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.
Both of the bridges are based on the theme of the song, that Gift of Gab has been nominated “Paragraph President”, an interesting reference meaning the best rapper in the world. The bridges use clips that sound like they could be used for a real presidential inauguration, further building upon the theme.
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.
If you’re jones’d (hooked) on Gab’s lyrics, start up your car and drive to the next Blackalicious concert immediately!
ACCEPTED COMMENT: Also an allusion to jazz pianist Chick Corea’s song “Tones for Joan’s Bones” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rTH-J3lYe8
by Chick Corea.
Maybe cop a Coupe and in a year or two re-lease it
I probably get screwed but who read leases? Shad – Intro: Quest For Glory
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.
An phenomenal example of Shad’s talented wordplay, he uses the homophone “coupe/coup/cop” and “release/re-lease/read lease” multiple times in the last few lines, each with different meanings.
Shad wants to recoup (rest) from the spotlight for a bit and cop (buy) a coupe (2-door car). But, he might get a bad deal on the lease on his car.
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.
Tori Spelling is an American actress known for her role in the TV show Beverly Hills 90210, where she played Donna Martin, a character who lives in L.A., with the Hollywood stars.
Shad believes that God isn’t up in the sky with the stars.
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.
N.O.R.E., formerly known as Noreaga, is a rapper from Queens, New York. As you have probably figured out, his name is spelled out and pronounced N-O-R-E; spelled out blatantly like Shad’s raps are.
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.
I ride the subway as a car, I'm gettin by Oddisee (Ft. Diamond District, Uptown XO & yU) – Do It All
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.
Referencing the opening lines of the hook to Rick Ross’s banger “I’m Not a Star”
I’m not a star, somebody lied
I got a pistol in the car, a 45
Oddisee flips the original meaning, that Ross is a gangsta first, superstar second, into admitting that he really is not a star. Oddisee is still underground and not to well known about, and gets by doing what normal people do.
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.
Oddisee’s verses are super descriptive and can paint words in one’s head. They are so cinematic and detailed that they can be adapted to become a movie.
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.
Referencing one’s “15 minutes of fame”; the short-lived life in the spotlight that you live will last only a short while before you are completely forgotten about. The expression was coined by artist Andy Warhol in 1968, who proclaimed that “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”
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.
