High stakes, I got more at stake than Philly JAY-Z (Ft. Mary J. Blige & Pain In Da Ass) – Can't Knock the Hustle
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Gun or sex toy? You be the judge!
In either case – now that KB Toy Store is liquidating, you can’t find any toys at KB (not even non-gun, non-sex ones)
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Nigga die, a nigga get high and watch the parade Jay Electronica – Exhibit A (Transformations)
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New Orleans, a spiritual voodoo city, is famous for its cemeteries (and also for building on top of them). The St. Peter Street Cemetery, a historical site that was closed down for good and redeveloped, might be what Jay is thinking of.
More recently, thousands of people died during Hurricane Katrina and now they are blithely building over the wreckage, while making no plans to resettle the displaced.
The second line can also be a reference to the “jazz funerals” or parade marches that include brass bands that the whole community can participate in. Given the high murder-rates in NOLA, this is something that one could easily become desensitized to and it becomes just another part of the routine; “Oh, someone else died? Well, let’s light one and watch the parade…”
To go deeper, there is also a reference here to America’s colonial history – the slaughter of Indians and the casual sacrifice of the lives of black slaves to build up the economy of the South.
And Jay intends present-day ramifications as well – the juxtaposition of black violence (the Magnolia projects) and black entertainment (the famous musical performances – including New Orleans funerals – that draw hundreds of thousands of tourists each year) that characterizes modern New Orleans, and a larger metaphor about the use of “bread and circuses” to distract the black underclass from its predicament.
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On one level, Jay speaks about gang violence and how black men will kill other black men in order to get what they want: their closet of skulls is hidden by the nice shit that they wear. By the same token, rappers will glorify violence in order to flaunt their cars and jewelry
On another level, Jay is pointing out that whips and chains haven’t always referred to cars and jewelry: when black men were slaves, they were beaten and bound, and the skeletons in America’s closet were their own
That blow your brain, Kurt Cobain, that Nirvana shit Jay Electronica – Exhibit A (Transformations)
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The flow is elegant like Miss Coretta Scott King Jay Electronica – Exhibit A (Transformations)
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Coretta Scott King (April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006), the wife of Dr. King, and a civil rights activist in her own right, was never caught looking shabby, kinda like Jay-E’s rhymes. And she’s consistently said to have “carried herself with a regal poise and elegance.”
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Shopping spree’s on Jay’s watch evolved even further after this lyric. He references the BMW 325IS,#325iS_South_Africa_version) a rare version of the car that was only sold in select markets that didn’t receive the M3. This is denoted by the “three deuce fever”, which turns the “three” into the end of one line, and simultaneously the beginning of the next.
The fully loaded can mean three things:
His guns are fully loaded, now that he’s got a nice car and a loaded weapon no one will mess with him.
His car is fully loaded with drugs that he has to deliver around to pay for the car he just bought.
His car is also fully loaded of every customization option available; leather seats, power seats, sun roof, premium audio etc.
Also, notice the wordplay with “IS” and “ah, yes”.
This was recorded 2 years before the Lexus IS would be released. Despite it’s reference in the very next line, it’s unlikely Jay took an order of the car fully 2 years before it’s release date.
Shop in threes could mean he buys three of everything. It is a “shopping spree” after all.
11
I think the first line just means he goes on shopping sprees and cops everything he wants in threes. I think the next line is wordplay with duece, meaning 2, and IS’s (which really translates to, is is.)