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And it's not quite near, and it's not like we're
Professionals, moving the decimals
Know where to cop? Nah, got a connect? No JAY-Z – American Dreamin'
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Selling drugs seems like easy money.. but actually it’s quite complicated, you need connections, you have to get to know Papi, you can’t just get in the streets and start selling drugs or you’ll get shot if you’re on the wrong block.
“The Life” is what Jay romantically describes selling drugs as. It’s nopt a hobby, or a pursuit, it is a life, a full commitment.
From Jay Z’s autobiography Decoded:
Initially the decision to hustle is freestyles. these kids in the cipher, the ones with their feet up and the dream of foreign cars, have absolutely no idea how to go into business, even one that surrounds them like the drug game. Do they know where to go to cop the work? No. Do they have a drug connect? No. They’re like anyone starting out in business; they need someone to give them the plan.
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Nicki spoke more about this hairstyle on the later track “Nicki Minaj Speaks #2”:
When I say “two sticks in my bun”
I mean that, when I put a bun in my hair
Like, when I put my hair in a ponytail and I wrap my hair in a bun
I put two Chinese sticks in my bun with the Chinese bang
She later mentioned it on 2018’s “Chun-Li”:
I went and copped the chopsticks
Put it in my bun just to pop shit
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Punning on Hilary Clinton’s maiden name. When the girl is on top, she “ride(s) ‘im” / Rodham
Hillary Clinton is also known as being an independent woman. This implies that the girl on top is taking over during sex.
You really fuckin' that much or tryna get off cigarettes? (Keep 'em high) Kanye West (Ft. Common & Talib Kweli) – Get Em High
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This hook is identical to the first, except “tripping off the power” becomes “tripping off the powder”. This may be interpreted as tripping off cocaine, a drug that is often the cause of many celebrity addictions, such as that of Lindsay Lohan.
Powder could also be used to reference gunpowder. The key to power usually comes down to who has the bigger stick. All power comes from the barrel of a gun. Kanye could be tripping off his figurative “musical firepower” and his genius that remains with him even at his lowest points. His genius allows him to be able to compete and be on par with some of the best rappers of all time, and it is hard to challenge him. His genius also causes him to have an inflated ego. He is tripping off his power and genius.
Kanye also referenced cocaine in songs such as “Jesus Walks”, “Blame Game” and “No Church In The Wild”.
there is an obvious Scarface reference. Tripping off the powder and the world is yours…
105
Judging by this Kid Cudi interview I doubt Kanye was doing drugs back when he was composing Dark Fantasy. (Minute 4:40