I'm from the hood stupid, what type of facts are those
If you grew up with holes in your zapatos
You'd celebrate the minute you was having dough

from Jay-Z – 99 Problems Lyrics on Rap Genius

Jay continues his answer to critics who complain about his propensity to talk about money: if you grew up poor like him (“zapatos” is Spanish for shoes, thus he’s talking about having worn-through sneakers), you would likely talk about your money too if you became rich. This is likely also an oblique way of pointing out that critics haven’t “walked in his shoes” — i.e. had his life experiences

‘zapatos’ might also be used to evoke his neighborhood, as the Marcy projects border a hispanic merchant area where he likely bought his shoes.

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