Two things I wonder

Would Pete have been okay if TROY was straight sampled? I mean, it sounds close enough that for the sake of whatever, in this particular case, I treat it as one. I get that technically it isn't, but the allusion/reference isn't a secret to anyone. At all. I think having the song rebuilt was an odd choice, but if proper credit goes to the proper places, I won't even look at that shit twice.

My other question is about Lupe's intent. Not the producer's. I haven't actually read ANYTHING about production credit regarding this song. But was this a case of "intertextuality." Was he using it to cover an old school vibe ( I mean, he's got the yelling hook and everything)? Was he trying to bring the song to people's current attention? Shit, did he just like the beat? I can't say what his intent was (this is why I'm asking for others to speculate), but I can say that I doubt he meant any disrespect by it. I get that people would say that this wasn't the point (as I don't think Pete Rock probably doesn't think so), but I think that his intention, while not necessarily pardoning, could possibly hold some weight.