What is this?

The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

Loading...

The first track from Cannibal Ox’s classic underground debut The Cold Vein. The pair of emcees paint a dark picture of New York in their own unique way

The beat was produced by El-P and features samples of “Mexican Radio” by Wall of Voodoo, “Leopard Tree Dream” by Giorgio Moroder, and the classic drum break from “Impeach The President” by The Honey Drippers

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

What is this?

The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

Loading...

To “toss a salad” is a euphemism for performing anal sex (often orally). Tyler is basically claiming that he’s going to eat the asshole of life (live well) like Rick Ross eats crab legs

Tyler is poking fun at Rick Ross’s excessive girth by suggesting that he eats a lot (though we’re guessing it’s not often salad)

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

What is this?

The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

Loading...

The theme of the song is that even when you know you probably shouldn’t be doing something, you can’t help yourself. “That” refers to the drug game, Frank Lucas' rise and fall as a drug kingpin. But it also refers to anything we do in life, that we know will end badly.

There’s a blatant parallel with Frank wearing his Chinchilla coat, but it can also be applied to Jay’s life, specifically the incident with Lance Rivera.

From Decoded:

Even after I left the streets, I was still under the kind of pressure that made me sometimes act without thinking. But when you slip and give in to that pressure, in an instant you can throw your whole life away. I had to learn to keep my mind still so I could think clearly and sometimes hold back.

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

What is this?

The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

Loading...

Tyler became so upset with Raquel that he created a fictional girl, Sarah, to express his anger and frustration. All she did to provoke these emotions was reject him when he asked her to go to a dance with him

Tyler presents a starkly different account of how girls he used to know treat him now.

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

What is this?

The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

Loading...

Peter Pan was the leader of a troupe of kids, much like Tyler is with Odd Future. Peter also had a fairy sidekick, Tinkerbell, with whom there was some romantic connection, though they never actually had sex.

Since “fairy” is a derogatory term for a homosexual man, this line could use a “no homo,” though Tyler is more likely to be taking a shot at gays, or just claiming to have been with lots of girls.

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

What is this?

The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

Loading...

Black later recycles large chunks of his verse here for his group The Roots' song “Doin' It Again” from their 2010 album How I Got Over

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

What is this?

The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

Loading...

In football, a “deep threat” is a wide receiver who is good at making long catches. Rae on the other hand, gets metaphorically deep.

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

What is this?

The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

Loading...

Whether or not you like Tyler’s music and antics, you have to admit that he does cause a stir

This is another play on a common expression. People often say “you never cease to amaze me”, when they find someone they know doing something peculiar. The phrase usually comes with negative connotations – it’s basically a nice way of saying “you are a fucking weirdo”

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

What is this?

The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

Loading...

One Tyler alter-ego talking to another about a third Tyler alter-ego, making fun of his issues with his father, his constant blogging and/or his problems with rap blogs like 2DopeBoyz

His alter-egos include Tyler Haley, Wolf Haley (evil white serial killer kind of guy), Tyler, the Creator, and Ace the Creator (voice altered scary sounding guy)

On the Jimmy Fallon show, this line was censored to: “Who the heck invited Mr. I Don’t Give a What?”

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

What is this?

The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

Loading...

Consignment, as it pertains to drug dealing, works like this:

  • A supplier lends you drugs to sell
  • You sell the drugs and pay the supplier back out of the money you collected from the sales

So Jay-Z here has met a non-English speaking drug supplier, convinced him that he’s not a police officer, and earned his trust by paying in cash from drugs and selling them promptly. Consignment will allow Jay to build his drug empire more quickly because he doesn’t have to wait until he sells enough product to buy more. He will achieve “credit”, so to speak, as he did on “Never Change”:

Lost 92 bricks had to fall back
Knocked a nigga off his feet, but I crawled back
Had A-1 credit, got more crack
From the first to the fifth, gave it all back
If, I’m not a hustler what you call that?
This is before rap, this is all fact

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.