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Ever since John Cena’s catch phrase became “You can’t see me”, it’s become cool to say that. And Kendrick is saying that if someone claims to have seen him, he made that claim in Braille, meaning he’s blind.

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A diss to all the other rappers, saying they’re falling down through the ranks.

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Hannibal Lechter is a wild killer in an old horror movie, so he may be considered an animal because he’s wild

Kendrick considers himself an animal in rap

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“tokens” are usually ‘throw in’ roles that go to a non-talented actor who is given very little to do. They are inlcuded because of their race so that the show/movie doesn’t have the appearance of racism.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokenism

So Big L is saying that if you’re just fittin' in and staying to the sidelines instead of being a true personality and showing your talent then he has no respect for you and will kick your ass. Basically if you’re not “real” then fuck you.

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Just like a great boxer is characterized as good “pound for pound”, he’s saying he’s the best rapper and it doesn’t matter what bracket you try to put him in.

Jay also sneaks in a Lady of Rage reference

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He may show up on NASA’s satellites, his steez is so out of this world

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The girl accuses Jay of having too many girls and always having to prove that he’s the best guy. Jay avoids these issues, proceeding to complement the girl on her skin, and high-end clothes, chastising himself for not noticing her earlier

Bonus: WikiHow has a helpful guide on how to become the alpha male!

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From the start, we know what this song’s going to be about; depression. His repeating of the word “ever” does not only fit the rhythm of the beat, but also has a nice poetic effect because his depression is repetitive and ongoing; so much so that he can’t forget the past and can’t foresee the future getting any better.

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He has fame and fortune, but it doesn’t make him feel any better. He can’t complain about being privileged, but just isn’t comfortable.

Cole doesn’t need to fight the ordinary struggles in life; except the fight to understand purpose. His reference could be interpreted as his lack of connection with a higher calling, and when he tries to reach out to “God” he feels no different. One escape is smoking marijuana, as seen in the the following line, “I’m getting high just to fight the lows”.

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This could be three things:
1) Metaphor for:

  • A rat = a snitch
  • Roach = a joint

He was raised surrounding these things, so he questions whether he can ever change his lifestyle

2) Could also a shout out to Jay-Z who had a similar line in “h to the izzo”:

“raised in the projects, roaches and rats”

3)Maybe he was just poor, growing up in dirty/poor environment where they had actual rats and roaches.

This could also be a veeery subtle mention of Afroman in “Palmdale:”

No more rats and no more roaches
Living next door to football coaches

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