"Lights is blinding. Girls need blinders."

So while at Kelly Dining (24 hour food spot at Stony Brook Univ) my friends and I were discussing a Jay-Z line from Empire State of Mind ft. Alicia Keys. The line says "and Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church ends". Coincidentally, after that on World Star Hip Hop I ran across a video of a young pastor commenting on this line. I feel that everybody has gotten this wrong, which makes sense due to the recent controversy over Jay-Z having pagan messages in his rhymes and so on.

I feel that you need to look at the entire verse to understand the context of this line.

Lights is blinding, girls need blinders
so they can step out of bounds quick, the sidelines is
lined with casualties, who sip to life casually
then gradually become worse, don't bite the apple Eve
The lights he speaks of are the bright lights of a fast paced city, in this case New York City but he is being metaphorical. Just like how in Houstonlantavegas by Drake he was speaking of more than just strippers in Houston, Atlanta and Las Vegas. Many a person falls victim to the temptation of the fast life, hence why "girls need blinders" and "don't bite the apple Eve".

Caught up in the in-crowd, now you're in style
End of the winter gets cold, en vogue, with your skin out
City of sin, it's a pity on the wind
Good girls gone bad, the city's filled with them
As the verse continues you see how the fast life keeps people by giving them the mentality that they are "cool" and this is true. "City of sin, it's a pity on the wind. Good girls gone bad, the city's filled with them". This is like him saying how sad it is that people with bright young futures have become victim to this broadway life of selling your body, mind and soul for essentially nothing. Because the lights won't always shine bright, and then what do you have left?

Mami took a bus trip, now she got her bust out
Everybody ride her, just like a bus route
Hail Mary to the city, you're a virgin
And Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church end
The first 2 bars are pretty much self explanitory. "Mami" was a good girl before she took this bus trip to the city that never sleeps, now she has her chest out for all to see, every body rides her, etc. She is a virgin to the city so she does not know how to deal with it, Jesus can save you in the afterlife, but for the real world she's on her own. I mean if her faith was strong enough then obviously she would be find but for the purpose of this song she doesn't. Life starts when the church end because that is her situation, once she leaves the sanctuary she's back to being a whore.

Came here for school, graduated to the high life
Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight
MDMA got you feelin' like a champion
The city never sleeps, better slip you an Ambien
People come to New York because it is the big city of dreams, and sometimes one gets sidetracked from their dreams. School was the dream but the graduation that occured was intot the fast line, full of athletes and stars who are addicted to their own stardom. MDMA is scientific jargon for extasy. Ambien aka Zolpidem is a prescription medication used for the short-term treatment of insomnia. As you know with limelight tends to come extensive and all around stupid drunk use.

Here is the WSHH video I spoke of.