Jay - Z Can I Live

Darryl Pye
Humanitiies
Ms. Young

Favorite Hip Hop Song Ever


On the surface this seems like a much easir topic than it

actually is. The fact is 90% of my time I am listening to rap be it on

the radio, my ipod, or just some dude with street dreams so it is

hard to process just one so I broke it down. My favorite artists are

Jay-Z and Biggie. I was goin to pick juicy but I'm pretty sure that is

a universal favorite that a lot of people picked. So I decided to go

with the song "Can I Live" on Jay-z's Reasonable doubt album.

This is by far my favorite album and this was the first song I always

turned to. I think it is worthy of the best ever title because the

instrumental was one of the best smooth riding beats ever and the

lyrical content and metaphoric use in this song is unmatched and

honestly admirable. It breaks down the inner workings of a person

that has sturggled through poverty for years and now has escaped

the situation and is happy and ready to live his life. But people are

quick to place judgement on you and I think in this song he is

asking critics to hold the jury on him until he gets out his system

what he needs to after escaping conditions no one wan t to endure.

Its only natural to want to be able to do new things and more of the

old things you like when you are financially able to.

My mind is infested, with sick thoughts that circle
like a Lexus, if driven wrong it's sure to hurt you
Dual level like duplexes, in unity, my crew and me
commit atrocities like we got immunity
You guessed it, manifest it in tangible goods
Platinum Rolexed it, we don't lease
we buy the whole care, as you should
My confederation, dead a nation, EXPLODE
on detonation, overload the mind of a said patient
When it balls to steam, it comes to it
we all fiends gotta do it, even righteous minds go through this
True this, history school us to spend our money foolish
Bond with jewellers and, watch for intruders
I stepped it up another level, meditated like a buddhist
Recruited lieutenants with ludicrous, dreams of
gettin cream let's do this, it gets tedious
So I keep one eye open like, C-B-S, ya see me
stressed right? Can I live?

This is my favorite passage from the song he starts off by saying when you have
nothing and want everything your mind will wonder with many devious thoughts of how
to change your situation and he says they circle in you head and if you do the wrong thing
with those thoughts it can lead to your destruction. He says we commit atrocities or
horrible acts and act as if it's ok because we hav e a viable excuse of property but does
doesn't make us immune to God's raft. We usually celebrate the wrong doing and the
money that comes with it by manifesting it into something that your peers can see and
give you power, material things like jewelry and cars. He said our history meaning black
history and the values passed down from family or just people in the hood is to have the
most jewelry as he said bond with jewellers and watch for intruders. The intruders being
our own people who quickly get jealous and want what you have. So he says he stepped it
up and is on a different level of thinking than others and evaluates situations better and he
surrounded himself he said with lieutenants around him that shared his thinking and was
really about money and not the bs. He says let's get the money but it will be as tedious
tasks and he will keep one eye up basically meaning he won't ever let anyone catch him
sleeping on any front of the buisness he is trying to take care of.

This song is my favorite because it is more than just some lollipop dance and beat he
actually has a message like he alkways does and that is why Jay-z is my favorite and Can
I Live is my favorite song because we all just want to live our lives without getting
judged.