Another seemingly simple, yet very deep line. Two opposing attitudes are at work in each line, yet both fit together perfectly with the overarching theme of the song: love, simple happiness.

On the one hand, the speaker can’t wait till the morning. There is an implication of torment, as he counts the minutes before morning comes and he sees his lover.

But he also wouldn’t change anything. Because, while waiting to see the person you love is difficult, even torturous, at the same time it is special, perhaps one of the most precious parts of life.

“They” could be either friends or lovers here, but either way they are together in the strawberry swing. A symbol of innocence, love, youth, and simple happiness.

This also sets up the tone of the song as a reminiscence of two friends, giving the lyrics a nostalgic tone which contrasts the upbeat tempo and instrumentation.

Jay-Z has often spoken of how, growing up in the ghetto, there was no one to look up to who had achieved material success. There were no doctors or lawyers living in Marcy or Bed-Stuy. This is largely because most of the successful people that did make it out never returned. This is something that profoundly affected Jay, so much so that he vowed never to abandon his community.

“Bougie” is short for “bourgeois,” which means “middle class.” “Bougie” is usually used somewhat derogatively toward people who try to act really high class.

So, when the “bougie broad” tries to get Jay to take his du-rag off, her actions actually represent a lot more, i.e. abandoning his roots as an impoverished kid from Marcy Projects. This is something Jay won’t tolerate, so he ditches her.

Contrary to what one might think, Kendrick does not employ double entendre here (as he refers to a couple lines later), but rather an obscure figure of speech called syllepsis. The word “come” here is used in two different senses but applied to the same word “up.” The first “come up” refers to coming up to success, while the second one refers to it happening unexpectedly.

Remember: nice guys finish last.

Also, hip-hop has a long and infamous history of misogyny, which women have shockingly accepted, even glorified by idolizing the very rappers who objectified them. Cudi muses that maybe if he uttered these same offensive lines, he might be more popular with both male and female audiences.