Kanye alludes to the disproportionately high referral rate for black children in CPS to Special Ed. This phenomenon has been seen not only in Chicago, but across the country.

Kids also understand what “rocks, blow, weed, park” means so clearly they have street smarts.

“Rocks, blow, weed, park” is infamous amongst drug dealer lingo; particularly in Chicago, seeing that it was started by Larry Hoover’s black gangster disciples.

Dope boys basically yell this to the cars riding past where they sell drugs letting them know what’s on the menu and to park their car if they want it. So Ye' is saying this phrase is the most essential thing dudes in the hood could learn. ROCKS, BLOW, WEED, PARK!

A bulimic is someone with the mental disorder Bulimia nervosa, which causes an intense focus on weight and body shape. They commonly have a loss of control while binge-eating unhealthily, and then vomiting or exercising off the extra calories. Occasionally, laxatives can be used as well. So, a bulimic would physically have trouble gaining weight.

In the drug world, it’s hard to gain weight meaning status in the community. This could also be referring to the slang term for cocaine, meaning it’s hard to get supply to sell.

Kanye takes his tax-fraud money, buys work (a large quantity of drugs, intended to be resold) and then pushes packs (sells prepackaged smaller quantities of drugs) to make money.

Layaway is where a retailer holds an item for a consumer to purchase later after a sum upfront. Then, they make monthly payments (with interest) for the remaining cost of the item.

By this, Ye is stating that in the current state, people have to put their life on hold to make a living wage, while also relating it back to the low-pay retailing hustle.

The children are looking at an actuarial prediction of 25 years, which sounds like a low-ball estimate to begin with, but hey! The kids are still alive! In an already sarcastic chorus, it’s ironic that it’s underage kids who sing about making it past 25 years.

It’s true that inner city males growing up in the ghetto do have a relatively short life expectancy due to violence, drugs, no healthcare, etc. For example, a study with data from 1980-2000 concluded that black 16-year-old males in Southside Chicago (Kanye is from Chicago) have only a 50% chance of living to 65. Despite all that, a prediction of just 25 years is clearly exaggerated on Kanye’s part (are you into statistics?).

Rather, Kanye refers to his own life with these lines. In 2002, when Kanye was 25, he was involved in a near-fatal car accident, which resulted in him breaking his own jaw, but which spared his life.

It is important to note that famous rappers like The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur did not make it past 25 years of age, so Kanye could also allude to their fate.

Canibus was featured on the remix of a single by the Lost Boyz called “Music Makes Me High”; all of the women (shorties) who saw it want in on the action

Eminem’s got to get out of his home before he’s drained dry by his environment and his deadbeat mother.

According to an article in Michigan Live, Salem’s Lot is not a real place. In the article it states:

McDermott does her part to set the record straight; she also tells fans there’s no actual place called “Salem’s Lot,” the trailer park Eminem mentions in the hit song “Lose Yourself.” The song was honored with an Academy Award for Best Original Song in “8 Mile.”

“It’s not even the name of our park,” McDermott said laughing. “It was from the song lyrics ‘Mom, I can’t grow old in Salem’s Lot.’ And to my knowledge, he never even lived in a trailer community off Eight MIle.”

“I always heard he lived in a trailer park in Clinton Township.”

‘Salem’s Lot is a classic 1975 Stephen King novel in which vampires take over a small town in Maine. The recording engineer of this song was named Steven King.