Do U Wanna Ride

One of my favorite Jay-Z songs is a song called “Do U Wanna Ride” from the “Kingdom Come” album. This was Jay-Z’s first album after a long hiatus from recording after he announced his retirement from hiphop a few years prior.

“Do U Wanna Ride” is a song that Jay-Z wrote to his childhood friend Emory Jones. Emory ended up going to prison when they were both still young before Jay-Z’s career began. Jay-Z made better choices in his life and used his difficult circumstances as fuel to pursue music and achieve his dreams, while Emory went the opposite direction in response to a rough upbringing.

The song is a message of grace, love, and loyalty. In the song, Jay-Z is addressing Emory while he is still in prison, letting him know that he has achieved his goals, and his hard work has paid off. Not only that, but he is letting Emory know that when he gets released from prison, he can partake of Jay-Z’s accomplishments and experience the good life that he missed from all of the years in prison. This is an act of grace and love towards Jay-Z’s friend. Jay-Z paid the price and Emory technically didn’t earn any of it. Just by being Jay-Z’s friend he gets to enjoy this.

I would like to draw some parallels from this song to the good life we get to experience in Christ:

1) Much like Jay-Z’s message of good news and hope to Emory while he was still in prison, Christ preached and told us of his good plan for us while we were still in prison, so to speak.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18-19 NIV

2) Jesus did all of the work and conquered the enemy for us, not his own good. He did it for us! What a shame it would be if we neglected his gift of freedom, love, and blessing for which he paid the price so dearly!

'It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.'
Colossians 1:12-14 - Message Bible

3) In the Jay-Z song, not only does he let Emory know that they are going to have a blast experiencing the good things he has been missing, but he also mentions that he’s going to take him to his home in The Hamptons. I would like to point out something that Jesus said about mansions he has prepared for us:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God ; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
John 14:1-3 NIV

Emory Jones is truly blessed to have a friend like Jay-Z. As good as that is, it doesn’t even come close to the friend we have in Jesus. He did all of this for you to be free and experience the good life with nothing but your best interest in his mind. Follow him with your entire life. You will NEVER regret it!!