Flight 187

Album: Before I Self Destruct (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is an iTunes only bonus track from 50 Cent's fourth studio album, Before I Self Destruct.
  • "187" is police code for murder, and the term entered the rap lexicon in the early '90s among West Coast gangsta rappers looking for an another way to express the crime.
  • Some fans interpreted the comparison in this song of Jay-Z to sitcom character Steve Urkel as a dis. However 50 explained to MTV News that the lyric was just an observation. "It was the glasses," 50 explained. "They saw the glasses. I didn't Photoshop glasses on him. I think Jay is really conscious of his actual moves. He does those things to make a statement in different ways to create clarity that he doesn't have to be the way people want him to be. He can do what he wants. But [I wrote the song] out of the perspective of me mentioning things I thought were interesting."
  • Fif noted to MTV News that everyone gravitated toward the Jay-Z lyric despite also mentioning Britney Spears and even members of his own musical family on the song. He said: "I even wrote, 'Em made me a star and Dre is taking a long time to mix my records. I gotta talk to Jimmy [Iovine] about it.' I wrote about Britney Spears. I said a lot of interesting things on the record, but they focus on Jay because his album is releasing. Of course, with those marketing dollars being spent, he's the focus. The new XXL, there's about 40 pages of Jay-Z on there. That boy is serious when it comes to his [Blueprint 3 album] layout. When it comes time for him to have companies market and promote him as a brand, he does a great job."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum

Dave Pirner of Soul AsylumSongwriter Interviews

Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

Def Leppard Quiz

Def Leppard QuizMusic Quiz

Can you name Def Leppard's only #1 hit in America? Get rocked with this adrenalized quiz.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star RidersSongwriter Interviews

Writing with Phil Lynott, Scott saw their ill-fated frontman move to a darker place in his life and lyrics.

Sugarland

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.