‘God Did’ is the latest album from DJ Khaled that boasts a ‘who’s who’ of featured artists (Eminem, Kanye West, Drake, Lil Savage, Juice Wrld and Lil Baby to name a few!) – but the biggest buzz is coming from the title track, ‘God Did’, and the incredible four-minute verse spat by Jay-Z!
With its layered meanings and slick wordplay, the autobiographical verse is fast becoming the stuff of legend. The track’s engineer, Young Guru, says that he could dedicate a whole book to an interpretation!
We don’t quite have room for that, so we’re going to do an abridged version and give you a highlight reel of some of our fav lyrics and their meanings!
How many billionaires can come from Hov crib?
Huh I count three, me, Ye and Rih
One of the early lyrics in the epic verse, Jay-Z is referencing himself (Hov, a nickname he has gone by for years) and the pride he feels to be a billionaire from humble beginnings, along with other billionaires of similar origins, Rhianna and Kanye West.
Now the weed in stores, can you believe this, Ty?
I put my hustle onto Forbes, can you believe this guy?
Then we said, “F**k it,” and took the dope public
A reference to Jay-Z’s legitimate weed business/ empire called Monogram (that has been documented in the likes of Forbes magazine) now a publicly traded company.
Shit is too much how we grew up (Grew up)
Shit don’t even feel real to us (Damn)
OG sold to those, you called kingpin
If those your drug lords, then who are we then?
This lyric calls to attention just how far Jay-Z has come, and the irony of becoming the head of a legitimate drug business (or ‘drug lord’), and just how different (or similar) that is to being a drug lord of the street.
All this pain from the outside, inspired all this growth within
So new planes gettin’ broken in
Highest elevation of the self
The reference of ‘new planes’ actually has a couple of meanings. The first being a reference to Jay-Z’s clothing line, ‘Paper Planes’ (the clothes were often referred to as ‘new planes’ when they were bought for the first time). But it’s also a reference to the fact that Jay-Z recently bought a new plane. Flying it around now, he’s ‘breaking it in’!
There’s so much more we could get into but suffice to say the verse is at once autobiographical, braggadocious, poetic and personal – a true testament to Jay-Z’s skill as a lyricist and artist. Many are saying that this track cements his place as the G.O.A.T including Jay himself at the end of the verse!
Give it a listen now and hear for yourself why it has the internet ablaze!
