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As a motherfuckin' drug addict, like you didn't experiment? JAY-Z (Ft. Eminem) – Renegade
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The feature with Lil' Mo, over 2 million people, I've reached with my little flow Fabolous – Think Y'all Know
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What is this?
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Benches are where drug dealers congregate in the projects, and hence where much of the violence happens
Also, Jay plays off the last line: “not a cent… lot of innocent lives lost…” Innocent can be interpreted as in/no/cent, meaning these people dying on the project bench are in the state of having “no cent(s);” they are “in-no-cent;” they are poor.
Jay is saying a lot of innocent kids lives got lost in the dope game. Hes just saying they lost their life to the game, locked up, killed or doing it when they really didnt belong. Not a literal bench.
3,105
‘Project bench’ not only refers to the benches in NY projects but also the project bench/work bench for Jay-Z’s career. A lot of lives were lost on Jay’s way to building up his rap career.
“lot of innocent lives lost on the project bench”
His use of “bench” is a triple entendre.
1) Dealers hang out on project benches, waiting for customers. Where Jay comes from, it’s common for dealers to get murdered on the job.
2) Junkies also lost their lives on those benches by over-dosing.
3) People in the projects are second class citizens and sidelined in life, the way second string athletes ride the bench on the sidelines of the court/field.