This double use of the word project opens up an entire discourse on the American public housing system, race relations, politics and capitalism.

Projects like Marcy, says Jay, were a project by the government, an experiment. The problem for the elite was where to put the growing population of citizens (mostly African American) who were left by the wayside by 20th century capitalism and the racism still endemic to the United States. In his autobiography, Jay says this about the projects:

Housing projects are a great metaphor for the government’s relationship to poor folks: these huge islands built mostly in the middle of nowhere, designed to warehouse lives.

Typography is a common subject of study in art colleges.

Kool AD might also be referring to the repurposing of text in visual art. Dudes like William S. Burroughs have made the manipulation of text an accepted means of creating new meaning.

It could also be a reference to the widespread use of Jacques Derrida’s deconstructionism in liberal universities, whose main purpose is to fuck with (deconstruct) texts to find new meaning.

Lil B eschews the rap simile (“I’m like ____”) in favor of saying that he is Kristi Yamaguchi. While seeming subtle, this is a radical shift in rap lyricism, which has during its history has tended to use the simile and metaphor to draw likenesses.

It is quite a different thing to say “I’m Barack Obama” instead of “Swagged out like Barack Obama.” The second might get confused looks. But the first statement means you might have clinically severe mental issues.

J. Cole was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He was raised in Fayetteville so he is representing them.

Jay’s music is enjoyed far and wide, from his childhood home in the Marcy Projects to the LeFrak City projects in Queens.

Peep Marcy Projects and LeFrak City on the “RapMap.”

The crack’s got you trippin' and thinking you’re stronger than you really are

Anthony Mason played in the front court for the last Knicks team that wasn’t an embarrassment to the game of basketball

Mason made up for his relatively short height with freakish strength. Check out how crazy his arm game was:

Anyone who allows the “infiltration” of the cops will be leaking blood, not just the information they snitched.

Jay expressed his concern and disgust about snitches in “A Week Ago” as well.

More chess double entendres delivered by Hov here:

They lose their crown – or heads, their lives – trying to defend the queen, which could mean fighting over a woman, or defending someone more powerful, someone higher on the chain of command.

A similar theme was covered in a traditional English nursery rhyme, “Jack and Jill.” That Jill had the homie Jack whipped, and he’s going up hills and fetching pails of water for her – next thing you know he is falling off the top and his “crown” is broke:

There were a lot of Brooklyn kids heading down to Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. in the mid-nineties, chasing new markets for crack. And a lot of them died.

Rooks and Knights are chess pieces. Rooks are the more valuable pieces, so for a Knight to take a Rook is, in Jay’s metaphor, an up-and-coming hustler knocking off a more established dealer.

Alternatively, rooks can stand for rookies. And knight/night is a homophone. So, the line could mean that the young hustler is actually getting knocked off by the night-time, which symbolizes the danger of working and living on the streets.