Featured In

Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS
JAY-Z
JAY-Z
Vocals
The Chi-Lites
The Chi-Lites
Sampled Artist
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Shawn Carter
Shawn Carter
Songwriter
Justin Smith
Justin Smith
Songwriter
Walter Boyd
Walter Boyd
Songwriter
Elijah Powell
Elijah Powell
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Just Blaze
Just Blaze
Producer
Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton
Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton
Mixing Engineer
D Brown
D Brown
Recording Engineer
Tony Dawsey
Tony Dawsey
Mastering Engineer

Lyrics

[Intro]
Shawn Carter was born December 4th
Weighing in at ten pounds, eight ounces
He was the last of my four children
The only one who didn't give me any pain, when I gave birth to him
And that's how I knew, that he was a special child
[Intro]
"Hi baby, what's wrong? You look like, you've lost your best friend
Tell me, is it something that I've done again?
You look like, you've lost your best friend, tell me"
[Verse 1]
They say, "They never really miss you till you dead or you gone"
So on that note, I'm leavin' after this song
So you ain't gotta feel no way about JAY, so long
But at least let me tell you why I'm this way, hold on
I was conceived by Gloria Carter and Adnus Reeves
Who made love under the sycamore tree
Which makes me, a more sicker MC, and my momma would claim
At ten pounds, when I was born, I didn't give her no pain
Although, through the years I gave her her fair share
I gave her her first real scare, I made up for birth when I got here
She knows my purpose was on purpose, I ain't perfect, I care
But I feel worthless 'cause my shirts wasn't matchin' my gear
Now I'm just scratchin' the surface 'cause what's buried under there
Was a kid torn apart once his pop disappeared
I went to school, got good grades, could behave when I wanted
But I had demons deep inside that would raise when confronted, hold on
"Shawn was a very shy child growing up
He was into sports, and a funny story is
At four, he taught himself how to ride a bike
A two-wheel at that, isn't that special?
But, I noticed a change in him, when me and my husband, broke up"
[Verse 2]
Now all the teachers couldn't reach me and my momma couldn't beat me
Hard enough to match the pain of my pop not seein' me, so
With that disdain in my membrane
Got on my pimp game, fuck the world, my defense came
Then DeHaven introduced me to the game
Spanish hoes, they introduced me to 'caine
I'm a hustler now
My gear is in, and I'm in the in-crowd
And all the wavy light-skinned girls is lovin' me now
My self-esteem went through the roof, man, I got my swag
Got a Volvo from this girl when her man got bagged
Plus, I hit my momma with cash from a show that I had
Supposedly, knowin' nobody paid Jaz wack ass
I'm gettin' ahead of myself, by the way, I could rap
That came second to me movin' this crack
Give me a second I swear, I would say about my rap career
Till '96 came, ****, I'm here, goodbye
Shawn used to be in the kitchen, beating on the table and rapping
And um, into the wee hours of the morning
And then I brought him a boombox
And his sisters and brothers said that he would drive them nuts
But, that was my way to keep him close to me, and out of trouble
[Verse 3]
Goodbye to the game all the spoils, the adrenaline rush
Your blood boils, you in a spot, knowin' cops could rush
And you in a drop, you so easy to touch
No two days are alike, except the first and fifteenth, pretty much
And "trust", is a word you seldom hear from us
Hustlers, we don't sleep, we rest one eye up
And a drought could define a man when the well dries up
You learn the worth of water, without work you thirst till you die, yup
And **** get tied up for product
The little brother's ring fingers get cut up to show mothers they really got 'em
And this is the stress I lived with till I decided to try this rap shit for a livin'
I pray I'm forgiven, for every bad decision I made
Every sister I played, 'cause I'm still paranoid to this day
And it's nobody fault, I made the decisions I've made
This is the life I chose, or rather the life that chose me
[Outro]
If you can't respect that, your whole perspective is wack
Maybe you'll love me when I fade to black
If you can't respect that, your whole perspective is wack
Maybe you'll love me when I fade to black
Now if you can't respect that, your whole perspective is wack
Maybe you'll love me when I fade to black
If you can't respect that, your whole perspective is wack
Maybe you'll love me when I fade to black
Written by: Elijah Powell, Justin Smith, Shawn Carter, Walter Boyd
instagramSharePathic_arrow_out