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‘Brand new day’ is an almost cliched metaphor for new opportunity. Perhaps the shrugged, offhand ‘what can I say?’ that ends this line nods to this cliched idea.

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What is this?

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He’s always gettin screwed, so what else is he supposed to do?

On a poetic level, this is a subtly brilliant line. The assonance is (as always with Em) easy and free flowing, but it also dovetails nicely with the everyman All-American Joe idiom of ‘What’s a fella to do?“ effortlessly shifting the tone from acerbic to colloquial, even jovial.
It’s touches like this that cement Eminem as a master of the craft, even if it all happens intuitively. golf clap

It just further solidifies the sense that he is speaking from his “Marshall Mathers” persona, and there is no sense of irony or sarcasm that usually attends his “Slim Shady” or “Eminem” persona.

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Diptyque is a famous French perfumer known for their interesting candle scents. Maharishi is a fashion label that peaked in popularity in the 1990s, but was still thriving as of this song’s release. Dita is an expensive eyewear comoany.

After the list of cliched material desires in the hook, Lupe kicks of Verse 2 with some seriously obscure, non-Hip-Hop items; but that’s the whole point! Lupe is asserting his individuality, and aggressively so.

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He is saying that the bad things happening in London are because of the younger generations. They are still immature.

The rhyming couplet at the end of this verse does what any good ending couplet should do, which is summarize the entire theme of the preceding verse.

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Gold accessories are a staple of the successful rapper. If this song is to be taken as a discourse on individuality and culture, Lupe’s hook is an assertion of his understanding of hiphop’s ‘rules’.

Going against this grain, Lupe is celebrating his individuality throughout the verses of this song and criticizing the norm of the ‘Gold Watch’ — the common, easily recognized symbol of class, style, and wealth.

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Double entendre referring to his hard-topped convertible as well as himself.

‘Hard-headed’ refers to his stubborn attitude as well. So ‘top peeling back’ just might refer to a receding hairline. Sounds implausible, but Pusha T recently dropped a similar line in ‘Mercy’, referencing George Jefferson.

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Lupe’s polished to shine like the very reflective surface of black nail polish. This is where the song gets interesting. Lupe is well aware that the punk aesthetic (black fingernails) has no place in ghetto streets; being ‘cool’ is dependent largely on accepted notions of taste. That, essentially, is what culture is.

The whole song is a celebration of Lupe’s expansive cultural capital. The obscure, particular references he namedrops are akin to bragging. He knows the rules, knows how to break them and knows what people will think when he does. Very ‘cool’ indeed.

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