Slug is slang for bullet, so this means that Nas delivers deadly lyrics.

However, Nas shows his Rakim influence by setting himself up to finish this couplet with the same flow and rhyme scheme to “Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em,” which was released the year before:

tempo’s trifle, thug like a rifle
massaging melodies might go right through.

Tone is the underlying mood and attitude in a piece of writing. While Joey’s overall sound is chilled and consistent, you need to really listen to his words to understand what kind of emotions he’s throwing at you.

Now the tone in this particular line is so obviously mocking that its becomes an added insult, because you would have to be really dumb to not understand his diss.

The whole song talks about the endless thug cycle and how people in that cycle end up at the same place again and again, experiencing deja vu.

Now Nas was also trapped in that cycle, but found a way out through his music. Hence, at this time (when the song was released in his early career), Nas was at the point of deja vu again, but this time it was a new beginning, because he now knew that hip hop would write him a different and more fortunate story.

sans: French, “without.”

As we grow older, we return in many respects to the state we grew up from — call it the second childhood.

First we begin to regain childhood characteristics, such as a higher-pitched voice. We also lose height, in a reversal of the natural process of growth.

We then start losing our self-importance, ego, and memory, returning to a childlike vulnerability and foolishness – we have to be looked after by someone else.

At this stage, our senses become clouded to the point of being useless. We lose our teeth, our vision, our taste, and eventually, everything.

Now, it is unclear if the speaker is directly addressing death, or whether he is talking about a demented state akin to a living death. Perhaps the point is that either could be true, and no difference would be felt.

Also note the use of the word ‘mere’. It’s interesting because by adding an adjective to ‘oblivion’, the speaker is adding a context: he is no longer just stating a fact. He is now addressing the conventional expectation of an afterlife; he wants to emphasize that at the end of life, you will find merely oblivion – nothing more.

1962

On February 20, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth. Just a year earlier, Yuri Gagarin from Russia had become the first man to go to space. Thus, Glenn’s achievement served as redemption for the U.S, and was a major step forward in the famous Space Race with the U.S.S.R.

Nicki finds it ironic that while her ex is on Instagram shading her, his new girl is trying to be like her (“playing” Nicki’s role), by acting and dressing like Nicki to please her boyfriend. The guy is clearly still attracted to Nicki.

The “play me” could also refer to playing Nicki’s music, which also helps in acting like her.

1956

On February 25, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev makes his famous secret speech denouncing Stalin’s “cult of personality” and leadership of the Soviet Union. In April 2007, the British newspaper The Guardian included the speech in their series on “Great Speeches of the 20th Century”.

He would later become the Soviet Premier in 1958 and served till 1964. His term marked the beginnings of a de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, ushering in a less opressive era.

Though he still sticks to almost all of the basic principles outlined by his predecessors, he considerably improves relations with the U.S.
Soon after he comes to power he meets with President Eisenhower at Camp David and opens up a cultural interaction between the two nations.

Nonetheless, Khrushchev does not remain friendly throughout his term. The U-2 spy plane incident is perceived as a major insult, and tensions escalated with other major developments, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. During his 1959 visit to the United States, he is told he is not able to visit Disneyland. Throughout this period (and spanning Kennedy’s presidency) Khrushchev maintains a hostile attitude toward America and the United Nations.