This account is accurate – both the Seventh Infantry Battalion and Ninth MG Battalion were part of the Third Division

Interestingly both Carraway and Gatsby’s battalions only entered combat in June 1918. Gatsby does not specify when exactly he left the division, but he exited the unit just as it began to see combat

For virtually the entire First World War the western front remained static in France, with minimal land exchanged between the two sides.

Even when the United States entered the war in 1917 (presumably when Carraway and Gatsby fought), the Allies only pushed into Belgium before the November 11 1918 Armistice was signed

So the majority of their experience was likely to have been amidst “wet, gray little villages in France” (the description indicating the dreariness of the experience)

As in Biggie is robbing you and telling you to drop to the floor (but slowly – no sudden movements or he’ll shoot you)

This hearkens to Big’s fondness for rapping about robbery – best exemplified by his song “Gimme the Loot”

This little throwaway phrase in order to keep the rhyming scheme is actually a smart ending to a song about Biggie’s downfall

He describes using guns with infrared beams to protect himself, yet this phrase indicates despite his best efforts, his enemies are still coming for him

This is underscored by the segue into the hook

Kendrick describes a drive-by shooting (using an AK-47 propped over a car dashboard) and fleeing the scene – “vacate with the Jurassics” might describe fleeing quickly (like for instance dinosaurs fleeing a Tyrannosaurus rex) or perhaps fleeing like the mass extinction of life which ended the Jurassic Age

This relates to the dragon reference on the previous line (dragons and dinosaurs both being monstrous reptiles, albeit the former being fictional), and the comparison of a dangerous shootout in the hood being likened to predators prowling the jungle appears often in hip hop (see Dr. Dre – “Forgot About Dre,” Nas – “N.Y. State of Mind,” Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five – “The Message”)

This might also be a reference to hip hop group Jurassic 5, and is not the first time Kendrick has referenced a drive-by

The Battle Hymn of the Republic (also known as “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory”) is derived from the marching song “John Brown’s Body” (about the controversial abolitionist insurrectionist), and was extremely popular in the Union army during the Civil War, becoming the main marching song. The song links the Union cause with Biblical judgment of the wicked

The song has since become an extremely popular American patriotic song

Based on a Bahamanian lullaby, “All My Trials” became a popular spiritual during the 1950s/1960s, being especially popular during the social protest movements at the time. Covers were recorded by socially conscious performers such as Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Harry Belafonte.

The original song features a mother comforting her children, but Elvis altered the gender.

Referring to a race of alien parasites from Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which kidnap people and replace them with exact duplicates (albeit devoid of all emotion)

The point being that Jimmy feels as though the Kim he knows was replaced with a lookalike who supports Hamlin against him

Referring to the Addams Family character – most likely because Mike is bald and old, and from Cocky’s perspective decrepit and inept for not bringing a gun