I father, I Brooklyn Dodger them.
I jack. I rob. I sin.
Aww man — I’m Jackie Robinson.
‘cept when I run base, I dodge the pen.— Jay-Z, Brooklyn Go Hard
There are few things that make me as happy as hip-hop. As a writer, there are even less things that leave me as inspired. Ezra Pound wrote in ABC’s of Reading that “great literature is language charged to the utmost degree.” I am not saying that rap is always great literature—but it can definitely be language charged with maximal meaning. Brooklyn Go Hard is one of the finest examples.
This is not a hot take. Genius notes that the above section of Jay Z’s second verse includes, perhaps, one of the greatest triple entendre’s in all of hip-hop history. But that is just the one line. Besides, the final line is at least a quadruple entendre. Indeed, these four bars have more layers than most films and not a single syllable is wasted.
Since I have been spontaneously rapping this verse aloud for the last few weeks, I am gonna do a breakdown below and hopefully expurgate myself of the obsession. My hope is that you will walk away a creatively inspired and with a little more love for hip-hop. Just consider this an appreciation post for Brooklyn’s finest from a recent transplant.
I Father
The first two words carry a double entendre.
- The plain meaning
- That Jay-Z is the father — originator, blueprint, inspiration — of most modern rappers. This has long been acknowledged. There is a reason he is in every top five list.
- The setup meaning
- I father, especially when pronounced stylistically, is reminiscent of our father ; the opening line of the Lord’s Prayer, and more importantly, a confession.
I Brooklyn Dodger Them
This is the first “sin” that Jay is confessing to, with multiple meanings that show love for his Brooklyn-based roots:
- Trolley Dodgers
- In the early 1900’s, the main method of commute in Brooklyn was through trolleys which all fed into Brooklyn Heights and went over the bridge. As a result, BK dwellers were called “Trolley Dodgers.”
- When saying “I Brooklyn Dodger them”, Jay is not only bragging about his identity as a Brooklyn native, but emphasizing the agility, speed, and street-suave that he uses to “dodge” his opposition.
- Artful Dodger
- Jay often identifies with orphans in his music, on account of having an absent father which he mentions in the first verse of this song. The song that altered his career, Hard Knock Life used a sample from the musical Annie.
- In this line, HOV is referencing another famous orphan: Jack Dawkins, aka the Artful Dodger, from Charle’s Dickens Oliver Twist. He is identifying as a Brooklyn version of one of literature’s most adored and well-known thieves.
- Actual Dodgers
- The Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team were an elite sports team during their time, and particularly during the time that Jay is about to reference. I think the implication speaks for itself in terms of dominance and how Jay wins proverbial championships, but it also sets up the next lines with insane dimensionality.
I jack. I rob. I sin.
Jay’s flow here is masterful, as this type of interpolation with short words is difficult over such a hype beat (made by Kanye, by the way). As for meaning, it’s simple:
- Jay is confessing to the crimes he commits as a man from the streets: jacking, robbing, and sinning.
- The simple but visceral statements really show Jay’s craft. Even more remarkable when you realize that Jay sort of discovered these word choices more than picked them, which is evident in the next few lines.
- Ending in “I sin” continues the religious theme, which gets carried in the next line.
Aww man —
Another entendre:
- Braggadocios exclamation
- When you listen to the song, it’s as if Jay has gotten a little overwhelmed just by recounting and thinking on his exploits. He then says “aww man” like he has had a revelation.
- End of Prayer
- Aww man is also a stylistic pronunciation of “amen,” which ends the confession.
- Not accidentally, amen literally means “so be it,” leaving it questionable whether Jay-Z is actually penitent about his sins or saying “I jack. I rob. I sin. So be it.“
I’m Jackie Robinson.
I’m sure you’re familiar, but let’s rehearse Jackie Robinson’s greatness:
- First Black MLB player who debuted on the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers team, smashing a 60-year segregation precedent and sparking an integration boom.
- Stole home 19 times, setting the record for switch-hitters.
- Endured slurs, death threats, beanballs, and hotel bans without retaliation.
- Career .311 average and 197 steals.
- Powered Dodgers to 6 pennants and 1955 World Series (first integrated champs), ending Yankees’ all-white 5-peat.
- First Black Hall of Famer (1962)
The implications for Jay-Z, a black man, calling himself Jackie Robinson are obvious. The lyrical achievement is that this reveals the previous line— I jack, I rob, I sin — to be a homophonic wordplay on Jackie Robinson’s name, as well an immediate callback to the Brooklyn Dodger reference two lines earlier and continuing the thematic loop.
It’s all Brooklyn. It’s all championships. It’s all black. Furthermore, this song was also made for a soundtrack to a Notorious B.I.G. film— another Brooklyn icon.
‘cept when I run base, I dodge the pen.
As far as I can tell, this is a frickin’ quadruple entendre:
- Baseball
- This is the basis of the wordplay, where Jay continues the Jackie Robinson theme, metaphorically saying that when he runs bases (like how Jackie would steal home), he does it in a way that avoids getting tagged out and sent back to the baseball pen (where the players sit when they aren’t in the game).
- Music
- Jay-Z has a famously atypical way of making music. He never writes down his lyrics. Instead, he would formulate and memorize his raps in his head and then lay them down like a freestyle once in the recording studio.
- Therefore, this line is meant to be heard as: when Jay-Z runs bass (is making music), he dodges the pen (prefers not to write his lyrics down).
- Drugs
- Jay-Z used to deal drugs, particularly cocaine, out of Marcy Projects in BK, but was never caught or convicted. Another word for cocaine is freebase.
- Therefore, this line can be interpreted as: when Jay-Z runs base (deals drugs) he dodges (avoids, stays out of) the pen (short for penitentiary, prison).
- Roc A Fella
- Early in his career, Jay-Z faced massive challenges trying to get signed to a record label, who were either wanting too much money or too much control over his creative process. This led to HOV making his own record label, Roc A Fella Records, and selling his first CD out of the trunk of his car. He quickly became a phenomena and Roc A Fella later made him a billionaire.
- Heard this way, the line can be understood as a callback to how when Jay-Z runs base (is in charge of headquarters), he does so in order to dodge the pen (avoid being signed to other record labels).
Absolutely unbelievable levels of craft and creativity.
Leave A Foot Out There
What makes hip-hop so remarkable as an art form is the unique fusion of music, rhythm, and lyricism. Each of these elements acts as a constraint on the other, forcing the artist through a very narrow door of execution. The wordplay contained in these four lines is already on the level of genius, and not seen anywhere except in rap; but it’s elevated to astronomical levels when you realize that it also had to fit a rhythm and rhyme scheme that matched the music. In my opinion, it’s the most catchy part of the song. I thought of it when Jay was talking about his flow in the recent GQ interview:
” Yeah, sometimes you need to sit in the pocket. Because my pocket is always with a foot over the thing anyway— it is always hanging to the last moment. Because sometimes I try to fit a lot of words into a small space… then that last word just gets in the door.
If you listen to the song again, you can hear exactly what he means. Jay never quite lays his hits where the clap or boom is— it’s always a little off kilter. It is an insane level of mastery to be sure, but also a gift. One that, as an artist, inspires me endlessly. I hope it inspires you too.
Keep creating,
Bradley
About the Author:
Bradley Andrews is a hopeful rabble-rouser on a mission to inspire the world. Stay in touch with what he’s doing by subscribing to a weekly digest of his activity through micro.blog. This will send you writing, photos, and other curiosities that you are guaranteed to love.
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