Interpretations of In My Sleep by Joe Budden...

[Cokebottle]

garbage

[Master Chief]

This whole part is about his career.

I went to see a man walking on water
Asked if he would ever get things back in order
I’ve been there 2 years over a quarter
But every time I open my eyes it’s like torture
He said please I gave you a whole ‘nother world for you to go do with as you please
Just so you appeased mixed with a couple of signs about real life while you make believe
So I, teleported out of there with a grin
Met a bum with a mansion invited him in
Then we politic, about politics
Said something bout def jam I aint acknowledge it

I went to see a virgin with aids
Yea I thought about smashing that
Yea her ass was phat
So appealing
Tattoo on her
and her inner thigh saying she doing better than she was feeling

The man walking on water represents either Jesus himself (as in talking to God) or Jay-Z, I'm inclined to say Jesus, I'll explain why later on in this post. Joey kept asking that person if things would get back in order in his life, because two years over a quarter probably refers to Joey's age (a quarter is 25, plus 2 years is 27, Joey was at that moment 27 years old if I'm correct). So, if he has been there for 27 years, then it must have been God he was talking to, because he didn't know Jay for 27 years. Then again, the two years over a quarter can also refer to his time on the label, as in two years and two and a half month, both theories work...

Alright, then he realized that the longer he stayed in depression, the longer the world would seem like torture to him, because opening his eyes was like torture. But then again, it can also refer to his time on Def Jam, the longer he stayed on Def Jam, the longer he would be exposed to this torture.

So, then he got reminded that he got dropped for a reason, he got dropped to do his own thing, they gave him a whole another world to do with as he pleases, meaning being independent. Suits both theories, since it ties in with his life as a whole (major change in his life, going from signed to unsigned), and it ties in with his music career.

So Joey left Def Jam (with a grin), and then he got a new record deal (met a bum with a mansion), had some talks about his previous label (he mentioned Def Jam), but Joey didn't like the deal. Now this might refer to his encounter with Amalgam digital or with Koch records. Unfortunately I don't know what his exact position was with these labels, so I can't say with a certainty what it really could refer to.

The virgin with AIDS represents the Hip Hop (or music) industry from an independent point of view, or it represents the music industry as a whole, either way works. It showed him (Joe) an illusion of pleasure, but after fucking with it, he realized being independent (or signed, or just part of the industry as a whole) isn't that great as he expected it to be.

The whole inner thigh tattoo/doing better than she was feeling part is the extended metaphor leading to Joey thinking that staying independent might be OK eventhough it seemed like it wasn't, or that being in de music industry seemed OK eventhough it wasn't doing OK.

At the same time he got reminded of his previous encounter with a label. So he decided to stay with the virgin with AIDS and not to fuck with the other girl. Staying independent and not fucking with a label. Or just staying in the music industry instead of going back to his other girl, a.k.a depression.

I'll try to do the rest of the song later. One of Joey's most complex/brilliant concept songs ever.

I saw a lot of theories on JBTV saying the man walking on water could be Jay-Z but they didn't really explain it. But, I can see why now. Fantastic theory/interpretation, Zudden You did write the song though, so it's a bit unfair

I definitely think Joey wrote those lines you quoted with the intent of them having different meanings seeing as how both theories you presented made perfect sense.

This song is so fun to analyze, it's like a puzzle. Can't believe anyone would have the nerve to say Joe is just an "average" rapper. Smh.

P.S. Cokebottle is a fucking moron.

[mcZu]

^Some people are just stupid, and it is definitely fun to analyze this song!

Anyone catch that biblical reference in the vid? Just around the time when Joey raps ''I went to see a man walking on water'' you see a hand with a wound and blood dripping off it. Then when he raps ''mixed with a couple of signs of real life...'' you see a glass with blood in it (wine probably). Then, right after that you see Joey drinking that blood. Basically Joey is drinking wine that used to be blood...

In the bible Jesus said drink my blood, eat my body, etc. The wine represented his blood and the bread represented his body, or something along that line (been ages since I've read the bible).

Jay-Z on Diamonds Remix (Kanye's track):

How could you falter?
When you're the Roc of Gibraltar
I had to get off the boat so I could walk on water

Also, didn't Rocafeller die of AIDS?

Nas on Ether:

Rockefeller died of AIDS, that was the end of his chapter
And that's the guy y'all chose to name your company after?

Coincidence? Or is the virgin with AIDS a shot (or reference) at Jay?

[stillmatic]

Just to clear up a little, the Rockerfeller that Nas is talking about is not John D Rockerfeller (or any of his immediate family).

The same way Nas named his label Ill Will after his close friend, the same way 50 Cent got his name from the famous Brooklyn hustler, Hov named his company Rocafella not after John D Rockerfeller, but his idol "Rocafella" who was a hustler from Marcy who was known to be at war with Queens gangsters. That "Rocafella" died of aids, and if you listen to of Hov's earliest ever features on Jaz-O's "Love is gone", you'll hear them talking about it. Once again this aligned with the rest of Ether where Nas exposed all of the many skeletons in his closet, and truly shocked Hov with how much he knew.