Successfully Lost: Decoded.

So, mgmt was talking to me about reading Decoded and how it places things in a proper perspective as far as interpreting Jay-Z lyrics.  My initial thoughts were, "I'm a rapper, of course I understand what he meant."  But then, I got to thinking...I wonder how much stuff folks understand about my own lyrics?  Like, I know what I mean but, it's kinda my job to make sure that you do too.  To borrow a line from young Shawn Corey, "Lord help me, all I wanted to be was wealthy or, somebody to tell me that they felt me."  How could I be sure??? Wellllll, I came up with a simple solution:  Tell you.

Here's week one. I'm gonna do this every week.  Maybe it'll be like a #TBT thing.

"Commencement"

Here's the thing:  I really rap. Like, for real.  In my opinion, the absolute first thing a rapper must do when capturing an audience is to establish the fact that he/she really raps.  Here, in my introduction to the world, I wanted to express my ambition, a lil' bit about my personal style and interest in fashion, my propensity to do my own thing, and probably most of all, even more than these other things, the SUCCESS part of "Successfully Lost."  These 16 bars kinda set the table for what to expect from me.

"Made my own lane, why no, not Kiffin." =>  Play by your own rules.  If you wanna be a rapper, be a rapper...even if you're a lawyer.

"Over the years I made friends but, it's really sad to say that most of them were the fake ones." => You come across some characters throughout life.  Some will disappoint you.

"Scared money don't make none, dont be senseless (cents-less)" =>  Invest in yourself.  It is the only sensible thing to do.

"My eye is on that money so my grind is getting ugly, so much now that Quailman try jocking my dougie.  You ha-ha but, nah, I'm not tryna be funny but I smile 'cause somehow I know you probably gon' love me." => You will see me working hard.  It's because I believe I can win you over.

Listen to the song here.