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Webby plays on the name of Duke graphic artist M.C. Escher here to establish his status as a respected “emcee” – hip-hop slang for a rapper.
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King Mathers is Eminem (birth name Marshall Mathers). He is Webby’s favorite rapper of all time and – according to most critics – the greatest white rapper of all time, so Web isn’t trying to take anything away from Em. All he’s trying to say is that when Em decides to hang it up one day he will be ready to take over the title of “best white rapper alive”.
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The “lab” is slang for a recording studio. But lab can also be short for laboratory, as in the place where Dexter from Dexter’s Lab would spend most of his time. Webby later went on to take this line and turn it into the title of one of his mixtapes.
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The Great Gatsby is a classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Webby claims his rapping skills are as great as the book’s title character.
RapGenius broke down Gatsby for you here!
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Angels wear halos, devils wear horns. Since Nas is a villain who went to Hell for snuffing Jesus, it only makes sense that he would choose the devil horns.
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Eyesight should stop from seein' mad niggas drop
To the concrete Nas – I'm a Villain
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Nas has heard so many guns pop right next to his ears and seen so many men die right in front of his eyes that he feels like he should be deaf and blind.
And the streets keep me stressed Nas – I'm a Villain
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Living in the low-income Queensbridge projects where you have to wear a bullet proof vest when you walk down the street is bound to cause stress. And this stress contributes to Nas snapping into his villain persona.
See, now I'm on the run, but still havin' fun
Livin' by the MAC, my gear is all black
I keep killin' because I'm ready and I'm willin' and I'm a villain Nas – I'm a Villain
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Nas has no problem with getting the cops called on him, because he embraces the villain lifestyle comprised of police chases, Mac-11 guns, and all black clothing.
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#Extended Metaphor!
Nas claims his voice has magical qualities that allows his lyrics to cause physical harm. He then compares putting his cassette tape into a radio to loading a gun with bullets, because both are equally deadly. Once the radio is loaded, you have two options – fire back or run away. Nas suggests you run, because his lyrics (“bullets”) are always on point and will leave you blind if they connect.
The line “my cassette is the clip and your radio’s the Automatic” gives a whole double meaning to this song.
Nas states that he is an actual villain because he constantly kills people, shoots at the cops and is involved in all types of criminal acts that are common in the neighbourhood he grew up in. He is an actual villain and a bad person. You clearly shouldn’t mess with Nas.
He now says that all these acts are linked to his music. He is ‘killing’ people with his tracks, a gun becomes his music his way to ‘hit’ people with his ‘bullets’ is through the radio. He is a lyrical villain and an insane MC. You clearly shouldn’t mess with Nas (and his music).