Brian Joseph Burton, better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, (born Jul… Read Full Bio ↴Brian Joseph Burton, better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, (born July 29, 1977 in White Plains, New York) is an American artist and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined a cappellas from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from the album The Beatles (also known as The White Album).

He formed Gnarls Barkley with Cee Lo Green and produced their albums St. Elsewhere and The Odd Couple. He produced the second Gorillaz album, 2005's Demon Days, as well as The Black Keys' acclaimed Attack & Release and Beck's 2008 record, Modern Guilt. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Producer of the Year category. In addition, Burton worked with rapper MF DOOM as DANGERDOOM, and released the albums The Mouse and the Mask and Occult Hymn.

Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse present Dark Night of the Soul is his collaboration with Sparklehorse, David Lynch and a diverse cast of vocalists.

Broken Bells (formed in 2009) is his collaboration with James Mercer of the shins.

Public Service Announcement
Danger Mouse Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Fellow Americans, It is with the upmost pride and sincerity that i present this recording as a militestament and recollection of history in the making during our generation.

(Jay-Z)

Allow me to re-introduce myself, My name is HOV
H to the O-V, I used to move snowflakes by the O.Z.,
I guess even back then you can call me,
C.E.O of the R.O.C HOV,

Fresh out the frying pan into the fire,
I be the, music biz number 1 supplier
Flier than a piece or paper bearing my name,
Got the hottest chick in the game wearing my chain, thats right HOV
Not D.O.C, similar to the letters no one can do it better
I check cheddar like a food inspector,
My homie Strip to me dude finish yo breakfast,
So thats what I'ma do take u back to the dude with the Lexus fast forward the jewels and the necklace,
Let tell u dudes what i do to protect this,
Shoot at u actors like movie directors

(Ha-Ha This aint a movie dog)

Now before i finish let me just say i did not come here to show out, I did not come here to impress you because tell u the truth when i leave here I'm GONE and i dont care what u think about me but just remember when it hits the fan brother whether its next year, ten years, twenty years from now you'll never be able to say that these brothers lied to you JACK.

(Jay-Z)

Ving aint lie, I done came thru the block in everything thats fly,
I'm like Chagaverre wit bling on, I'm complex.
I never claim to have wings on, nigga I get mine
By any means on wheneva there's a drought get yo umbrellas out because thats when i brainstorm,
U can blame Sean but i aint invent the game,
I just rolled the dice trying to get some change,
And i do it twice aint no since of me lying as if I am a different man,
And i can blame my emviroment but there aint no reason why i be buying expensive chains.
I hope you dont think user are the only abusers niggas gettin high within the game.
If you do then how would u explain I'm ten years a move, still the vibe is in my veins.
I gotta hustler spirit, nigga period.
Check at my hat yo peep the way i wear it,
Check at my swag yo i walk like a ball player,
No matter where u go u are what u are player,
And u can try to change but thats just the top layer,
Man u was who u was for u got hair,

Only GOD can judge me so I'm gon,
Either love me or leave me alone.

Overall Meaning

In the opening lines of "Public Service Announcement," Jay-Z characterizes the song as "a militestament and recollection of history in the making during our generation." The track samples a snippet of a speech by Richard Nixon, who famously appealed to "the great silent majority" for support in the Vietnam War, and replaces it with Jay-Z's confident rap. Jay begins with a tongue-in-cheek reintroduction of himself, referencing his famous moniker, "HOV," and proclaiming himself the CEO of his label, Roc-A-Fella Records. He then goes into detail about his previous life as a drug dealer and his hustle to the top of the music industry.

Jay's verse is characterized by his swagger and his ability to balance both his criminal past and his current success in the mainstream. He's unapologetic for his past and firmly rooted in his present, as evidenced by his reference to Beyonce ("Got the hottest chick in the game wearing my chain") and his dismissal of haters ("I did not come here to impress you because tell u the truth when i leave here I'm GONE and i dont care what u think about me"). Jay asserts himself as a dominant force in the rap game, one who's not afraid to take shots at anyone who tries to step to him. The final lines of the verse serve as a warning to anyone who dares to challenge him: "Shoot at u actors like movie directors / This ain't a movie, dawg."

Line by Line Meaning

Fellow Americans, It is with the upmost pride and sincerity that i present this recording as a militestament and recollection of history in the making during our generation.
I'm proud and sincere to present this recording as a testament to history in the making during our generation.

Allow me to re-introduce myself, My name is HOV
Let me introduce myself again, my name is HOV.

H to the O-V, I used to move snowflakes by the O.Z.,
I used to sell drugs (cocaine) and make money from it.

I guess even back then you can call me,
Even back then, you could call me a businessman.

C.E.O of the R.O.C HOV,
I'm the CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records, HOV.

Fresh out the frying pan into the fire,
I went from one difficult situation to another (from drug dealing to the music industry).

I be the, music biz number 1 supplier
I'm the top supplier of music in the business.

Flier than a piece or paper bearing my name,
I'm so fly, like a piece of paper with my name on it.

Got the hottest chick in the game wearing my chain, thats right HOV
The most attractive woman in the music industry, Beyonce, is wearing my chain.

Not D.O.C, similar to the letters no one can do it better
I'm better than anyone else, like the group D.O.C. (Doctors of Chaos).

I check cheddar like a food inspector,
I check my money like a food safety inspector.

My homie Strip to me dude finish yo breakfast,
My friend Strip said to me, 'finish your breakfast.'

So thats what I'ma do take u back to the dude with the Lexus fast forward the jewels and the necklace,
So that's what I'm going to do, take you back to when I had a Lexus (fast forward to present day), the expensive jewelry and my necklace.

Let tell u dudes what i do to protect this,
Let me tell you what I do to protect my success.

Shoot at u actors like movie directors
I will shoot at you (metaphorically) if you try to act like a movie director (try to control me).

(Ha-Ha This aint a movie dog)
(Laughing) This isn't a movie, man.

Now before i finish let me just say i did not come here to show out, I did not come here to impress you because tell u the truth when i leave here I'm GONE and i dont care what u think about me but just remember when it hits the fan brother whether its next year, ten years, twenty years from now you'll never be able to say that these brothers lied to you JACK.
Before I finish, I want to say that I didn't come here to show off or impress you. When I leave, I'm gone and I don't care what you think of me. But remember, no matter how much time passes, you'll never be able to say that we lied to you.

Ving aint lie, I done came thru the block in everything thats fly,
I'm not lying, I've come through the streets with everything that's cool.

I'm like Chagaverre wit bling on, I'm complex.
I'm like Che Guevara with bling on, I'm complex and represent a greater cause.

I never claim to have wings on, nigga I get mine
I never claimed to be perfect or have everything on the line, but I get what's mine anyway.

By any means on wheneva there's a drought get yo umbrellas out because thats when i brainstorm,
I succeed no matter what's going on around me, and when times are the toughest, that's when I come up with my best ideas.

U can blame Sean but i aint invent the game,
You can blame my real name, Sean, but I didn't invent the music industry.

I just rolled the dice trying to get some change,
I took a chance to make some money.

And i do it twice aint no since of me lying as if I am a different man,
I take chances often and I can't lie and pretend to be someone different.

And i can blame my emviroment but there aint no reason why i be buying expensive chains.
I could blame my environment, but there's no reason for me to buy expensive jewelry.

I hope you dont think user are the only abusers niggas gettin high within the game.
I hope you don't think drugs are only a problem among regular people; people in the music industry also do drugs.

If you do then how would u explain I'm ten years a move, still the vibe is in my veins.
If you think otherwise, how would you explain why I'm still in the music game after ten years? The energy is still with me.

I gotta hustler spirit, nigga period.
I always possess a hustler's spirit, no questions.

Check at my hat yo peep the way i wear it,
Look at my hat, see how I wear it.

Check at my swag yo i walk like a ball player,
Look at my overall style, I walk like a professional athlete.

No matter where u go u are what u are player,
No matter where you are, you are who you are.

And u can try to change but thats just the top layer,
You can try to make changes, but that's only surface-level.

Man u was who u was for u got hair,
You've been who you are since you were born.

Only GOD can judge me so I'm gon,
Only God can judge me (not people), so I'm done.

Either love me or leave me alone.
Either enjoy my company or leave me alone.

Contributed by Liliana Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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