What is the meaning behind “Ayy, I remember syrup sandwiches and crime allowances Finesse a nigga with some counterfeits, but now I’m countin’ this”? HUMBLE. by Kendrick Lamar
- by imrk
- March 25, 2023
Big Boy asked Kendrick about this lyric and Kendrick confirmed that “crime allowances” is correct. K.Dot reminisces about the low-cost food he ate growing up in a poverty-stricken neighborhood. This lyric could also be a callback to Nas' 2012 track, “No Introduction”: I remember early mornings syrup sandwiches Although not in a gang, he grew up around gang members; several of his close friends were Piru Bloods—his uncles were also involved with the Compton Crips. This association led him to engage in illegal activities, such as the home robbery he described on 2012’s “The Art of Peer Pressure.” “Crime allowances” could be drug money his uncles gave him, or the money he got from “finessing,” or outmaneuvering others by selling them counterfeits, which are usually fake Nike Air Jordan shoes.