Inside “Yasuke”: 5 TOUGH Writing Techniques Dizzy DROS Uses
Dizzy DROS dropped the 3-track EP, Tall Poppy Syndrome, with a very clear approach: sharp writing, dense meaning, no empty bars. On this project, lyrics move like puzzles, simple on the surface, complicated the moment you slow down. One of the strongest examples of that is the track “Yasuke”.
This breakdown looks at five techniques DROS uses on “Yasuke.” From phonetic encryption and hidden historical names to Arabic–Japanese crossovers and mathematical metaphors, these bars aren’t for passive listening. They’re to be decoded. And we’re here to do THAT!
Technique 1: Phonetic Encryption (Homophonic Pun)
Dizzy DROS said:
منين تندوز ضربو بفردي خاوي بحالا على بطة نيش
Mneen tandoz, darbo b ferdi khawi, b7alla 3la betta niyash.
(When I pass, shoot with an empty gun, like aiming at a duck).
On the surface, this feels like a simple Duck Hunt reference, the ’90s game where you shoot ducks with a light gun that doesn’t use real bullets. But DROS hides the company name inside the dialect itself. When you fuse “منين تندوز” (mneen tandoz) phonetically, it sounds like Nintendo.
That is slick, and the delivery goes further: the soft, dry gunshot effect in the background mimics the actual sound of Duck Hunt. So you get the game, the console brand, and the sound design, all folded into one passing line.
Technique 2: Onomastic Wordplay (Layered Name-Play)
Then he said:
شحال من قرع وخا فرع الطرح طفاه خوفو
Ch7al mn 9ra3, wakha fre3 tter7, tfah khoufu
(How many bald heads rose high and their own fear put them out).
Intended meaning: “So many people with potential, even after dominating the scene, their own fear extinguished their flame.”
At first listen, this bar reads as a sharp reflection on self-sabotage. All around the world, there are people with great potential, and even we they start spreading out, they fold (fearing others or different things). But once you pay close attention, as DROS opens the door to ancient Egypt earlier in the track, this line flips into a coded historical sequence.
Inside the phrasing, he quietly builds the names of the three Great Pyramid kings through phonetics:
- “منقرع” bends into Menkaure
- “وخافرع” bends into Khafre
- The closing word “خوفو” lands perfectly as Khufu, while still meaning “his fear” in Darija.
So the bar works on two layers at the same time. On one hand, it’s a statement about fear killing momentum. On the other, it secretly recites an entire royal lineage: Menkaure → Khafre → Khufu, hidden inside everyday Moroccan speech.
شحال من قرع (منقرع) وخا فرع (خفرع) الطرح طفاها خوفو (خوفو )
VIDEO: 01 – Dizzy DROS – Yasuke (TPS) | 1st track of EP ”Tall Poppy Syndrome”. Uploaded on May 1, 2025
Technique 3: Double Hidden Words (Samurai Theme)
He continued rapping:
ياسوكي بخنجر يا بني زنّا لبدّو لي خاف منّي نجا
Yasuke b khinjar, ya bani znna, lbdou lli khaf menni nja
(Yasuke with a dagger, yo son of a prostit*te, whoever feared me escaped).
Again, on the surface, this is just another case of intimidation. DROS inhabits the character of Yasuke, the African samurai in Japan, and speaks from that warrior’s mindset. But under the threat sits one of the most advanced phonetic tricks on the track.
- “يا بني” (ya bani – O son of) contracts into “ياباني” (yabani – Japanese)
- “منّي نجا” (menni nja – escaped from me) contracts into “نينجا” (ninja)
So within one aggressive sentence, DROS hides Japan, samurai, and ninja using nothing but Arabic pronunciation. The sentence never breaks its meaning, its rhythm, or its tone. It’s bilingual encoding perfectly done.
Technique 4: Semantic Chaining (Conceptual Tagging)
He then said:
بجي طي يي نجي لدارك، واخا ما جايش وبشيرك، نشوتليك تريوا فوق من راسك حرف شين، على الفعال ديالك باينا غا تخلص بشيكل.
B GTI nji ldarek, wakha ma jaych o b'chirk, Nshootilek triwa fog men rassk 7arf shin, 3la dok lf3ayel dyalk, bayna gha tkhelless b chekl.
Here, DROS weaponizes the language of faith to mark the target. The phrase “nji l‘darek” (“I come to your door”) phonetically echoes الإنجيل (Injīl – the Gospel), mimicking evangelical door-knocking, while “o b’chirk” sonically suggests تَبْشِير (tabshīr – proselytizing). This sets up a symbolic parallel: just as missionaries arrive with scripture, DROS arrives with condemnation.
The judgment is visualized by “shooting a three” (triwa, a basketball term) which is also the letter Shin (ش), an Arabic letter defined by three dots on top. This “three” is aimed above the head.
Second, he defines that identity through actions and currency. He labels their deeds as “f3ayel” (actions), also an Arabic grammatical term of conjugation (تفعيل). The penalty for these actions is to “pay in shekels” (b’chekl), Israel’s currency. Chekl also echoes شَكْل (shakl – grammatical form): their actions (f3ayel, a grammatical form) demand payment in shekels (chekl), which is also a matter of form/shape (shakl), the very shape of the three-dotted Shin that marks them. Tell me how this is not mind blowing!
Technique 5: Semantic Rooting (Mathematical Deconstruction)
Then he really said:
واللي غلط ف الأسلوب نردّو للأصل كالجذر
W lli ghlat fl uslub, nrdou li l'asel, ki l'jadr
(Whoever distorts the style, I return him to the origin, like a root).
He employs conceptual radicalization, a process of deconstructing false narratives or ‘corrupted styles’ by applying a kind of lyrical square root. Just as the mathematical operation √9 reverses 3² to return to the fundamental unit (3), DROS’s pen reverses convoluted narratives to expose the original truth.
The technique is brilliantly self-referential: the Arabic word for “style,” الأسلوب (al-uslub), contains within it the word for “root,” phonetically hinted at by الأس (al-us), which also means “the exponent” (as in 3²). Thus, the very concept he critiques (uslub/style) etymologically contains the tool (us/exponent) for its own deconstruction via his radicalizing process. In this single framework, DROS puts on the hat of a mathematician, using the radical sign (√) as an active verb in his artistic arsenal.
Wrapping it Up
“Yasuke” is like a puzzle box. You can play it on speakers and catch the energy and general imagery. Or you can slow it down and start peeling layers: phonetics inside slang, history hidden in Darija, Japanese encoded in Arabic, grammar blended with currency, and math used as a threat. Dizzy DROS writes for both crowds: those who hear and those who listen.
