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If Classified isn’t feeling too well, Marijuana is his relief. As he compares weed to a girlfriend, his loved one is always sunshine on a cloudy day, which ironic, huh?

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What is this?

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Higher was released as a single by Classified in 2014 and later added to the U.S. edition of his 2013 self-titled album, Classified.

The song features a sample of Otis Redding’s song Higher and Higher, which was released in 1969.

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Otis Redding was a Soul and R&B singer who passed away in 1967.

The hook in this song is a sample of Redding’s hit song Higher and Higher, which was released to the public two years after Redding’s death.

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Bread is frequently used as slang for money, which J Cole plans on getting a lot of.

For some reason, he felt it necessary to bring up the homophone “bred,” which is the past participle of the word “breed.” In a controlled setting, such as a zoo, gorillas are bred under human watch, as opposed to breeding randomly in a natural habitat.

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In the days of slavery in the United States, whips were a common way for slave-owners to prod slaves to continue working. Here, he mentions slavery in his modernized version of “whipping:” keeping a woman “in line.”

The line talking about laziness could be a juxtaposition to the slavery mention in the line before; possibly for the purpose of irony. More simply, Cole could just be taking a minute to point out that some folks don’t grind as hard as he does.

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Cole is saying that you should just step back a second, because he’s feeling rather lively at the moment.

The phrase “fall back” is also often used to refer to a career plan in case another one doesn’t work out. After just rapping about crack and cocaine, Cole could be subtly implying that he could resort to selling crack if his rap career falters.

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“No pain, no gain” is a popular phrase, often used the context of weight-lifting and exercise. That would stand to reason after the last line, which talked about lifting up a rather large fellow in Big Pun.

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Cole won’t hesitate to take matters in to his own hands if he gets jumped or attacked. Don’t blame him for it, you shouldn’t have tried to mess with him!

“Blow brains” is a double-entendre, as it refers to two things:

1) “Mind blowing” is a phrase meaning surprising someone.

2) Blowing brains could also refer to shooting someone in the head.

Kurt Cobain was the lead singer and guitarist of the band Nirvana. He killed himself by shooting himself in the head, which is why his name is mentioned after the “blow brains” phrase.

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E-40 and King Gordy are both rappers who frequently have mentioned marijuana use in their music.

Classified is saying that he’s really high if he’s higher than those guys, which is in spite of his parents warning him never to smoke weed.

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Classified’s whole verse is a metaphor. He’s comparing marijuana to a girl.

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