Rap Genius

Song: Empire State of Mind

Artist: Jay-Z

Lyrics

If Jeezy's paying LeBron, I’m paying Dwyane Wade

Explanation

In the song “24-23”, Young Jeezy says “I used to pay Kobe, now I pay Lebron”

Kobe Bryant wears #24 and Lebron James wears #23, so Jeezy’s saying he used to pay $24K for a kilo of cocaine, and now he pays $23K

Jay-Z knows that $23K is preposterously low for a kilo in New York, so he’s being sarcastic here, like “Yeah OK, if Jeezy’s paying $23K, then I’m paying $3K” (Wade wears #3)

ALTERNATE EXPLANATION: Sure, Jeezy is “paying Lebron” in his metaphorical fairy tale, but JAY-Z OWNS A BASKETBALL TEAM!!!

He could ACTUALLY pay the REAL Dwayne Wade to play for him!

Of course, if this was Jay-Z’s meaning, he ought to have said “if Jeezy’s paying LeBron, I’m paying LeBron” since homophones are very popular in rap