If Jeezy’s Payin LeBron I’m Payin Dwyane Wade

September 29, 2010

When I wrote L.A. State of Mind, Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind was in the back of my head spinning on perpetual repeat.

The goal was to create a song as authentic and anthemic to the city of Los Angeles as Empire was to NY.

So often I’d find myself looking at Hov’s lyrics asking, “What’s this really trying to say?”

One of Jay’s lines in particular has become so (in)famous, talked about, and oft-misexplained, I thought it would be worth discussing here.

That line is:

“I got it made / If Jeezy’s paying LeBron / I’m paying Dwyane Wade”

Most non hip-hop heads look at this and SMH. “Just some more non-sensical rap bullshit,” they say, and carry on about their daily lives.

Some light-footed rap aficionados take a step further and muse, “Alright, so if Jeezy could afford to pay LeBron’s salary, then Jay’s saying he could pay Dwyane Wade’s.”

Closer. But not so much.

Salary cap aside, the difference between LeBron and Wade’s take-home-pay isn’t wildly significant. And to the best of my knowledge, LeBron makes more in a weekend than Jeezy makes in a year anyway.

Plus, the right answer is better.

Like a lot of things, it helps to have some historical context.

In 2009, it turns out Young Jeezy penned a mixtape track called, “24, 23“.

On that cut he raps, “I used to pay Kobe / Now I pay LeBron”.

Huh?

In the most subtle of eyebrows-down bravado, he’s claiming that while he used to pay $24,000 for a kilo of cocaine (24 being Kobe Bryant’s jersey number), he now only pays $23,000 (23 being LeBron’s number in Cleveland).

Plausible, sure. He’s big-time now, so why pay full-price for your narcotics when your celebrity could reasonably yield a 4.2% discount.

But I digress, back to Jay.

“If Jeezy’s paying LeBron ($23,000),” says Jay, “I’m paying Dwyane Wade (jersey #3… $3,000).”

Mystery solved.

It’s lines like that — clever in reference, rhyme and metaphor — that make rap so damn irresistible to a songwriter like me.

Not since Dylan’s “Tambourine Man” have subversive drug references been so much fun to sing at the top of your lungs in the club.

Bet you’ll think about it next time the DJ tosses that on after Taio Cruz.

But don’t get it twisted. If Jeezy’s paying LeBron, and Hov’s paying Wade… I’m probably paying Manny.