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It is common for rappers to refer to their hoods as a “jungle” because many of its inhabitants live an animalistic “survival of the fittest” lifestyle. If someone else feels threatened by you or believes they have something to gain by taking you out they will not hesitate to squeeze the trigger.
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Food stamps are coupons issued by the US government for the purchase of food to people in need. WIC (Woman, Infant, Children) is a federal assistance program that provides health care and nutrition for low-income pregnant women and their young children. As a provider, Marshall would have been pretty embarrassed if he had to rely on government cheese to get by.
“WIC shit” is pronounced so that it can be heard as “weak shit” as well.
Live amongst no roses, only the drama Nas – Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)
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As Nas put it in an interview commemorating the 20 year anniversary of Illmatic, New York wrote this album. The tales in his raps were inspired by the events he witnessed growing up, such as the shooting of his friend Ill Will right next to the apartment Nas was in.
Ill Will’s death caused Nas to become less positive – as Jungle put it, “Nas got more cynical. He had a little more hurt.” – and explains why his outlook on Illmatic is so bleak. He doesn’t see roses growing from concrete, he sees drama, despair, and drug addiction and fears for a future filled with nickel-plated guns and weed for the stress.
Note the homophone – “no roses” / “neurosis”
Check the prognosis — is it real or showbiz? Nas – Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)
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Two for pussy and foreign cars
Three for Alizé, niggas deceased or behind bars Nas – Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)
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Nas alludes to “The Bridge Wars” going on in his hometown of Queensbridge to set a reference point for his childhood. This feud began when MC Shan released a song dedicated to QB titled “The Bridge” in 1985.
KRS-One of Boogie Down Productions felt Shan was insinuating hip-hop was born in QB, and decided he needed to defend his hometown with the diss track “South Bronx”. The two traded bars for a little while, but most agree that KRS won this battle when he dropped “The Bridge Is Over” and reaffirmed the Bronx as the mecca of hip-hop.
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“Street’s disciple” is an important line to Nas, since it was the first line he put on wax, the first line on his debut album, and the name of his 7th studio album. This suggests that he spreads the knowledge he learned from the streets to others through his raps.
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Nas is teaching his competition how to rap. And because he does such a good job schooling them, his audience will “feel” (appreciate) his work, like a blind man who is literally feeling for the Braille bumps in order to read.
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A “humble” is a minor offense such as possession of a non-felony quantity of drugs. The jail sentences for a humble are almost always under a year and can be as short as a few days. However, despite the fact that humbles have minimal legal ramifications, they can have a huge effect on how you are perceived by other dealers. When someone in your organization sees the police take you in on a drug charge and put you back on the street a few days later, they are going to jump to the conclusion that you snitched on your crew to get out of a prolonged sentence and won’t hesitate to kill you to protect themselves.
An example of this occurs in Season 4 of The Wire, where Little Kevin is brought in by the police for questioning after getting caught holding a very small amount of drugs. The police knew that they had no real case against him, they just brought him in hoping that he would give up the names of the higher ups in his organization. Kevin stood tall and refused to cooperate, but was still murdered by his boss' hitmen after being released the next day.
On the Humble simply means, you got shot walking your dog, or talking to the mailman, or in leaving the laundromat.
Basically, not in a situation where anyone would expect to be shot.