What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Jay’s wife, Beyonce Knowles, who would be the “queen” to his king (also a pun on “Queen Bey”, which fits her image as a diva)
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Marcus Garvey was an early Pan-Africanist leader.
Jay-Z is saying that he’s being mentioned with the two greatest rappers ever, influential artist Bob Marley, and the great Marcus Garvey. Braggadocio at its finest.
Fun fact: 3 of the 4 people he compared himself to are either Jamaican or of Jamaican Descent.
In that red-and-yellow thing; old school Atlanta Hawk Lil Wayne (Ft. JAY-Z) – Mr. Carter
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Wayne’s car is the same color as the “old school” (pre-2007) colors of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks basketball team
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Wayne is running the names of boxer Hector “Macho” Camacho and wrestler “The Macho Man” Randy Savage… together.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
He’s just spelling his name – nothing to see here, folks
In a 2013 interview, Hov commented on the disappearance of the hyphen:
That was like 3 years ago, I don’t know how that story resurfaced, but I guess it was a slow news day. The hyphen was really big back in the day. It’s not useful anymore. I had umlauts over one of the letters, I removed that too."
Three shots, close range, never touched me, divine intervention JAY-Z – Dead Presidents II
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Jay referring to his experience as Divine Intervention could be a reference to Pulp Fiction in which Samuel L Jackson’s character has an almost identical experience to Jay involving bullets missed from point blank which he notably claims to be ‘divine intervention’.
Following the shots the character then sees it as a sign from God to leave his life of crime and as a result survives the movie whilst almost every other characters dies.
In a similar turn of events Jay-Z of course left his life of crime to ‘go straight’ and make it out through music whilst all his peers ended up imprisoned or dead.
So whilst Jay’s experience may be true, the deliberate wording and description along with the film’s relevancy of having been released only 2 years prior suggests it to be a most definite Pulp Fiction reference, with Jay-Z comparing his miraculous survival and subsequent escape of the criminal lifestyle to that of the protagonist Jules from Pulp Fiction
The life and times of Shawn Carter, nigga, Volume 2
Y'all niggas get ready! JAY-Z – Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
“Come through” simply means to come around, to be around. Reasonable Doubt began Jay’s rap career, and he was already a tyrant on his first album. If he’s coming through the dope spot it’s not for a friendly chat.
Shawn Corey Carter is his given name, and this song is off Volume 2 of the Life and Times trilogy.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Bob Marley died of cancer that started in his foot and spread to his other lungs and organs. Not really a martyr, but definitely a legend that Jay-Z chooses to align himself with
definitely a martyr! Because he could have had his leg amputated, but didn’t do it because of his Rastafarian believes