Mikael Gabriel - Big Steppa (Breakdown)

 I still don't know if this song is referencing another song or another rapper or what, but I wanted to talk about it anyway. I just translated the song for my other blog right before releasing this one, so I now have a bit deeper understanding of the lyrics. It's a lot of bragging and rhyming for rhyming's sake, but I thought it'd make good practise material for me on breaking down bars and rhymes, since it's in Finnish.

If it's a proper rhyme, it's just highlighted, if it's a slant rhyme, it's in italics and highlighted. 

Breaking down the rhyming

Chorus

Yah, yah

Bitch, neva ollu vika, mä oon siks eka

Otan six steps niin ku oisin Big Steppa

Mm, niin ku oisin Big Steppa

Hmm, niin ku oisin Big Steppa

Bitch, neva ollu vika, mä oon siks eka

Otan six steps niin ku oisin Big Steppa

Mm, niin ku oisin Big Steppa

Hmm, niin ku oisin Big Steppa

In summary:
- bitch, siks, six & big
- ne- and steps both have the E-sound and that's why there's a slant rhyme - "bitch ne-"/"six steps", I-E/I-E
- neva, vika, eka, Steppa all have the E-A sound combo, so they rhyme, "neva" is a slant rhyme and the others are proper rhymes
- I didn't put it in, but "oon siks" is techniclly a slant rhyme with "oisin", they both have the O-I... but it's actually OO-I and OI-I, there's diphthongs, so I don't think it counts. If he pronounced is "oosin" it would count, but he pronounces it with his natural dialect and doesn't slant it either.

Verse 1

Yah, okei, ayo

En saanu otet, koitin pitää kiinni täst, bih

Oli nuudeleit huudeilla, nyt Michelinin tähti

En mee eteenpäi vaa pikemminki bäkkii

Ku Pike pitää backii, junnut ettii idäs stackii/täkkii

Ku on varaa nii on valinnanvaraa

Ku on rahaa nii on Pradaa, pääl parasta kamaa

Muijas kutsu sääliks, ei sil ollu ikin daddyy, yeah

Droppaa se sun addy, potki päähä niin ku baddy, yeah

Päätit tähä räkii, pääsit tekee bägii, annoin tilaa

Harva eteen näki, pesi käsii ennen pandemiaa

Heitin femmat mandemin kaa, tehtii hittei Santerin kaa

Viime vuon vasikat kanteli, homie joutu kalterin taa

Yyh, no kai mä oon sit valtavirtaa

Fuck that, ayo, nouskaa mun kaa vastarintaan

En oo maksamas täst halpaa hintaa

Tää on sixpack, bitch, joo mä näytän sulle paljast pintaa

In summary:
- kiinni, -linin, -minki
- Michelinin, pikemminki, ettii = I-E-I-I in "Michelinin" and "pikemminki", they're a proper rhyme, but "ettii" only has E-I(I), so that makes it a slant rhyme? Maybe? Idk? Technically it's E-II, the I is long, but the next word is "idäs", which starts with an I and in spoken Finnish, there's no gap between the words, it's pronounced "ettiidäs", so it doesn't matter if the word "ettii" has two I's
- "täst, bih", tähti, bäkkii, backii, stackii/täkkii are all pronounced with the vowels Ä-I: [tästbih], [tähti], [bäkkii], [bäkkii] as well, [stäkkii]/[täkkii]. Because of what I just explained with the "ettiidäs" combo, we have a similar combo here that I think creates a double entendre. It could be "idäs stäckii" or "idäs täkkii" because both are pronounced "idästäkkii".
- alliteration on the "mee" and "etee-", Finnish rappers love using alliteration - in Finnish end rhymes are called "loppusointu", lit. "end rhyme", and alliterations are called "alkusointu", lit. "beginning rhyme". So they count as rhymes, I don't know if other languages count them as such but I will.
- another alliteration with "Pike" and "pitää"
- pitää and idäs, with the I-Ä, create a slant rhyme (is it slant? I'm not sure... well, it's a rhyme nevertheless. I'm here to learn, not to be perfect.)
- What is this called, I do not know, when there's a word, and then there's a compound word, and that compound word has a word in it that's a homonym of the other word - they look the same, and sound the same, but mean different things. That's what we have here - "varaa" and "valinnanvaraa". "Olla varaa" means "be able to afford sth" and "valinnanvara" means "freedom of choice". The word "vara" means almost the same in both of them, though - you can afford to choose, you have whatever it requires to be able to choose, in this case money.
- varaa, -varaa, rahaa, Pradaa, parasta, kamaa, with the A-sounds
- pääl, sääliks, daddy [dädi], addy [ädi], "-hä nii", baddy [bädi], päätit, räkii, pääsit, bägii, näki, käsii. That's a lot of Ä-I's.
- slant rhyme in pesi, tehtii, -teli
- then it gets interesting, the part that inspired me to write this post today - "ennen pandemiaa", "femmat mandemin kaa", "hittei Santerin kaa", "homie joutu kalterin taa", "oon sit valtavirtaa", "nouskaa mun kaa vastavirtaan, "halpaa hintaa", "paljast pintaa". In fact, I need to break this down further, I just ran out of colors that show against a black background:

    Harva eteen näki, pesi käsii ennen pandemiaa

    Heitin femmat mandemin kaa, tehtii hittei Santerin kaa

    Viime vuon vasikat kanteli, homie joutu kalterin taa

    Yyh, no kai mä oon sit valtavirtaa

    Fuck that, ayo, nouskaa mun kaa vastarintaan

    En oo maksamas täst halpaa hintaa

    Tää on sixpack, bitch, joo mä näytän sulle paljast pintaa

Ok, so...
- The E-I sounds in pesi, heitin, tehtii, -teli, -mie... Wait... "-mie" doesn't have a E-I, why do I hear a rhyme?? Maybe it was just his flow... [a few minutes later:] Or is it the "-teli, ho-" and "-mie, jou-"? I think so! So that's a separate slant rhyme internally, that threw me off, got it!
- maybe a stretch, but the Ä-sounds in kä-, mä, täst, mä (again) & näy-
- the end rhymes, starting with a four-syllable A-E-I-AA: pandemiaa, "Santerin kaa", kalterin taa", and continueing with their slant rhyme, a four-syllable A-A-I-AA: valtavirtaa, vastarintaan, "halpaa hintaa" "paljast pintaa". So, two sets of proper rhymes, that in comparison to each other are slant rhymes, becauce the rhyme isn't "perfect"?
- "maksamas" also has a lot of A-sounds, like the end rhymes, but... is it a slant rhyme?
- alliteration on "Viime vuon vasikat"
- nouskaa & "mun kaa", internal rhyme
- six- & bitch, internal rhyme
- I think that's all? I hear so many rhymes in there the scheme sounds crazy (in a good way), but... Sure, this is a lot for a Finnish rapper, some of the best rhyming I've seen thus far in Finnish, but internationally... Four syllable rhyme scheme is good, but it's not groundbreakingly awesome, right? This week I showed Anthony Ray, a Belgian rapper/YouTuber, some DAMAG3 songs, and he liked her music, I think (?) but was only truly impressed and scrolled the song back when she had a 7-syllable rhyme scheme. Four syllable end rhymes are nothing to these guys, they're the bare minimum. For a signed mainstream Finnish rapper, though! I'm about 10 years behind on the current trends of the Finnish mainstream rap scene, but from what I know, the extent of the rhyming is the last word, and that last word usually has 2-3 syllables in it. They do slant rhymes, but mainstream audience (=the entire country, since rap is huge here) doesn't like those, they don't sound like rhymes to them. Foreign rappers and rap fans seem to think slant rhymes are even cooler than regular rhymes, but it's the opposite for the mainstream audience in Finland. Using slant rhymes, to them means the rapper is "a bad songwriter", since they can't think of words that rhyme better. It's been tough trying to get rid of this mindset, but now I think utilizing slant rhymes gives the rapper a lot more choices on what to rhyme, and it shows creativity on the MC's part if they can think of words that slant rhyme AND work well in the song. As I mentioned earlier, alliterations are popular. I'd go as far as to say that it stems as far back as our national epic, Kalevala (1835). It's a collection of poetry, and rap lyricism is the modern form of traditional poetry, I feel like. I don't think most Finnish rappers think about the roots of the alliteration usage (apart from maybe Asa and Paleface), they just do it because the Finnish music they grew up listening to, rap and otherwise, has a lot of alliterations. They're also taught to us in school when we write poems there. Both alliterations and end rhymes. But not internal rhymes and slant rhymes, those come from abroad, from foreign rap music. And are therefore not as prevelant in Finnish music scene, incl. rap. So, to me, it's obvious Mikael Gabriel has been listening to foreign rap music and that's where he's picked up that (and the Anglicisms make it quite obvious as well). Anyway, I digress. Back to the rhymes.

Verse 2

Meitsi liekis, tääl soi häläri

Sataviiskybää länäril

Kakssataaviiskybän släbärit

Ei teiä hommat kestä päivänvaloo, ne on liia hämärii

Annoin lävärin snägäril

Osun aina niin ku lämäril änäris

Jäbääki hämäsin, sul on jämät sun hätäris

Tääl on tupa täpis, kuka teil päi enää käväsis?

Sä maksat duussei ku mun tilit on tasan

Mä oon kesyttämätön ja villi ku vasa

Lojaalinen, ku se on sillee mun tapa

Vaik teit virheit, nii mä seisoin aina silti sun takan

Ä-Ä-I in häläri, länäril, släbärit, hämärii, lävärin, snägäril, lämäril, änäris, jäbääki, hämäsin, (jämät), hätäris, käväsis

Slant rhyme in tupa & täpis, with the T and P sounds. Is that a slant rhyme or a proper rhyme? 

Alliteration in "Tääl on tupa täpis, kuka teil päi enää käväsis"

I-I and A-A: tilit - tasan, villi - vasa, silti - takan.
Plus "sillee" which has one I but... Yeah, Idk if it counts? "Tapa" rhymes with the rest of the words.

The S-alliteration "se on sillee mun tapa" & "seisoin aina silti sun takan".

Breaking down the bars (as well as I can) + translation

For just the translation, go here: Mikael Gabriel - Big Steppa (zinethatranslates.blogspot.com)

Yah, yah

Bitch, neva ollu vika, mä oon siks eka

 Bitch, never been the last, that's why I'm the first

Otan six steps niin ku oisin Big Steppa

 I take six steps like I was a Big Steppa

Mm, niin ku oisin Big Steppa

Hmm, niin ku oisin Big Steppa

Mm, like I was Big Steppa
Hmm, like I was Big Steppa

Bitch, neva ollu vika, mä oon siks eka

Otan six steps niin ku oisin Big Steppa

Hmm, niin ku oisin Big Steppa

Hmm, niin ku oisin Big Steppa

I think this is a reference to a song where someone takes six steps or a person called Big Steppa who took six steps... Literally or figuratively. But I find too many options by googling to know which one he means...

But as far as I know, "a big steppa" is also a slang term for someone who's, like, "the top dawg", The Man, something like that... Someone who's rich and powerful. And this song's about boasting, so it'd fit.

Yah, okei, ayo

En saanu otet, koitin pitää kiinni täst, bih

 I couldn't get a hold of it, I tried to hold onto this, bih

Oli nuudeleit huudeilla, nyt Michelinin tähti

 It was noodles in the hood, now it's a Michelin star

He used to be poor and that's why he are noodles and lived in "the hood" - it's not a perfect translation, but it'll do. Finland doesn't have hoods, not the kind they do in America. Instead of the hood we have "lähiö", which internet dictionaries translate to "commuter town". The entire country is divided into municipalities, some of which are big enough to be considered towns or cities. Within the limits of the town/city (=the municipality) there is the town/city center and maybe few living areas right next to it, then there's a shit ton of forest or fields surrounding that, with smaller "commuter towns" scattered in there. A typical commuter town is a gray concrete jungle 5-20km away from the city center, high-rise buildings (about 5-7 stories high is pretty typical), a grocery store, a pizza joint and maybe some other services if the people are lucky, and a good bus route or local train track that leads to the city center. The kind of commuter towns Finnish rappers talk about are the ones that are further away from the city center, where the buildings are older and more worn down and where there aren't as many services available as in other areas. So, then what happens is that rich people live in the better areas closer to city centre, closer to sea or lake shores, with new and updated buildings and poorer people like where they can afford, which are the areas with older buildings, further away from any shores or the city center. And then societal problems like mental health issues, alcohol and drug addiction, criminal activity, even the slight racism we have (where some people still assume that just because someone is not white, they 1) can't speak Finnish well enough to handle a Finnish speaking workplace or 2) won't be as punctual, precise and reliable as someone who is white), all these become heightened when these are the people who can't afford to live elsewhere. So, we sort of have societal classes, but sort of don't. A person can be born in an area like this, but make it out relatively easily, compared to the US for example. All school is free, incl. lunch and all schools are just as good, there's plenty of social services available, there's housing for people who can't afford it (although, the waiting lists are way too long), all health care can be paid from social benefits if you do your paperwork right, libraries have free computers, etc. It's not easy getting out, but if someone is determined to do it and find a way to not become depressed about their life and repeating the problems they see around them... It's definitely possible.
I have no personal experience, though... I grew up middle class, we had a detached house that my parents rented, the area was not the best nor the worst in the municipality. Both of my parents were present, they both worked one job each (about 8-10h a day), I never had to experience hunger or see violent crimes or drugs as a kid. My parents saved up for things like a new piece of furniture or a family holiday trip (every year somewhere in Finland, every ~3-5 years abroad). To me that's middle class. I've met people who are so rich they have a house with a pool, every kid has a proper bedroom of their own (I had my own room because I was the oldest, but one of my brothers had a "room" carved out for him from the living room using bookshelves and a curtain, and the other's room was basically just a big closet - ~9 square meters? - with a window, it was meant to be a laundry/storage room), they renew their entire inner decor including furniture every few years, they eat out multiple times a month, they travel abroad every year. I've met people who are so poor their kids only wear second hand clothing, not even puffer jackets or bras or shoes are new, who eat the same cheap food like noodles or pea soup from a can multiple times a week, who might not even afford that and only eat what they can get from the government (I've seen a family of 5 survive on bananas and toast for two weeks, because that's all they got from the EU that month)... I was poor, as a university student. Went to bed hungry multiple times a week, especially when my laptop broke and I saved up for a year before I could afford a new one. (I tried doing my school work in the school IT class room, but school ended at 5pm and that place closed at 10pm, and I had not eaten since lunch, so it was a real struggle... I'd often spend my nights writing my work on paper and then just typing it out in the class room the next evening.)

Another long digression from the point. Sorry not sorry. This is my blog, you're in the wrong place if you don't like to read long texts.

Michelin stars are ratings given to high end restaurants. He went from eating noodles in the hood to eating at Michelin star restaurants.

En mee eteenpäi vaa pikemminki bäkkii

 I'm not going forward, but rather go back

I wonder where's he going... Back in his memories into the time when he was not as rich?

Ku Pike pitää backii, junnut ettii idäs stackii/täkkii

 When Pike has the back, kids in the East are lookin for a stack/quilt

Like, this guy/gal called Pike has his back - I assume that's what he means.
Googled and I think he's talking about PastoriPike aka Pierlin Mpaka Makumbu, another Finnish rapper (he's originally from Kongo and moved to Finland when he was 2yo). From this article I get the impression that Mikael has been kind of a mentor for Pike, couching him in rapping and shouting out his music: Pierlin pakeni 2-vuotiaana sotaa Suomeen ja ajautui ongelmiin – poliisin sanat olivat käännekohta: luo nyt uraa Mikael Gabrielin opeilla - Ilta-Sanomat

I think the "stack" he's talking about means "drugs". In Helsinki, the Eastern side of the town has all the worse commuter towns and the Western side is the rich people's side.
On the lyrics I found online, they didn't have the double of "stackii/täkkii". But I hear it in there. I explained this further above, where I talked about the rhyme schemes.

Ku on varaa nii on valinnanvaraa

 When one can afford it, one has the freedom of choice

Also explained this bar already above in the rhyme scheme breakdown.

Ku on rahaa nii on Pradaa, pääl parasta kamaa

 When one's got money they got Prada, dressed in the best

Muijas kutsu sääliks, ei sil ollu ikin daddyy, yeah

 Chick called it pity, she never had a daddy, yeah

Droppaa se sun addy, potki päähä niin ku baddy, yeah

 Drop your addy, kick in the head like baddy, yeah
Addy = address

Idk who is she and why does Mikael want to go and assault her...

Päätit tähä räkii, pääsit tekee bägii, annoin tilaa

 You decided to spit on this, you got to make a bag, I gave space
Not "spit" like rappers "spit", but like... spit on something because you despise it.

But I think it's someone he supported - he gave her career opportunities "you got to make a bag, I gave space", (making bag like making money,) but then she disrected that by figuratively spitting on it and saying she did it out of pity or something, and now he's angry at her, saying she's got daddy issues and that he's so mad he'd like to beat her up.

Harva eteen näki, pesi käsii ennen pandemiaa

 Few saw in front of them, washed hands before the pandemic

This could have a deeper meaning... Like, there's the surface layer of the bar - not all people washed their hands as often as is recommended before the pandemic hit, and that might have contributed to it spreading as fast as it did. But there's also the figurative meaning of "washing one's hands out of something", right? In both Finnish and English? It is to know about something bad existing, and then making sure people won't associate you with that. So, he's saying there are a lot of people who didn't see something bad about to happen and didn't disassociate themselves from it in time, before the truth got out and they were called out for it.

Heitin femmat mandemin kaa, tehtii hittei Santerin kaa

 Threw a high five with the mandem, made hits with Santeri
Mandem = a group of men who are bros/homies, who have each other's back no matter what

Idk which Santeri he's talking about, maybe MD$ aka Santeri Kauppinen, a producer he's worked with?

Viime vuon vasikat kanteli, homie joutu kalterin taa

 Last year snitches ratted, homie was put behind a bar

In Finnish "snich" is "vasikka", which also means "a veal", a baby cow. And veals live in fences, behind a bar. And the homie was put behind bar(s). The homie did something, someone ratted him out and then the homie was sent to prison.

Yyh, no kai mä oon sit valtavirtaa

 Waah, well I guess I'm mainstream then

Fuck that, ayo, nouskaa mun kaa vastarintaan

 Fuck that, ayo, rise for the opposition with me

En oo maksamas täst halpaa hintaa

 I'm not paying a cheap price for this

Tää on sixpack, bitch, joo mä näytän sulle paljast pintaa

 This is sixpack, bitch, yeah I'm showing you bare skin

I'm not sure about the ending, but I think he's saying he's not a sell-out, he's seen the harsh sides of life with the poverty and the criminal life (he has, he was a criminal in his youth, in trouble with the law all the time) - he's the real deal and has not forgotten where he comes from. So he doesn't want to be considered mainstream or to people think that he doesn't know real life or has forgotten his roots. Idk what his sixpack has got to do with it, though.

Meitsi liekis, tääl soi häläri

 I'm on fire, an alarm is playin

Get it? Fire, alarm. But he's "on fire", he's a dope rapper.

Sataviiskybää länäril

 One hundred fifty on Länsiväylä

150km/h on a highway called Länsiväylä, in Espoo. Espoo is a city very close to Helsinki. I think he chose that specific highway mainly for the rhyme scheme, though.

Also, that's a fast car, so it probably has a lot of horse power and is expensive.

Highway speed limit is 120km/h in the summer, 100km/h in the winter, so he's a also driving over the limit. Breaking the law.

Kakssataaviiskybän släbärit

 Two hundred fifty on flip flops

250€ on a pair of shoes normal people pay 1-5€ for. He's boasting about being rich.

Ei teiä hommat kestä päivänvaloo, ne on liia hämärii

 Your hustle can't stand the light of day, they're too shady

I think he says "teiä hommat", as in "your hustle"... But it could just be like it was online, "ei hommat...", "the hustle don't...". In which case, he could be talking about his own hustle and not someone else's.

Annoin lävärin snägäril

 I gave a slap on the food stall

Osun aina niin ku lämäril änäris

 I always hit like a slap shot on NHL

"Slap shot" as in the sports term they use in hockey.

Jäbääki hämäsin, sul on jämät sun hätäris

 I fooled dude as well, you got scraps in your bong

I think he's saying some other dude had some drugs in his bong and Mikael smoked most of it and didn't tell the dude.

Tääl on tupa täpis, kuka teil päi enää käväsis?

 Here the house party's top notch, who'd visit your place anymore?

Couldn't think of a good translation for the slang expression "täpissä" or "täpis"... It's not "top notch", it's not "the best", but it's something along those lines. It's, like, that every single person in the party are having the time of their lives, everyone is overjoyed because the party is so much fun. So who'd want to leave a party that's the best party they've ever been to? No one, that's who.

Sä maksat duussei ku mun tilit on tasan

 You pay doses when my accounts are even

The other guy owes money from the drugs he's bought, he's in debt for the dealer. Mikael's accounts is in balance. There's also a double I missed when I translated this (got to figure out how to add this in there!) - "tasata tilit" means that someone is settling some business or altercations they've had before, whether that is paying someone because you owe them, someone paying you because they owe you, settling an argument with someone or getting revenge on someone.

Mä oon kesyttämätön ja villi ku vasa

 I'm untamable and wild like a calf
Calf as in a baby deer or baby moose or baby elk. A baby of one of these animal species listed here: Deer - Wikipedia

Lojaalinen, ku se on sillee mun tapa

 Loyal, 'cause that's my way

Vaik teit virheit, nii mä seisoin aina silti sun takan

 Even though you made mistakes, I still always stood behind you

He's got that mandem, that group of homies, that stick together and have each others' backs.

I change my mind about these lyrics not having a meaning - they do, it just took some digging. The meaning of the song is to say that he has not forgotten his roots and upbringing, that he's still that same guy he was back then, who still commits crimes and has his friends' backs. He may be a rich rap star now, people might even call him mainstream, but he hasn't let the fame get into his head.