Obviously I went out on a limb here, but I stand by the lyric as a good rationality quote.
It succinctly and elegantly echoes one of Eliezer’s 12 virtues: relinquishment. Biggy is basically telling his audience to update their beliefs based on new evidence which he reveals throughout the song. He is systematically destroying untruth.
Also, the word “nigga” is mostly devoid of racial connotations, especially in this context. It’s much more akin to “brother”, “comrade”, “man,” “friend”, etc. -- it’s emphasizing the communal nature between the artist and his audience. He’s inviting them into his private world of truth.
I would roughly interpret it like this:
“You may not have known before, but now you do know, my friend [and that is a good thing].”
Obviously I went out on a limb here, but I stand by the lyric as a good rationality quote.
It succinctly and elegantly echoes one of Eliezer’s 12 virtues: relinquishment. Biggy is basically telling his audience to update their beliefs based on new evidence which he reveals throughout the song. He is systematically destroying untruth.
Also, the word “nigga” is mostly devoid of racial connotations, especially in this context. It’s much more akin to “brother”, “comrade”, “man,” “friend”, etc. -- it’s emphasizing the communal nature between the artist and his audience. He’s inviting them into his private world of truth.
I would roughly interpret it like this: “You may not have known before, but now you do know, my friend [and that is a good thing].”