Nas - Who Killed It [explained] --- Nice read.

[Side Effect]

This was written by Àkrōmatīk of BTNHBOARD.com. I thought it was a good read.

I, like many others, were turned off by this song. My boy jus hit me up on the phone and he let me know the whole explanation behind the song and the deeper meaning, so maybe you might have a new appreciation for it.

Here are the lyrics according to "Ohhla" and then the explanation follows..which I got from AHH:

[Nas]
Look here see
Pretty Mike shanked Two-Face Al over some gal
Found the body dead in the isles
Death by strangulation
Microphone cord, a dirty broad
Guess they'll never play it again Sam
Damn that was my jam
Now she's on the lamb
She made it out with 200 grand
What a scam
While these two compete on who's the star of the show
Golden legs there makes off with the dough
I read the paper there with Joe the Butcher
He said one glance is all it took ya
She's a real looker
They say her old mans a bootlegger
Transporting in any weather
And at this rate we'll never get her
Fellas, think it's time to call it a night
All this talk of this mystery dame's gettin' me tight
Thought I saw her in my eyesight, right
Hate to spoil the party
What are you guys havin', the same?
Waiter another round for the gang
It's strange how I always felt outta place
Joe The Butcher's my ace, but in comes Freckle Face
So I said see you later
'Fore I hurt him and his two ugly thumb breakers
He met them in Louisiana wrestling gators
An idiot can tell they're involved with the caper
So I pulled the revolver on my waist up
Between the patrol car and the gray truck
Behind the street lamp was a silouhette
White gloves and a real long cigarette
What do ya know all this time she's got me in her scope
She spoke says the devil got you guys by the throat
Your conspiracy theories won't work without evidence
That's the reason why Eric B is not president

Well what do ya say

Ya see? (3x)

Look here see
I know you got soul your trying to hide it
How did you kill a man out in cypress
One Eyed Charlie
He only hangs with the criminal minded
Says you guys did it doggy style is he lyin'
She says, +Walk This Way+ I'll tell you a +Children's Story+
We hit the bodega got her a few 40's
We jumped in my ride we drove and she cried
Twisted off the cap there and opened her mouth wide
Swallowed it, whole bottle's half empty
Drinks like a fish now she's past tipsy
The truth came out as we got to her suave house
+Chopped and screwed+ her mouth and sat me on the couch
I said it's gettin late c'mon give it to me straight
Who's ya sponsor lady? She says Bill Gates
What are ya born 77 or 78?
She says, Nah it goes way to an earlier date
Slave times, claims the slaves said rhymes
But she fell in love with some fella named Clive
Who? Clive Campbell from Sedgwick Ave, the Bronx
Now she shows me the cash
I said who's Clive, don't play with me skirt
She said Clive Campbell
He's Kool Herc

Ah ha! Ah ha!

Listen up sweetheart
Now we gettin somewhere
As she's talkin, she starts vanishing in thin air
But before she drops the money bag on the floor and died
She said if you really love me I'll come back alive

Explanation

Now lets get some things straight since its a story there's characters, setting and plot

the plot is who killed hip-hop?

the setting is 1930s the golden era; the manifestation of jazz, mobsters, bootlegging and organized crime

the characters are nas the detective and his partner joe da butcher

freckle face who is joe da butchers connection to the underworld

and hip-hop who is the girl in the story a.k.a. the gal

now what happens is pretty mike and two face al kill each other and the gal runs off with the money

pretty mike and two face al are B.I.G. & Tupac and its a psuedonym for Hip-Hop maximizing its commercialism which is why the gal runs off with the money

the murder of two face al is directly referencing tupac dying first

now this all occured at some club where the classic jams go on sung by the gal

that is why nas says damn that was my jam because she will never be singing there again

the setting is further portrayed through the uses of a microphone cord as the murder weapon and the fact the body was found in the aisle

Now, Joe Da Butchers represent the average hip-hop listener

His name simply breaks down to joe a.k.a. the average joe schmo and da butcher part is a reference to "chewing the fat" which means just kicking simple convo chillin

Now after joe mentions to nas that he realizes he's falling for her nas hits the bar a lil aggitated.

He realizes its the same scene at the bar but says fuck it and drinks are on him. That represents nas going commercial and he admits it, but tries to counteract that by saying "but I always felt outta place" which means he sold out but still puts out real Hip-Hop.

The symbolism in the bar scene is that joe the da butcher is nas partner but his southern connects (freckle face and company) are involved with this crime

joe is none the wiser a.k.a. the average listener supports southern music regardless of all this south trash talk (jeezy,ludacris,lil jon,rick ross)

nas gets a lil ticked off and heads outside and realizes the gal has been trailin him the whole time

that's basically saying that even though he didn't know it, Hip-Hop HAS been followin him for a while

next thing she steps out the shadow and he says "all this time she had me in her scope"

in her scope = interscope
nas starts the story saying "death by strangulation" but "death" = Def(Jam)

Basically he was saying that Def Jam started the "killing" (when it commercialized hip-hop) and now interscope
runs it

at this point he is saying the Crackers took control of the art hence the reference to "Conspiracy Theories" behind this "whodunit"

"that's why Eric B is not president" pretty much sums it up

so Def Jam chokeholded the game and then other labels like universal picked it up.

at this point nas has some evidence so he starts interrogating the broad

"I know you have soul quit tryin to hide it" is obviously saying that hip-hop has soul but its obscured by the commercialism

NaS uses the interrogation wisely by bringing up cypress hill and snoop dogg referencing the classics just flippin the phrases

If you can't figure this out then your pretty fuckin stupid:

She (Hip-Hop) supposedly killed a man in cypress - Cypress Hill "How I could just kill a man".

(Alternate Meaning/Possible Reference: When "she" {Hip-Hop} supposedly killed a man in cypress it could also be a reference to the end of the The Bridge Wars and the Death of DJ Scott LaRock. The Bridge Wars was a Hip-Hop rivalry during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, that arose from a dispute over the true birthplace of hip hop music and retaliation over the rejecting of a record for airplay. The Bridge Wars originally involved The South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions, led by KRS-One, and Marley Marl's Juice Crew, hailing from Queensbridge. The rivalry resulted in DJ Scott LaRock being killed in the South Bronx, Cypress Projects....but I think there's a Cypress Projects in B.K so i'm not sure.....Nevertheless the The Bridge Wars was the beginning of the BEEF Era when Hip-Hop started gettin' Violent over lyrics)


And one eyed charlie (krs-one) who only hangs with the criminal minded (BDP) said they did it doggystyle (snoop dogg) but obviously referencing sex

at this point she puts everything in perspective for nas IN ORDER because nas was out of chronological order by mentioning 92 then 91 then 88:

so she begins by asking him to "walk this way" (run dmc) and she will tell him a childrens story (slick rick)

this is starting out raw hip-hop in the 80s

"got her a few 40s" is now referencing the west coast era domination as well hoppin in the "ride"

at this point hip-hop started losing "it" because it was being bombarded by commercial gangsterism and losing its origins

The getting "tipsy" part refers to hip-hop totally losing control and becoming almost completely pop (the bad boy era). It can also be a refference to J-Kwon and the beat he sampled which NaS is rappin' over.



"as we got to her suave house chopped and screwed her mouth" is now moving on to the south moving on in at the close of the shiny suit era and is cleverly flipped to nas getting oral sex by hip-hop he finally gave in

after he fucks her, she spills the beans and tells him that Bill Gates sponsored her to destroy hip-hop through means of downloading and extreme piracy

Remember, hip-hop's father was a bootlegger and now her sponsor is one of the largest helpers in the creation of bootlegging

at this point she just breaks down and admits she is IMMORTAL because no regular human could be alive in BOTH slave times AND the Present.

she says she came from that era and had many lovers since but her one true love was kool herc (pioneer of hip-hop, some say sole creator)

But then she obviously fucked him over and fell to the pressure of the root of all evil, money (the 200 grand) (by the way 200 grand in 1930 is worth MILLIONS)

At this point the gig is up and she begins to fade away magically but lets NaS know it's his inner spirit that really keeps hip-hop alive.

She really didn't need the money in the End

...so yea thats it.

[rezurect]

good read...

[untouchable]

some good shit.. nas is a fuckin genoius

[.GgG.]

whoever wrote dis is takin it far too deep

tha song aint dat hard to understand...no need for a scientific explanation

[pfcjohnson502]

i agree the shit ain't too hard to figure out who the fuck need an explanation

[Drake]

This has been posted a couple times before but it is a great read

[jackson8545]

good read

[nassau]

wow good read...best concept song eva

[Big-T]

propz there were sum partz i understood but dis spells it out better nice 1

[shadydvl]

i think there was probably a little to much read into it but generally that on the button. tight shit.