Nas – Who Killed it? (Interpretation)

These interpretations have been floating on some of the hip-hop forums for awhile but I thought I would shed some light to it. I collected some interpretations of one of the deeper records on Nas’ “Hip-Hop is Dead.” Seen as many as gimmick record because of Nas’ 1930’s gangsta voice (see Chappelle’s “Killing Me Softly” – ya seee!), I think you would think differently when examining the symbolism and substance of the lyrics. For the dumb smart readers out there, let’s start off the reading by telling you that he follows Common’s symbolism that Hip-Hop is a woman. Just in case you needed some help.

look here see, pretty mike shanked two face al
over some gal

translation: the microphone murdered the hypocritical MC over H.E.R.

Nas is defining hip-hop’s identity… 3 styles… first the hard core underground… Mic Shank… the shank, weapon of the prisons… grimy as it gets… so the mic’s a weapon… a tool of the underprivileged… a way to get what they desire through force… this is hip-hop essence, the hustle… at the same time it’s sharp, precise, deadly… pretty, but not in a pretty way…

Two Face Al… the contradictory nature of hip-hop… the conscious lyrics, the nihilistic lyrics… Nas himself… the commercialism combined with the incessant drive to keep it real… two faces… the duality… is it good for the culture or bad?

Gal… the female element… the mainstream… the club tracks… the dance tracks… strip music… grind music… love rap…. dirty rap… the yang… but the yang that’s been corrupted and disrespected…

find the body dead in the aisles
death by strangulation, microphone cord a dirty broad

translation: nas the detective sees the hypocritical emcee get strangled by the mic due to whoring hip-hop (a dirty broad)…”death by strangulation”… no more air… no room for the real to breathe… in other words, wack emcees normally kill themselves eventually and real hip-hop prevails

guess they’ll never play it again Sam
damn that was my jam

translation: Reference to the film “Casablanca”, “play it again Sam” is what Bogart’s character tells the black piano player Sam… hip hop is black music… Nas’ music… and now the real is gone… dead… never to be played again… Nas is remorseful, “damn that was my jam”… he acknowledges that he plays a role in hip-hop’s death…

now she’s on the lamb
she made it out wit 200 grand
what a scam

translation: speaking about hip-hop cashing in as the result of this microwave music, which is all too typical…o the real MCs going independent – “on the lamb” from major labels… (i.e. AZ)… “made it out with 200 grand”… how much popular indie rappers make off a strong release…

while these two compete on who’s the star of the show
golden legs there makes off wit the doe

translation: because of that commercial rapper fell off, you got two now wanting to compete for the crown (possibly him and Jay-Z?), meanwhile “golden legs” (i presume the jewish executive or manager…i.e. the jerry hellers or jimmy iovines or clive davis.. lyor cohen…) cashes in off of their beef

I read the paper there wit joe da butcher
he said “one glance is all it took ya, she’s a real looker

translation: “joe da butcher” is presumably that street thug, gangsta rapper or whatever, and how he got attracted to H.E.R. OR…Joe the butcher = Fat Joe… butcher = unrefined… hacks at his tracks like meat… subliminal getting at Joe for dissing Nas for signing to Def Jam… nevertheless he acknowledges Joe’s criticism… “said one glance is all it took ya – she’s a real looker,” Fat Joe saying Nas has been taking in by lure of money… one glance from that angle of hip-hop, the big money corporate angle, is all it took for Nas to sign… Nas admits this, he too is about the paper…

they say her old mans a bootlegger
transporting in any weather and at this rate we’ll never get her

translation: Hip-hop’s father are the classics of Motown, Jazz, the Blues or her father is the creators of her tracks… the producers who sample these old songs… illegitimately recreating them… illicit resales… bootlegging… speaking on the issues with bootlegging, illegal downloads or whatever…something like Lupe’s album was passed down so much due to bootlegging that we never got the ORIGINAL version…alot of shelved albums happened due to this

fellas think its time to call it a night
all this talk of this mystery dames gettin me tight

translation: the conversation about the current state of hiphop continued until late at night and it was getting nas a bit uptight about how messed up hip-hop is right now..” Nas acknowledges that the question of who killed hip hop and her true identity may be beyond his comprehension… same thing he’s said in interviews “I bit off more than I could chew by declaring Hip Hop is Dead”…

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

translation: still uptight about hip-hop, nas thought he seen REAL hiphop, but it was at the club, partying it up (speaking on how hip-hop is not more clubbish these days than ever)

its strange how I always felt outta place
joe da butchers my ace, but in comes freckle face

translation: while at this “club scene” Nas admits he was trying to fit in, but still feels out of place, he’s cool with being a “thug” AKA “joe da butcher” but parts of him wants to be that “backpack rapper”, that nerd or geek, AKA “freckle face”

pretty much, nas right there is reflecting on how his career been contradictory..speaking about fronting the thug image, or being the party-goer, or being that backpacker all at once…

so I said see you later
fore hurt him and his two ugly thumb breakers
met them in Louisiana wrestling gators
and any idiot can tell there involved wit the caper

translation: Nas pretty much leaving the thug image behind to be down with the more conscious effort…the rest of that line is a subliminal knock on the south and how they embraced that thug image in which they’re as much to blame in killing hip-hop

so I pulled the revolver on my waist up
between the patrol car and the grey truck
behind the streetlamp was a silouhette
white gloves and a real long cigarette
whattya ya know all this time she’s got me in her scope

translation: now since Nas is NOW more “conscious” in what he’s doing, it means he’s more apprehensive in what’s out there, in reference of hip-hop…especially with the aforementioned domination of the south and them being the supposed culprit of “killing hip-hop”..but that’s until he sees H.E.R. being hidden…that “got me in her scope” is an obvious knock on INTERSCOPE records, suggesting that label is keeling “real hip-hop” hidden

she spoke says “the devils got you guys be the throat”

translation: Nas is stating that the industry that controls hip-hop now got us looking like pawns attacking each other for no reason or merit

“your conspiracy theories won’t work without evidence
that’s the reason why eric b is not president”

translation: Nas is stating that here we are blaming this or that as the REASON of killing hip-hop, but we don’t have no proof to back it up, and while we’re too busy trying to point fingers at each other, we forgotten what “true hip-hop” used to be

ya see?

look here see, “I know you got soul” your trying to hide it

translation: hip-hop today is “soulless”, Nas begs to differ and has optimism that there’s still some soul in hiphop

“how did you kill a man” out in “cypress”?
one eyed charlie
he only hangs with the “criminal minded”
says you guys did it “doggystyle” is he lyin?

translation: returning back to the beginning of the tale about the death of the commercial rapper…speaking about how these commercial rappers always want to front a STREET GANGSTER image, hence “he only hangs with the criminal minded”, and also how this character is fucking hiphop over doggystyle

she says ” “walk this way” ill tell you a “childrens story”
we hit the bodega got her a few 40s
we jumped in my ride
we drove and she cried
twist off the cap there and opened her mouth wide
“swallowed it”
whole bottles half empty
drinks like a fish, now she’s past “tipsy”

translation: a quick trip back memory lane to where hip-hop used to be the bodegas and drinking 40oz and (surprisingly not mentioned) smoking blunts…her drinking like a fish details how easily “loose” hiphop can get

truth came out as we got to her “suave house”
“chopped and screwed” her mouth and sat me on the couch

translation: another obvious knock on the south, but not in a negative tone, just stating that the south put in some game into hip-hop

I said, “its gettin late c’mon give it to me straight
who’s ya sponsor lady?”
she says, “bill gates”

translation: i would believe it…bill gate probably OWNS hip-hop right now as well as everything else, lol

“whattya born 77? 78?”
she says “nah it goes way to an earlier date”
slave times
claims the slaves said rhymes
but she fell in love wit 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 wit me skirt!
she said clive campbell…..he’s kool herc

translation: now if you don’t get this then you’re slow as hell, but i will say this part though…that line where she ask to show him the cash, you got to remembered that hip-hop is now a prostitute, and being whored over for money

Ahaaa Ahaaaaa

listen up sweetheart, now we gettin somewhere
as she’s talkin she starts vanishing in thin air

translation: Nas STILL don’t know who kills hip-hop, but implying it maybe US that killed it, because as soon she starts talking, she begins to vanish, in other words we tend to IGNORE or ACKNOWLEDGE, alot of our culture have “vanished” due to lack of acknowledgment

but before she drops the money bag on the floor and died
she said if you really love me, ill come back alive

“hiphop is so fuckin’ dead!”

translation: the love of money is the root of all evil, hiphop dies once she accepts the money, however hiphop will ressurect IF we really want true hiphop back….BUT the last line in a whisper states otherwise…hiphop is so fuckin’ dead