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Rock plays with the famous idiom “between a rock and a hard place” which is a saying that refers to situations where both outcomes are negative. Rock is in a “hard place” in the crime and gang infested waters of Los Angeles.
Come catch me if you want me, know they'll lock me if I stay J. Cole – Stay (2009)
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Let them go on a manhunt to catch Cole…because they never will.
Also references the Leonardo Dicaprio film “Catch Me if You Can”
In the film Dicaprio’s character is a con artist who changes identities and collects checks from his unwarranted jobs. The FBI agent played by
Tom Hanks chases him around the world just like these agents would chase Cole around the world if he avoided his court date.
Nobody see your vision, they walking around blindfolded J. Cole – Crunch Time
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It’s difficult to remain confident in your abilities when a label doesn’t show interest and people aren’t even downloading your free releases. Cole tells us that if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Cole has experience with this after all since his first mixtape The Come Up failed to get the recognition it deserved in 2007. 3 years later Cole was signed to Roc Nation
The next line tells us that some lines may go over people’s heads, and they may fail to see your vision, but it doesn’t mean that you should give up because of it. The only way to get people to see your vision is to show them your vision.
Could this line also allude to the Greek Goddess Themis or as we know her Lady Justice? Lady Justice is depicted as having a blindfold and a balancing scale, so Cole could be saying that although the public may be blind to you at first the balances of justice will go back in your favor if you continue to grind and work for your craft.
Although this interpretation of the line does seem far fetched at first, let us remember that he did show Lady Justice in his Miss America teaser trailer.
Still holding on to the word maybe J. Cole – Crunch Time
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This song is for those people that are not happy with their lives and who are struggling to make ends meet but still continue to persevere.
Also, “still holding on to the word maybe” refers to people who haven’t quite given up on their dream, who still have that belief that maybe one day they can work towards their dream and make it happen.
Looking for the samples to put a nigga on MTV’s J. Cole – Crunch Time
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Cole has sampled everyone from Curtis Mayfield on “Nobody’s Perfect” to Yoko Shimomura on “Dollar and a Dream III”
Cole finds those dusty records that have been sitting in the closet or that have been thrown out onto the street and turns them into gold.
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He has those dudes falling back like dominoes
Or like Geronimo. Geronimo was a famous Apache leader. In 1939 a movie was made about him in which he jumped onto a cliff and survived. Paratroopers started using this saying as good luck during a jump
Then hop on the jet ski and start Westcoastin' Kendrick Lamar (Ft. JaVonté) – Today
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He spits so much and so potently that if the Earth dried up he could spit his lyrics and the ocean would be back
FUN FACT: There are 326 million trillion gallons of water on Earth so Kendrick surely does have some potent spitting action
Kendrick will then jump on his jet ski and find his newly created lake so he can enjoy it. Always reppin the West coast of course.
Ridin with that choppa leaves some copper in your chest piece Jay Rock (Ft. Ab-Soul) – Successful Remix
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What is this?
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Bubba Kush is a cross between kush and bubble gum
He is smoking up the kush, but alludes to the bubble gum portion of the kush by “blowin [it] up”
