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When he was a child, Jay’s mother would tell Jay that he can do anything he wants in life and has the potential to do great things. These seemingly innocent things said out of love have fueled the older, corrupt Jay to become a monster that functions largely on greed.

Jay talking about these lines on Howard Stern:

https://youtu.be/HF9NGSdu-pM?t=30m31s

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The change from “Who’s that talking in my library” to “who’s that laughing in my library?” shows Frank’s desire to actually find this girl (or guy) that he’s been trying to escape from. It’s no longer a negative meaning, where as “talking” was. Now, he’s remembering the pleasantness of this significant other, specifically, her laugh. He then puts a stop to his actions of denial, and questions… Is that you?

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Frank was afraid to show his true feelings about his loss of his grandfather.

Not only did he not want to be judged by the world, he didn’t want to be judged by the some of the fatherless members of Odd Future who didn’t seem to care about this.

Among others in the Odd Future collective, Tyler, The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt had absent fathers as well.

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In a long tradition of personifying hip hop as a woman as popularized by Common’s 1994 classic, “I Used to Love H.E.R.”, MF DOOM uses a similar extended metaphor detailing his relationship with hip hop or “the mic”, using a sample from Eric B. and Rakim’s 1988 song “Microphone Fiend”. Hip hop is generally agreed to have been born around 1973, so by the time DOOM was forming his original group KMD, hip hop would have been around 13 years old.

According to the director of the “Dead Bent” and “(?)” music videos Adam Bhala Lough, DOOM told him that this song is a somewhat true story.

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If a Lexus is driven wrong, it will hurt or kill you in its path. Much like Jay’s mind.

He is also referring to the circle that wraps around the “L” in the Lexus logo; the sick thoughts are the circle, wrapping around this Luxurious but dangerous Life (the L) that, if steered wrong, will lead to certain doom.

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This is a time to look back, to reminisce on his earlier days. The thrill was more important than the pain. As he said in Decoded:

The rewards – the money, the girls, the excitement… I wanted to tell stories and boast, to entertain and to dazzle… Balled ridiculously in Vegas, I went dead broke and got hood rich on those streets.

Jay’s “squad” was his drug-dealing crew, and the key is “escaping poverty.” During “Money, Cash, Hoes” he explained:

Yea I rap now, fast money, dun slowed up

The fast money on the streets is just that: fast. It comes and it goes, but when you’re living in the moment and not worrying about the consequences it can be beautiful.

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Kush & Orange Juice is Wiz Khalifa’s breakout mixtape, which allowed him to rise to stardom thanks to great promotion and a solid fanbase.

On November 16, 2018, the mixtape was released on streaming services with changes made to some tracks due to presumed sample clearance issues. “The Statement” and “Never Been” appear on the commercial version with completely different beats, while “We’re Done” and “Skit 3” were completely removed from the track-list all together.

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Before one is hung he is usually standing on a chair or pedestal. In the game of musical chairs everyone fights for a chair, and after each round a chair is removed. When Kendrick say “they play musical chairs once I’m on that pedestal” he means once the government has had enough of him, or whoever disagrees with his views, he will be tied to a rope by his neck, and the chair/pedestal he is on will be removed.

Once Kendrick is hanged other good souls will want to fill his space, be the next to die for the cause.

Also the KKK were known for lynching African Americans who tried to express their views, or the ones who were in the government.

Musical chairs is a game where everybody tries to find a seat to sit down in before the music ends (there are fewer chairs than people). Whoever is left without a chair loses. Kendrick is saying that once he gets on the pedestal to speak, people begin scrambling for seats so they can listen.

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Samples “Ain’t No Price on Happiness” by The Spinners and “Truly Yours” by Kool G Rap.

You can find this beat on Metal Fingers’s(MF DOOM) album Special Herbs, Vol. 4 :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPIcsDvvnJI

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DCLXVI is 666 in Roman numerals

In Roman culture, letters can also represent numbers. Roman Emperor Nero’s full name added together equals 666. In the book of Revelation, references to satan or 666 are intended to represent Christianity’s oppressor emperor Nero.

Also, the full name of the Pope is Vicarius Filii Dei, which (when each letter is translated to Roman numerals) adds to 666.

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