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“My Block” – the Queensbridge projects Nas grew up in, and regularly refers to. This also refers to the 2Pac song of the same name, which negatively portrays black ghettos in America and their attitudes

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The sequel to the classic opener off Illmatic. A mellow Preemo instrumental immerses you in Nas' soft, emotional words, making these scenes young Nas witnessed feel most tangible. One of his most underrated songs, and more than worthy to be the successor to the original.

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Two ways to interpret this line:

  • Nas' raps are so powerful and dangerous that they have to be locked away to prevent them from hurting anyone
  • Or his rhymes are so rare and valuable that they have to be secured in a safe place to make sure they are never misplaced or forgotten

We can’t be sure if it was intentional or not, but ending an album that begins in the fucking dungeons of rap with a line about jail cells would be a very nice touch.

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Lupe takes the tradition of “pouring some out for one’s homies” to a literal, and surreal conclusion, as the undead protagonist actually finds himself on the receiving end of all that poured-out liquor

Or, considering Lupe’s “Food/Liquor = Good/Bad” philosophy, the liquor could be a reference to the bad things the protagonist had done during his lifetime. Not sipping it fast enough and the casket filling up would therefore mean that the protagonist is on the verge of being overwhelmed by the memories of his past wrongdoings.

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It’s simple. The girl doesn’t need to go to great lengths to convince the customers to pay her, her unbelievable looks/dancing mean a rudimentary statement is enough.

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“Put It On” was released as the lead single from Big L’s debut album Lifestylez Ov Da Poor and Dangerous. The song features DJ Kid Capri on the chorus in a hypeman role as Big L displays his lyrical skills over the Buckwild track.

In an interview with HipHopDX, producer Lord Finesse said the following about the track:

[Columbia Records] wanted something with a hook that would be kinda catchy, and something they could get radio play with. Like, everything [L] did was dark, and it was gangsta, and it was…what was the [popular style at the time]? Horror-core. So they needed something bright, something friendly. And ‘Put It On’ just matched everything perfect.

‘Put it on,’ the slang…was like… ‘do your thing.’ ‘Put it on Big L, put it on…’ [meaning] you gotta do your thing, you gotta represent.

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Big L rolls around the streets in his Mercedes Benz, banging chicks in the process.
However, the car is simply an accessory for the latter, and totally unnecessary, according to L on his verse of Represent

L is the rebel type, I’m rough as a metal pipe
Fuck a Benz, cause I could pull skins on a pedal-bike!

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Highlights including a numerological 50 Cent diss and an up-to-date iPhone ref, Nasty Nas is at his lyrical best over a cold Jay Electronica beat, stripped bare of drums.

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  • By “you can’t kill me”, Big L is telling other rappers that he can’t be defeated. The paradoxical “born dead” simply furthers that L must be untouchable, as you can’t die twice.

  • He did get gunned down in February 1999, possibly as retaliation for some of his brother’s drug crimes. This was an unbelievable loss to hip hop, as you can tell just by listening to him. RIP

  • Also a reference to the fact that L often calls himself the Devil’s Son. Since the Devil would not truly be alive in hell, L wouldn’t be born that way either.

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“catching rec” is a term used mostly in prison that means shitting on somebody in a friendly way – “rec” short for “recreation”, referencing the time in between lockdowns where people can get together. it doesn’t necessarily mean behaving recklessly.

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