Here André finishes his impressive expansion and update to the major points Gil Scott made in the 70’s and 80’s. Like Scott-Heron, Dre feels that the only way to solve these inner city problems is by making the general public aware of what is going on. It is safe to say that they have done a sound job; Scott-Heron influenced the entire political rap genre that tries to spread these messages and André helps to bring his ideology to an entire new generation.

However, it is equally important to make the middle and upper classes want to help solve this problem. And since many of them would rather chill in their cozy mansions than spend their time and money helping the urban youth, this problem doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. André just wishes these power figures would simply come out and say they are scared of the black lower classes instead of constantly avoiding the issue.

Gil Scott-Heron was a respected recording artist whose earliest material criticized the hypocrisy of “black revolutionaries” and pointed out the ignorance of the white middle class to what went on in the inner city. Because of this, he is known by many as the “godfather of rap”. However, Scott also criticized rap artists who tried to perpetuate the unpleasant cycles of violence and poverty in the ghetto to make money, something André frequently addresses in his music as well.

As for the actual meaning of the line, notice how André only refers to Gil Scott-Heron as “Gil Scott”, then follows that up with a (hint hint). This is a clever way of implying that today’s youth is on heroin (play on Heron) without actually saying it.

Gil Scott Heron also had a long bout with drug addiction; one of those drugs being heroin. The use of “hint, hint” also has undertones of something not being disclosed but you need to figure out on your own—similar to his famous track “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.”

André is so sick of listening to this sucka MC’s weak disses and cliche lines that he cuts him off short. But instead of responding to the diss, he tries to enlighten him.

Dre stresses the importance of having your own unique style instead of just spitting juvenile and cliche punchlines. He then clarifies that he picked up this style by perfecting his craft alone. If you practice with your crew you risk them saying your shit is tight just to make you feel good, but if you practice alone you can be your own critic. Since André actually is an only child, he never had to worry about outside influences messing with his style.

André:

I’m an only child in real life. I love being by myself. That’s where I feel most comfortable."

Most of this song, and album as well, is about going against the grain and finding your own unique sense of style instead of “biting” (copying) others.

This is a reference to the colloquialism “it ain’t over until the fat lady sings". This phrase was first used by sports announcer and Texas Tech fan Ralph Carpenter during the SWC tournament finals. Texas Tech was rallying late, and Carpenter’s co-announcer Bill Morgan said:

“Hey Ralph, this is going to be a tight one afterall”

to which Carpenter responded:

“Right, the opera isn’t over until the fat lady sings”

This refers to the stereotype that Grand Opera soprano opera singers are generally overweight, and these sopranos have the final solo in most performances. This phrase has become very well known, and is often used in situations similar to the Texas Tech basketball game where the game appears to be over but there is still barely enough time for a comeback.

In addition, the line also references Decatur, Georgia, which is a few miles northeast of Atlanta and is part of that city’s metropolitan area. It is near the Atlanta area neighborhood of East Point where Andre & Big Boi grew up.

Breeze cleverly gets the listener to expect that he is going to say he is meeting his sister “up in Texas” because it fits the rhyme scheme. But he wisely stops himself from revealing the location of his sister’s house because he knows the feds are tracking him and most likely listening to his phone calls.

The “Red Dog” unit (acronym for Running Every Drug Dealer Out of Georgia) is a controversial police unit based in Atlanta that would track dealers such as Cool Breeze and Big Slate. Since Breeze knows that the Red Dogs are on him, he can’t even give them a hint as to what his plans might be.

Many people wondered why Big Boi continued to stick with Dre despite their obvious differences in lifestyle choices and artistic direction. Big Boi has always been viewed as the pimpalicious gangster down to smoke a J or chug a 40, while Dre on the other hand went sober and became much quirkier after the release of their first album. Many people predicted a break up as the two became more and more dissimilar, but Big Boi makes it clear that he and Dre will always stick together because they know they can trust each other.