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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.
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While they riding Nas, tryna boost they career
Corny as Cormega, all you hip-hop queers Nas – Stillmatic Freestyle (Jay-Z Diss)
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Wordplay!
Jay and Cormega being “faggots/queers” for dick riding Nas that much.
As well as they rode with Nas as his friend trying to boost of his careers something Nas further explained on “Ether” for Jay and “Destroy and Rebuild” for “Cornmega”.
Jay trying to get features from him, sampling his voice, using his lines and jumping mentor to mentor trying to leech off their success.
Cormega in the way that Nas put him on by featuring him on his multi-platinum album It Was Written and his QB´s Finest album for Cormega to showcase his skills and even landing him a record deal. Similiar to how labels started to bid for AZ after his Life´s a Bitch verse.
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Young girls are unfastening their Sasoon jeans, no prophylactic
All this fast shit and fly jewelry, now makes my eyes teary Nas – Stillmatic Freestyle (Jay-Z Diss)
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Continues the “conscious” themes of “Black Girl Lost”, where Nas laments the premature sexualization of black women.
This behaviour is an earlier version of himself and understand why the kids act this way. They rather die enourmous then live a dormat. Tomorrow is not promised so they take everything they can and live by the moment getting money, cars, jewelry and get kids as fast as they can. Now that Nas has stepped aside of this life and can see from another perspective and it hurts him – there are so many ways out the hood but no signs say out.
The line indicates that he still has some Nastradamus in him as he predicts the ending of the world just as on that album with for instance “The Predication” and “The Outcome”, but then again this was design/him from the beginning: Since Illmatic It Was Written I Am Nastradamus. He will and has always been a seer.
Did crimes and headline on stage Nas – Stillmatic Freestyle (Jay-Z Diss)
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Notice the contrasts as he mentions in a couple of lines earlier it´s dark in these projects and Nas is trying to bring and shed the light with his positive ways through his lyrics as he speaks up on many of the issues in hood, to educate, be a role model and thought provoke for people to change by describing the horrors in songs like “Shoot Em Up” and “One Mic”. Sexism in “Black Girl Lost”, poisons of the world in “What Goes Around” etc.
Street's Disciple, I'm Stillmatic Nas – Stillmatic Freestyle (Jay-Z Diss)
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He was raised by the streets, learned how to get money, rap, survive. He is the street´s disciple. This was even part of his first line on wax:
Street’s disciple, my raps are trifle
I shoot slugs from my brain just like a rifle
Word play: he is still Illmatic. Still as good as Illmatic AKA often cited as one of the best and most influential hip hop albums OAT. The (back then) forthcoming title of his to-be next album, Stillmatic, that blows up with the most famous diss track of all time later. Nas has signed the contract and ready to to release the album.
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This could be interpreted different ways:
- At this point in time some may say Nas went through an identity crisis, where as on I Am… was an innerstruggle between his Nasty persona and Escobar and on some records going by Nastradamus as he fully did on his follow-up album Nastradamus.
- He always want to move forward and be creative, but don´t know how to follow it up.
- Because of everything around him at the time with his mother was dying of cancer and his fiance was cheating that f*cked up his mind.
Nas fans and New York were quick to turn on him when he made a little bit more commercial records per album. When infact so did others – the prime examples being Biggie and Jay Z that barely got any hate. In hindsight this is certainly the case as his albums at the time is now in retrospect being viewed in a much more higher esteem.
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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.
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Peep the video below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DozqEUPY5dA
A working link