Where my ring? Knew you had it cause you took too long as Micky,
Annie and the girl who bought it looked on. Huffing and puffing, gun in
my hand told you to step outside. Hoping you said no, but you hurt my
pride. Made our way down the steps, maybe you thought it was just a
threat. Or maybe your life was just that crazy and you was begging for
death. Tried to justify this in my young mind, but the adrenaline and my
ego hurt combined drove me berserk. Saw the devil in your eyes, high
off more than weed, confused, I just closed my young eyes and squeezed.
What a sound, opened my eyes just in time to see you stumbling to the
ground. Damn, what I done now?” Jay-Z “You Must Love Me“
I remember the the first time I heard Jay-Z’s song “You Must Love
Me.” A joint that describes several incidents he was involved in as a
youth, that he later came to regret. Acts Such as selling crack to his
own mother, using a young girl as a mule to carry cocaine (she gets
popped by the police), and shooting his own brother.
I often wondered if any of it was true or just typical rap boasting from Hov, trying to add “realness” to the song.
In an interview with the UK Guardian,
Jay-Z admits at least one of the scenarios is %100 fact. At the age of
12, he shot his crack addicted older brother over a stolen ring.
“I thought my life was over. I thought I’d go to jail for ever.” Hov said “It was terrible. I was a boy, a child. I was terrified.”
Luckily the bullet hit his brother in the shoulder and wasn’t a life
threatening wound. When Hov visited him in the hospital, his brother
apologized for stealing the ring and didn’t press charges against him.
In the interview Jay goes on to describe how prevalent guns were at that time in his neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. A problem that has only gotten worse in every hood across America.
“Guns were everywhere. You didn’t have to go far to get one. Just everywhere,” he said. “Guns were around every day. There were shootouts, but I never shot anyone else. Most people in shootouts don’t get shot.“
Jigga claims he was shot at three times, but never hit. “It’s like there was some rogue angel watching over us,” he said.
