man i is - Intellectual

Logic often cited OutKast, especially André 3000, as one of his main influences. He sampled OutKast multiple times, for example in Under Pressure’s “Never Enough”, Young Sinatra’s “Growing Pains II” as well as in this track. He also compares himself to André 3000 before the formation of Outkast

I’m feelin' like André pre-3K ‘cause all I got is Benjamins

and after they split up

Was a outcast on the come up back in the day
And now I’m more André post-3K, like woo

on Confession of a Dangerous Mind’s “Lost in Translation”. On No Pressure, he even interpolates André 3000 on the song “GP4”.

This is a nod to Logic’s May 2013 track, “Welcome to Forever,” where he rapped:

And now I’m looking at my idols and feeling adjacent
It’s hell of a long way from back in the basement

This line also alludes to when Logic was struggling as a musician, he took time to live in label mate Big Lenbo’s basement. In there, he would produce and write music to help hone his craft. He even revisited this basement with MTV when he became more successful:

Logic had experienced and endured a lot of things in life by this point, including the harsh upbringing he went into detail with in his 2021 novel This Bright Future, being married once and divorced, and a life-changing anxiety attack. Due to these heavy experiences, Logic had always felt beyond his physical age.

Given the otherwise oddly specific number of 35, this line is likely a callback to his 2011 song “One”, where he says:

It’s been a year, I’m 21 but I feel (35)

The fact that he felt not only 35 years old, but 35 times his age of 30 at the time of this album’s release, shows just how much more Logic had experienced in his subsequent rise to fame from the year that track was released.

Logic here is paying respect to the ones who came before him which helped Hip Hop to be more recognizable and respected.

Antwan (Big Boi): is a rapper and one half of Atlanta based hip hop duo Outkast.
Erykah Badu: is an American Singer-Songwriter and made some famous hooks and choruses with well-known rappers.
Andre 3K (Andre 3000): is a rapper and one of the best lyricists of all time, he is one half of Atlanta based hip hop duo Outkast.
JD (J Dilla): is a legendary DJ/Producer, deceased back in 2006.
Pimp C: is an American rapper and one half of Atlanta based hip hop duo UGK (Underground Kings), deceased back in 2007.

It can also be noted that Logic samples both 3 Stacks and Erykah Badu on this album, on “GP4” and “man i is” respectively.

Despite having a rocky relationship with it in the past – his 2015 song “City of Stars” was effectively a breakup song to hip-hop – due to the toxic environment it can create, as he described:

I love hip-hop and I hate hip-hop
‘Cause people that love Pac hope that Drake get shot
'Cause he raps about money and bitches, for heaven’s sakes
Pac did the same shit, just on a drum break

He has a newfound appreciation for the art. His career was very successful, especially for a rapper’s standards, and since it is all now coming to a close, he looks at hip-hop from an entirely new perspective.

“Knockin’ doors down, showin’ parts around I’ma come through and show my wood pine Knockin’— knockin’ doors down, showin’ parts around I’ma— I’ma come through and show my wood pine, I’ma— I’ma come— Knockin’ doors— knockin’— knockin’ doors down, down Knockin’ doors, knock— knock— knock— knock— knockin’ doors down I’ma—I’ma come through— I’ma— I’ma come— down I’ma come through— I’ma— I’ma come— down (Yeah)”

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This is a direct sample from Pimp C’s “Knocking Doorz Down”:

Knockin', knockin' doors down, showin' parts around
Knockin' doors down, showin' parts around
Knockin', knockin' doors down, showin' parts around
I'ma, I'ma come through and show my wood pine
Knockin', knockin' doors down, showin' parts around
Knockin' doors down, showin' parts around
Knockin', knockin' doors down, showin' parts around
I'ma, I'ma come through and show my wood pine

This track was also sampled in Logic’s “Addiction” from his 2011 mixtape, Young Sinatra.

While growing up in Maryland with average winter temperatures of 34.1 degrees Fahrenheit and living in poverty – meaning heat and air conditioning was not guaranteed – Logic obviously got physically cold and numb from the weather conditions.

However, as a person, he never became a ‘cold’-hearted person who committed crimes to provide for himself, which in turn prevented him from becoming ‘numb’ to the effect that he would have on people if he chose that route.

Amazing wordplay here: the issue is a double meaning for the problems Logic has and the periodicals published by People magazine; he shoots from the hip as in speaking recklessly and then reloads the magazine, which is the mag of a gun and a synonym of journal.

Logic comments on how meta this set of bars is in his breakdown stream of the album:

I like that I was like ‘I literally have 5 minutes left in this booth’…I’m like, ‘I’ve gotta get the fuck outta here so I’m ending this early.’

Cowboy Bebop is an anime TV show about the futuristic misadventures and tragedies of an easygoing bounty hunter and his partners.

Logic has stated that he was a big fan of the show growing up and the voice actor Steve Blum. He liked Blum’s voice so much that he hired him to do work on his November 2015 album, The Incredible True Story, where he voices the character Thomas.

As a child, Logic did not have his father around, most likely due to his drug addiction, his older brother led a life that only leads to death or incarceration, and his mother was abusive in just about every way one can imagine.

Speaking from the perspective of Young Bobby, Logic promises to provide the opposite experience for his future-wife and children than the one he had growing up. He promises to be a positive presence in their lives and stick around when they need him.

Logic references “Too Deep for the Intro,” the second track from J. Cole’s 2010 mixtape Friday Night Lights where he raps:

I gotta make a move, I gotta do this now
If they don’t know your dreams, then they can’t shoot ‘em down

This song notably samples 1977’s “Dreamflower” by Tarika Blue, which is sampled in 2000’s “Didn’t Cha Know” by Erykah Badu, the track Cole got the sample for “Too Deep for the Intro” from.

Logic shouts out the hometown he grew up in at West Deer Park in Gaithersburg, Maryland. His rough and dangerous upbringing is a common topic in his discography. Both of his parents were known drug users and his brother was a cocaine dealer, which he speaks on in the 2014 track “Gang Related” where he raps in his brother’s perspective:

Sellin' crack to my own pops
Pushin' this weight on my own block

All of these situations caused his life to be tough from the beginning, as he details on his “Growing Pains” song series.