We all know Jay-Z’s a lyrical genius, but damn, bet you didn’t know he goes this complex on his sh*t! (After you read this, come back and tell me what you thought of it…)

Which got me to thinking: Have you ever tried to actually listen to a Common Market track the whole way through and understand what RA Scion is really talking about? It’s damn near impossible. I’ve tried numerous times and I usually end up losing track of what he’s saying. I just start zoning out to a point where the beat and the sound of RA’s voice blend together into one. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it would be helpful if all of CM’s albums came with Cliff’s Notes so us fans could understand exactly what the f*ck it is he’s saying.

The fact that RA’s rhymes are so dense is only evidence of just how much of a genius he is, but he also makes it impossible for fans to rhyme along at shows. (If it weren’t for the call-and-response of “Every Last One of Us,” we’d be stuck with just the head-nodding.) I think RA gets this, because for a minute he was posting notes along with lyrics on his blog, Six Minutes to Sunrise, generously letting us in to the backstage of his brain. Here’s his “lyrics to go” for “Trouble Is.” Helpful, yes, but still mostly confounding.

It’s all love, though, RA. If it weren’t for you (and other artists like you), I wouldn’t have anything to show those folks who say hip-hop music isn’t intelligent.

Do work, CM!