Well, you have to know the words before you can put them in a rhyme. In the poor black neighborhoods where hip-hop emerged, that's no mean trick. The only reason I ever heard the word "Mephistopheles" growing up was because of Magic: The Gathering. I don't think I knew who or what "Damocles" was until well into adulthood. And you have to know the stories before you can invoke their meanings. Kanye is almost certainly far better read than people give him credit for.

A good intro to hip-hop history is Can't Stop Won't Stop by Jeff Chang

http://www.amazon.com/Cant-Stop-Wont-History-Generation/dp/0...