A line lifted directly from the hook of Clipse’s “Ride Around Shining”, in which “ice” is meant in the sense of jewelry

Not that that explains the medical implications of the statement. But sure, an ice pack (“ice” in the sense of jewelry) on the chest sounds like it could be a home nausea remedy, right?

This doesn’t really count as an example of paraprosdokian, since OneManArmy tells us at the beginning of the line that he’s referencing the alphabet, but still: he’s cleverly reframing the threat “I’m coming after you” as an altogether less dangerous observation that, in the Roman alphabet, the letter V comes after the letter U (“you”)

i.e., Join Forces with the Kings. Get it? It means he aligned with the people in the know, the people that are actually trying to do the right thing, and is willing to be a Batman-esque figure in the rap game, knowing that it will garner a certain level of hate from unenlightened souls, but at least SOME of those souls will see the light, and in turn project light themselves.

This could also be a reference to LeBron’s decision to come to Miami. LeBron joined forces with Wade & Bosh in order to win championships. LeBron reportedly rapped this line when he threw a housewarming party when he first moved to Miami.

Although Shorty might think killing someone will earn him respect, really he’s just going to be locked up, and the dead person will be the martyr.

Alternatively, Nas could be invoking the proverb whereby the nail that stands out is the one that gets hammered: the dude that’s flashy and stands out is more likely to get himself into fatal static than a low-profile counterpart.

He could be encouraging Shorty to be cool blooded – merciless – when he’s shooting. Or possibly the use of the word ‘cool’ is just amazing play on words – ‘cool’ as in ‘cold’ (the temperature of corpse).

It ain´t hard to tell Kendrick was influenced by this line.

Everybody gon' respect the shooter
But the one in front of the gun lives forever

Thought experiment: if you were in prison, would you rather share a cell with someone named Herb, someone named Ice, or someone named Bullet?

Easier thought experiment: if you were in prison, would you rather share a cell with a marijuana user, a cocaine user, or a murderer?

If for some reason you chose to spend your time with Ice, you would soon find yourself alone or housed with a new cellmate, because as Cormega reports, Ice was released soon after they got Nas’s letter.