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...

On this song, JAY-Z reminisces on his days as a hustler in Marcy Houses in Brooklyn and pays homage to Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Me”.

The song features long-time JAY-Z collaborator The-Dream on the outro, which also included a Portuguese sample a titled “Todo O Mundo e Ninguém” by Quarteto 1111, a group which includes José Cid and Tozé Brito.

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...

A$AP’s boasting about the jewelry on his neck.

Tyler has a thing for jewlery, too—in a 2015 interview with Ebro on Hot 97, Tyler touched on his love of jewelry:

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...

Jay is referencing Stanley Kubrick’s 1999 film starring Tom Cruise, Eyes Wide Shut. In the film, Bill (Cruise) is exposed to a world he had no idea existed right under his nose.

The final scene of the film depicts Bill shutting his eyes to the ways of the world that his mind was wide open to. Likewise Jay has been exposed to the lies of the industry, specifically to those from Prince’s estate. However, after his exposure, he prefers to be “shut to all the lies”. Ironically, he uses this verse to open his fan’s eyes to the lies.

This is also a nod to Biggie’s song “My Downfall” and his “lazy eye”:

Giving cats the opposite of diets
You gain thirty pounds when you die no lie, lazy eye

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...

Hov pays homage to The Notorious B.I.G., interpolating lyrics from his 1994 track “Unbelievable”:

Live from Bedford-Stuyvesant, the livest one
Representing BK to the fullest
Gats I pull it
Bastards duckin' when Big be bucking
Chickenheads be clucking in my bathroom, fucking

Bedford-Stuyvesant, often abbreviated as “Bed-Stuy,” is a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.

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...

Jay contradicts the phrase “objects in mirror are closer than they appear” that is typically printed on rear view mirrors saying that he’s further ahead of his competition than they think.

This could also be a response to Drake, who said on 2016’s “Summer Sixteen”: “I used to wanna be on Roc-A-Fella then I turned into Jay,” and more recently on “Weston Road Flows,” rapped:

I’m lookin at they first week numbers like, “What are those?”
I mean, you boys not even coming close
I gave niggas like you a reason for celebration
You number one and I’m Eddie Murphy, we tradin' places
Look in the mirror, I’m closer than I really appear

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...

JAY-Z calls out the hypocrisy of hip-hop’s older generation for criticizing new wave rappers' fashion forward style choices.

While “hip-hop purists” crucify the likes of Young Thug and Lil Uzi Vert for rocking nose rings, dresses, blouses, and other clothes that express femininity, they seem to forget that 2Pac, who many hip-hop fans consider to be one of the greatest rappers of all time, also pushed boundaries, often wearing a nose ring, too.

The day after 4:44 was released, Young Thug posted a screenshot of the previous version of this Genius annotation on his Instagram account with the comment “Thanks JAY…”.

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...

“Marcy me” is a nod to the saying “mercy me” which means to ask for forgiveness, but also a reference to JAY-Z’s childhood home Marcy Houses in Brooklyn, New York.

Jay also plays on “artery,” “vein,” and “heartbeat” and alludes to the saying “the bane of my existence,” while name dropping Gotham City—the fictional city featured in DC Comics based on New York City which Batman calls home. In the fictional DC Comic world, Bane is Batman’s enemy, who gains his superpowers from injecting his arteries/veins with serum to gain superhuman strength.

The saying “the bane of my existence” refers to something that’s the source of negativity, unhappiness, or anxiety. So while the streets are Jay’s life force, they’re also his potential downfall.

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...

Guru is Jay-Z’s longtime friend and engineer since the early 2000’s .

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...

Lisa Bonet featured in The Cosby Show from 1984 to 1992 and like Beyoncé, is considered as one of the most beautiful women of her generation.

JAY-Z was 33 when he started dating Beyoncé in 2002, which puts him in his 20’s during the days of Lisa Bonet and according to this lyric, well ahead of the curve when it comes to dating beautiful women.

Coincidentally, “Diva” is a Beyoncé song.

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...

JAY-Z plays with the imagery of having an angel on your right shoulder and the devil on your left. “Let go your ego” is a play on the popular breakfast waffle brand Eggo’s slogan “L'eggo my eggo.”

In 2014, JAY-Z and Solange Knowles (Beyoncé’s sister), were involved in an altercation in an elevator at the Met Gala. Rumors swirled that the fight had something to do with Jay’s infidelity, but neither party addressed it at the time. Here, Jay makes a play on “egg” to not only fit in the with the breakfast theme but also suggest he was responsible for instigating the conflict in the first place.

This is also a nod to a lyric Jay spit on “Public Service Announcement” from 2003’s The Black Album:

My homey Strick told me, ‘Dude finish your breakfast’

There’s also some wordplay—intentional or not—between ego, Eggos, and egged.

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