I grew up in Kochi, Kerala, India. At twenty one I found myself aimless, confused and frustrated with life. In a giant leap of faith I decided to change venues to the state of New York in the United States a mere eight thousand miles away. I like to think this worked out well.
And what exactly does that have to do with dying and bow ties??
Here goes...It might sound preposterous to some but I hadn't heard of Jay-Z till a few years ago. JoshyG {the boy I was dating then and married later} played me some. I was immediately hooked. Ruthlessly lyrical, mildly arrogant, peppered with hard earned wisdom and wit. Certainly, plenty cool!
One of my favourite songs on "The Blueprint" is "Renegade" featuring Eminem. Jay-Z raps:
"Raisin' my finger to the critics; raisin' my head to the sky
BIG I did it - multi before I die
No lie, just know I chose my own fate
I drove by the fork in the road and went straight"
{BIG is obviously Biggie Smalls and multi obviously means multi-millions}
Well...I mistakenly thought Jay-Z was rapping "BIG I did it - bow tie before I die". Yet the phrase "Bow Tie Before I Die" has captured my imagination. The bow tie has come to symbolize a life vastly different from the one I imagined for myself and vastly different from the one the world imagined for me.
SO YEAH:
SO YEAH:
"Raisin' my finger to the critics; raisin' my head to the sky
Aha I did it - bow tie before I die
No lie, just know I chose my own fate
I drove by the fork in the road and went straight"
"Bow Tie Before I Die" became a dare to live a rich interesting life.
