Comments on: Jay-Z Verse Troubles Me to This Day

By: Micah

Micah — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 04:15:39 +0000

Hey Rob. I get your point. Just saying, it probably hurts more to be recognized publicly by your financier as not being likely to handle your business on your own, than to be acknowledged as being forever solvent. And working in the offices there gave me no inner circle insight into dude’s relationships… just that he seemed like a very charismatic guy.

By: Rob Davis

Rob Davis — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 00:34:27 +0000

Hi,

This seems a bit odd as I would think someone who worked at Def Jam would know more about the relationship between Bkeek and Jay. Bowels not some random guy Jay signed to the label. They both grew up in Marcy Projects in Brooklyn. I’m assuming they had a friendship that pre-dates any of Jays success. Bkeek probably showed Jay great friendship during this time. By rapping these lines Jay is pretty much saying no matter what happens in Bleeks career he’ll be financially taken care of. To lentils is the utmost show of loyalty; similar to the relationship of Tony Yayo and 50 Cent.

Regards

By: Micah

Micah — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:12:17 +0000

Jordy, I like your spin on it… I just think the dude could have phrased things a bit less ambiguously or not called Bleek out specifically. There are lots of more “underground” artists than Bleek associated with Jay who are probably thankful that Hov didn’t use them as the example of his “sacrifice.” And seeing as how Mr. Knowles-Carter makes his money off lyrical skill, I’d be a bit surprised if he hadn’t thought through the meaning (and interpretation) of his lines before giving the green light on pressing the album. In other words, it still seems a bit fishy to me.

Here in 2010, I’ll try and work up a couple of other lyrical conundrums that have plagued me over the years. Stay tuned…

By: Jordy

Jordy — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:18:55 +0000

I think your reading is an interesting one, and sorta reminds me of that time an XXL reader broke down the lyrics to a Biggie song like it was a college philosophy paper (Big Poppa: “Surely Biggie must engage in intercourse with one of the ‘honeys.’ However, the coitus must remain a secret lest other females in his neighborhood, or ‘spot,’ become aware of his lecherous behavior”). Back to Jay Z, though, I’m not totally sure I agree with you. Perhaps Jay is merely highlighting the fickle nature of the record industry. I mean, Bleek very easily could be one hit away his whole career, right? Despite this, Jay affirms his loyalty to Bleek, going so far as to say that he will provide for him financially if the industry and the public fail him. Bleek doesn’t have to worry about applying his craft to provide for his family (i.e. write rhymes), as Jay pledges to take care of this, protecting the artist from the pain of seeing his art under appreciated. Is this really so far fetched for a populist rapper who once admitted he’d much rather rhyme more similarly to Talib Kweli? And now I’ve officially wasted far too much time thinking about this….haha

By: Lu

Lu — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:46:32 +0000

This is an amazing read. Thank you so very much for this. I have actually thought about those bars myself. I guess what he is trying to say is that no matter what, he has Bleek’s back. However, does that mean Jay-z knows that Bleek will never be a successful solo artist? Take for instance, the song Dear Summer…It was released on Memphis Bleeks album but Jay-z does all the verses on it. ????? Raise an eye brow or two there..

By: Alex Cook

Alex Cook — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:34:34 +0000

If you consider Jay-Z to be the Bill Gates of hip hop, then you could take this verse as proof of his anti-competitive behavior. By keeping Bleek, a possible competitor, in a position of privilege and reducing his desire or for a hit, then Jigga can keep his monopoly over New York hip hop. Roc-A-Fella did snatch up a lot of New York’s rising stars who never quite reached their potential.