I hated life, I wanted to die a few years back
I was mentally ill it's hard to come back from that
But I got through it now, I got my sanity back R.A. The Rugged Man – Lessons
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R.A. alludes to suffering from mental illness himself. And during the time he was suffering from it, he wanted to die that he even thought about committing suicide. However, he managed to stay strong and still get through the day.
Even though you stole that Royce Da 5'9" "The King" beat from me R.A. The Rugged Man – Lessons
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Die, Rugged Man, Die was Rugged Man’s first released work since 2000, when he ended the contract with his label and started working independently.
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Reference to the East Coast vs. West Coast rivalry and the Bad Boy vs. Death Row feud happening back in the mid-90’s. Focal points of this beef were The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac.
Steve Stoute used to carry Kid n Play's luggage R.A. The Rugged Man – Lessons
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Steve Stoute was Kid N Play’s road manager back in the early 90’s. That’s around the same time R.A.’s career started busting.
Cause I'm talking bout this rap sheet with the most conviction Shad – Yaa I Get It
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An obvious pair of metaphors related to prosecution and incarceration. “Rap sheet” refers to his notebook, while “most conviction” refers to Shad’s sincerity.
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Playing on his stage name and the abbreviaton for Attention Deficit Disorder, ADD.
- Shad often does spazz out on tracks, goes crazy, spits dope rhymes.
- People with ADD literally spazz out more than regular folks.
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The reference is to Texas hold'em poker – “flop” and “river” designate, respectively, the first three community cards dealt, and the last community card dealt. As for the double meaning, the “flop” was his album The Old Prince and “the river” could be his album TSOL (on which this track appears). The former didn’t achieve much commercial success, but Shad claims he’ll succeed with his latest effort. And he really won with it.
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The reference to Drake’s EP So Far Gone, which contained the overplayed song “Best I Ever Had”, matches with what he says earlier about songs being all over the radio.
The reference to Drake’s mixtape also hints at Cole’s name is picking up clout in the music industry. So Far Gone, is the mixtape that launched Drake’s career. Cole is insinuating that at this point he’s about to blow up like Drake did.