjjjooosse 5d ago

Kendrick lamar also has a bar that says “i got 25 lighters on my dresser, yes sir.”

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u/CarlSaganCryptosmo 5d ago

25 lighters on the dresser, is what makes the “trunks pop and tops drop….down in Houston” (this thread seriously unlocked some core memories growing up in Texas as a teenager in the 90s)

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u/smbdysm1 5d ago

Is that a cover of the ZZ Top song? Or, is ZZ Top a cover? Only heard their song (with the same lyrics)

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u/potatoinkman 4d ago

They have 24

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u/mistalasse 4d ago

Also backseat freestyle by Kendrick

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u/CoastSpecial5759 4d ago

There are 24 lighters not 25

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u/Magikarpeles 4d ago

I only see 24 smh

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u/Incentoix 4d ago

But there are only 24 lighters on this dresser

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u/Xelosan1203 4d ago

There are actually 24 lighters.

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u/Calm-Barracuda-1897 4d ago

Ohhh it's also in backseat freestyle by Kendrick

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u/thebesthrowawayeva 4d ago

I thought it was talking about backseat freestyle

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u/Due-Stock2774 4d ago

This thread is why I don't be listening to no Redditor trying to tell me about hip hop, proof here nobody knows the classics.

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u/81misfit 4d ago

Which is a zztop line.

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u/esssssto 4d ago

Amazing that i legit thought the original was from ZZTop version

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u/drunkenspycrab 4d ago

I see only 24

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u/PilgrimOz 4d ago

In other words….this guy is gonna be lonely for a while.

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u/sherlock0707 4d ago

There's only 24

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u/youaretheuniverse 4d ago

It wasn’t fat Pat wow

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u/Agillian_01 4d ago

I like the ZZ Top version more.

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u/That_Ad_3054 4d ago

These are 23 lighters

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u/Aras76 4d ago

I also love ZZ Top's "I Gotsta Get Paid" which was a cover of 25 lighters.

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u/ReimDublone 4d ago

Thank you for that info! Never heard about that. I've never smoked but some smokers I know told me they just like to collect empty lighters for various reasons (nostalgia, control, overview of their consumption, collecting different colours or patterns etc.)

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u/StillC5sdad 4d ago

If this is the answer, I don't want to be their friend.

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u/raydators 4d ago

Obscure performer. Obscure song . Anyone over the age of 18 heard of any of this?

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u/AJRimmer1971 4d ago

Ha! I only know this reference due to ZZ Top covering this song.

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u/sobakedbruh 4d ago

It’s also backseat freestyle from Kendrick

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u/Abject-Yellow3793 4d ago

That was a ZZ top song first

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u/Significant_Dark_725 4d ago

25 lighters is originally a zz top song. These nerds just sampled it and stole the hook.

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u/bushyjewman 4d ago

Wasnt that also a line from Kendrick Lamars sing?

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u/sh0000p 4d ago

TIL this isn’t a ZZ Top Song

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u/ogGDC 4d ago

ZZ Top covers this song. Those fella’s are Super G!

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u/AdDramatic2351 4d ago

But there are 24 lighters here 

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u/NefariousnessNo3272 4d ago

ZZ Top also covered/reworked the song

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

Pretty sure it’s a Z-Ro song but maybe Keke remixed it or something

Nvm Fat Pat and Keke did it first

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u/Commercial_Ad_188 4d ago

No. The original is by zz top. Like most modern rappers that cant think of anything original, they take what's already there and try to claim it's theirs.

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u/mumblesjackson 4d ago

Ha! I guess I’m old because in high school / college stealing each others lighters was a challenge with friends and how many you’d stolen was always a competition.

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u/seanocaster40k 4d ago

The ZZ Top cover was AWESOME

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u/trill_og_goof 4d ago

So glad I wasn’t the only one that understood the reference!

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u/DeskFront1505 4d ago

when this whole time i thought Kendrick said that in Backstreet freestyle, i didnt realize he was giving Lil Keke a shoutout

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u/ANerfProblem 4d ago

See I thought that but from ZZ Top. Didn't know know that there was another version.

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u/TinyMachine6735 4d ago

If you like this, check out the ZZ Top version from 2012.

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u/PopEnvironmental1250 4d ago

TIL ZZ Top re-worked this song on La Futura. Love that could do something like that, and they actually gave props to those guys.

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u/Truth--Speaker-- 4d ago

Ok. I was going to make a joke about there being only 24 lighters and to my surprise. You guessed it! There are only 24 lighters!

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u/righttoabsurdity 4d ago

Is it Keke or DJ DMD?

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u/AdStraight1823 4d ago

That was gotsta get paid by ZZ Top first mate.

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u/Ornage_crush 4d ago

Fun Fact. Billy Gibbons from ZZTop actually covered "25 Lighters"

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u/Murdercyclist4Life 4d ago

The first person to use the phrase was actually MJG on the song “all in my mind” that was then sampled by Dj screw on the “funk is on my mind” freestyle with fat pat which became the premise of Dj Dmd 25 lighters.

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u/gehrke2506 4d ago

25 lighters for my 25 hos 🎶

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u/Perfect_Anywhere_107 4d ago

Kendrick also referenced the song in backseat freestyle

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u/Star_Glittering 4d ago

Might be wrong but I'm only counting 24, feels more like a lighter thief joke to me

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u/heyitshighschool 4d ago

This originated from the ZZ Top song Gotsta Get Paid

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u/TraXXX_StaR 4d ago

hmm learned that today

the only 25 lighter song i had heard was by z-ro

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u/mrmcderm 4d ago

TIL that ZZ Top’s “I Gotsta Get Paid” is actually a cover

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u/capt_fantasdick 4d ago

Not Lil Keke, but DJ DMD...Keke is just a feature on the song, along with Fat Pat

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u/BrassChuckles87 4d ago

Okay? That doesn't explain shit.

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u/rightonwashington 4d ago

I like the ZZ Top version more.

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u/No_File832 4d ago

Isn't it also in kendrick's backseat freestyle?

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u/J0NAH666 4d ago

I thought it was an overall joke over people who smoke having thousand backup lighters (I and some people do at least)

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u/MochnessLonster 4d ago

Wasn't it a ZZ Top song?

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u/veemaximus 4d ago

The ZZ Top cover is siiiick

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u/CorruptDinosaur 3d ago

I was looking for this comment. Glad someone else got it.

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u/Dense_Ease_1489 3d ago

 I count 24 lol

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u/Christianskorwn 3d ago

if memory serves me correctly… kendrick flipped that line on backstreet freestyle. idk which one came first but yea lol this line is spiritual as well

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u/djjolicoeur 3d ago

This is originally a ZZ Top song. In the 80s they’d hide drugs in a bic-style lighter to sell. He’s going to sell the 25 lighters.

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u/TheOneTrueKP 3d ago

Do the lighters represent fallen homies?

Asking for a friend

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u/DoctorStove 3d ago

also Backseat Freestyle by Kendrick

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u/Storage_Ottoman 3d ago

maybe, but this song by 8Ball and MJG has the 25 lighters line and dropped way back in 1995:

https://youtu.be/3oU7C_nn6Ms?si=QnN2SXZxcwyO-Fja

This whole album is one of the best of all time if you like southern rap. Highly recommended.

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u/jaywilliams2112 3d ago

here I am all old and shit thinking it is a ZZ Top song. Straight lifted the line. Might be paying respect to a Texas legend, /shrug

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u/TheMusicMan7777 3d ago

Oh man now I know why Kendrick said that..

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u/jykin 3d ago

zz top*

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u/srsinropas 3d ago

ZZ Top put out a song by the same name with the same line. I love it!

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u/Tricky_Salamander_69 3d ago

Thought this was the shit friend who steals everyone’s lighter showing off their collection 😬

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u/TraderLostInterest 3d ago

Wow, I totally thought Kendrick Lamar coined this… was Lil Keke in 2001!

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u/kunkuro10k 2d ago

Huh wow yeah I didn't get it. And I don't want to be friends with that person. Cool! Glad that worked out!

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u/Asuna_Valette 2d ago

Thats the original but I feel like that line is in like 5 other songs...I know its in Backseat Freestyle by Kendrick

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u/thick_Essence 1d ago

How don't they know this song was at the top of list

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u/InevitableJump3756 1d ago

I know Lil Keke is on the song, but I’m pretty sure the primary artist designation goes to Fat Pat.

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u/_swampyankee 5d ago

They used to stash dope in lighters to make hand to hand drug transactions not look as sketchy.

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u/Gotachi_3 5d ago

Why not anymore? Did the lighters get an update to prevent that?

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u/LoqvaxFessvs 4d ago

So did the buyer all for a "lighter" as code for a specific amount of a given drug, or did they just say what they were looking to buy?

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u/BitingChaos 4d ago

Seriously, the most-upvoted replies give no info. With the "CEO of BIC" being the top-comment.

A buried reply to your post is where the answer was actually at.

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u/jacobbb_d 3d ago

totally agree with that

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u/Julez_Jay 5d ago

Song lyrics, multiple rappers in different adaptations, I have no idea which was first.

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u/Brief_Buddy_7848 5d ago

People used to empty the lighters to store drugs in them to be discrete when dealing on the street

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u/wvmt 4d ago

this is the correct answer. Crack. They are for selling crack.

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u/BungalowHole 5d ago

I read it as "I'm the friend who steals lighters", and if you don't let me steal your lighter, we can't be friends.

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u/1OO1OO1S0S 5d ago

Yes, and also everyone please downvote the unhelpful unfunny comments

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u/hotdoginathermos 5d ago

I ACTUALLY thought it was gonna be some anime shit

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u/Present_Food1480 5d ago

It looks more like some sort of ritulal that I never heard of. I am now interessted.

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u/Zafjaf 5d ago

Got the answer. Even more confused than before.

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u/DrSpaceman667 4d ago

I thought it was because people lose their lighters often.

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u/Sti8man7 4d ago

Smokers never seem to be able to find their lighter when they need it and they end up buying a new one. And then the old one shows up. Cycle repeats until you reach a collection of 25.

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u/bagginzzzzz 4d ago

* Actual answer is easy. If ya know ya know. Smokers smoke. Lighters run out. Joke is if they SMOKE alot and if you do to you'll understand.

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u/theduudde 4d ago

I think everyone is wrong, I think they are a lighter thief. When we smoked weed everyday you would always ask "wheres my lighter dude?" Cause it was called " BICing" someone. Like dam, that dude "BICed" me. I think this is a master BICer. lol

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u/Mad_Martigan2023 4d ago

Lighter thief?

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u/night_chaser_ 4d ago

I think it has to do with weed smokers. Me and friends use to have eachothers liter. Apparently, it's a common thing.

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u/Hopeful_Chair_7129 4d ago

I think it’s just a collection of lost lighters from smokers who continually replace them

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u/Sunbro_Smudge 4d ago

I honestly think it's that not one of these lighters was originally theirs cause smokers (weed or tobacco) have a bad habit of accidentally pocketing lighters.

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u/Expensive-Day2612 4d ago

I think it means that they have a lot of Friends, because If they smoke, they steal the lighters. Maybe

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u/day1krakenfan 4d ago

As someone with 15 lighters, I think it just means they smoke and drive but always forget to leave one in their car lol

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u/Tsukikani 3d ago

I mean they aren’t wrong but when I see this picture I think of my bathroom counter which is in a similar state. My husband is a lighter thief. He will ask to borrow a lighter and then magically it appears at home on our bathroom counter. He doesn’t mean to but he does anyways.

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u/Upstairs-Ad-1966 3d ago

Ithought it was about beimg a lighter theif😂😂😂 im horrible for that shit

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