I think the author of the blog post misinterpreted the lyric in number three. It isn't Jay-Z talking about himself. So it's not really contradictory: The first

I think the author of the blog post misinterpreted the lyric in number three. It isn't Jay-Z talking about himself. So it's not really contradictory: The first verse is rumored to be about Jaz-O, his former mentor and business partner, or about long-time friend, business partner, and co-founder of Roc-a-fella Records Damon Dash. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_One http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_One He's saying that they should have kept a low profile, while he, the 'business, man' developed his personal brand.