As a card-carrying member of Roc Nation and one of Lucky Lefty’s biggest fans, I felt the need to provide some clarity around the most misinterpreted lyric on The Blueprint 3. What does this have to do with sports? Well, the line in question happens to double as one of the better sports metaphors offered up in hip hop at large in the last several years, and it further cements the interconnected relationship basketball and hip hop play in one another’s culture.
(Okay, so it more of a drug reference than a pure sports one…sue me.)
The lyric in question, from BP3′s “Empire State of Mind”:
I got it made/If Jeezy’s payin’ LeBron, I’m paying Dwyane Wade
Now, even if Hov’s return since the Black Album has indeed been “Jordan wearing the 45,” that is a very clever turn of phrase indeed. But far too many people are screwing up the meaning of this basketball reference altogether. The majority of online posters and internet gangsters have completely misheard, and therefore misunderstood the line.
Most lyric sites and blogspots alike have scribed the lyrics as “If Jesus payin’ LeBron…” So far as I remember, JC was not the richest Jewish carpenter in Jerusalem, so he probably could not afford to give LeBron a max-level contract, no matter how much free fish and wine he promised. Jeezy on the other hand….
What Hova is referencing is the mixtape track by Young Jeezy called “Kobe and LeBron.” It is in said track that Mr. 17.5 drops the following line:
I used to pay Kobe, but now I pay LeBron
Just what is the Soul Survivor talking about here? Why, my young padawan, Jeezy is referencing that he gets a new discount of a kilo of China White (that Lindsay Lohan?). Jeezy claims he used to pay “24″ (Kobe) but now he pays “23″ (LeBron). Therefore, Jay is saying that if Jeezy pays 23 for a key, he only pays 3, as in D-Wade, because he has that much clout.
I got it made/If Jeezy’s payin’ LeBron, I’m paying Dwyane Wade
NBA related drug references understood…THE MORE YOU KNOW!
Trev, in terms of street cred, what does it mean if you’re paying “Shaq”? Would paying “Greg Ostertag” (0) make you the ultimate hustler?
Weird sidenote – why did Sloan credit Ostertag as one of the best players he has ever coached in his speech on Friday? That was just odd.
What do you mean by this” Now, even if Hov’s return since the Black Album has indeed been “Jordan wearing the 45,”
umm na bra. He is saying that he pays Dwyane Wade, as in he literally pays Dwyane Wade. As an owner in the NBA. He’s saying Jeezy balls on that level, and he’s balling on a completely dif level. Jay-z hasnt bought a brick in over 15 years man.
your right about the Jeezy part though.