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Unlike “back in the day” where such things were uncommon and odd. These things are (as well as others) becoming a regular staple in life today. Cole questions if anyone else finds these new trends as odd, or is he the only one who realizes it. Times are changing.

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The live rendition of J. Cole’s feature on The Blueprint 3. It features an extra verse as well, which was previously unheard.

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Reference to the track that Jay-Z signed J. Cole off, Lights Please. Much like the girl in that song, Ab-Soul’s girl isn’t concerned with knowledge and wisdom, but is mostly obsessed with sex.

It’s interesting that J. Cole is mentioned in the lyrics of this song. In his January 2015 Combat Jack interview at 1:32:30, Cole recalls that after he first met Kendrick in 2010, “Pussy and Patron” was one of the first two songs Kendrick emailed to him (along with “Cut You Off”).

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“Eyez Closed” from Snoop Dogg’s 11th studio album, Doggumentary, is a meditative track that addresses hardships in life and the pressure one faces on a daily basis.

The song, which is produced by Jeff Bhasker, Kanye West, and Mike Dean, features a prominent sample of Jimmy Spicer’s “Money (Dollar Bill Y'all)”.

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A bonus track off of Wale’s debut album, Attention Deficit. The song details the struggles that come with the newfound attention that fame brings, as well as going into other perceived problems with the industry and fans.

It was produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League.

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The closing “Thug Life, Thug LIFE!” lines are a reference to the strength of Tupac’s “Thug Life” movement, in hopes that the Hiii Power movement will be as strong.

Yes, I am gonna say that I’m a thug, that’s because I came from the gutter and I’m still here. I’m not saying I’m a thug because I wanna rob you or rape people and things. I’m a business man, I mean you know I’m a business man because you find me at my places of business.

– Tupac Shakur

Kendrick claims that when Tupac visited Kendrick in a dream he told him: “Keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t let my music die.” This is the reason why HiiiPower and Thug Life are so similar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCGS25RXaDE

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Play on words. Anbesol is a gel used for oral pain relief; it numbs the area.

The SLR is also one of the only Mercedes-Benz cars that has no ‘numbers’ in the name, just like how Lupe mentions that he isn’t doing any numbers.

He also doesn’t do numbers meaning he isn’t selling as many records as more popular artists, which ties into the next line

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This could also be referring to Single Lens Reflexive Cameras, or SLR, which have very clear pictures. Lupe is so clever the titles of his songs have double meanings.

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Royce Da 5'9" and Eminem are Bad Meets Evil. This song serves as the first single from their highly anticipated EP, Hell: The Sequel and as a demonstration of both rapper’s strong lyrical content and delivery. The song peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100. The hook is sung by Sly “Pyper” Jordan (heard on “Kush” and “Seduction”).

“Fast Lane” touches on a myriad of topics and is a lethal example of Bad Meets Evil’s skill with a dose of the traditional ‘horrorcore’ and braggadocio.

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It’s the plight of a common street gang member trying to move up in rank. The Cosa Nostra is the name for the Sicilian Mafia in America. “Overdose” refers to:

  • A drug overdose, maybe he’s getting high on his own supply, or simply deluded. A popular way of testing if cocaine is good is to taste it. If it is, it numbs the tongue.

  • The fact that being too ambitious in criminal pursuits will often leave you dead. To ‘overdose’ here refers to the sequence uno, DOS, tres – to strive to be number one until he’s over ‘dos’, which is Spanish for ‘two’.

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