Hard Knock Life

Take the bass line out, uh-huh

Jigga, yeah (Bounce with it)

Let it bump, though

It's the hard knock life for us

It's the hard knock life for us

Instead of treated, we get tricked

Instead of kisses, we get kicked

It's the hard knock life

From standin' on the corners, boppin'

To drivin' some of the hottest cars New York has ever seen

For droppin' some of the hottest verses rap has ever heard

From the dope spot, with the smoke Glock

Fleein' the murder scene, you know me well

From nightmares of a lonely cell, my only hell

But since when y'all **** know me to fail? **** naw

Where all my **** with the rubber grips bust shots

And if you with me, mama, rub on your ****, and what-not

I'm from the school of the hard knocks, you must not

Let outsiders violate our blocks and my plot

Let's stick up the world and split it 50/50, uh-huh

Let's take the dough and stay real jiggy, uh-huh

And sip the Cris' and get pissy-pissy

Flow infinitely like the memory of my **** Biggie, baby

You know it's hell when I come through

The life and times of Shawn Carter, ****, Volume 2

It's the hard knock life for us

It's the hard knock life for us

Instead of treated, we get tricked

Instead of kisses, we get kicked

It's the hard knock life

I flow for those 'dro'ed out

All my **** locked down in the ten by four, controllin' the house

We live in hard knocks

We don't take over, we borrow blocks

Burn 'em down and you can have it back, Daddy

I'd rather that

I flow for chicks wishin', they ain't have to strip to pay tuition

I see your vision, mama

I put my money on the longshots

All my ballers that's born to clock

Know I'ma be on top whether I perform or not

I went from lukewarm to hot

Sleepin' on futons and cots to King Size

Green machines, to green 5's

I've seen pies, let the thing between my eyes analyze

Life's ills, then I put it down type Braille

I'm tight grill with the phoney

Rappers, y'all might feel we homies

I'm like, still, y'all don't know me

Uh, I'm tight grill when my situation ain't improvin'

I'm tryna murder everything movin', feel me?

It's the hard knock life for us

It's the hard knock life for us

Instead of treated, we get tricked

Instead of kisses, we get kicked

It's the hard knock life for us

It's the hard knock life for us

Instead of treated, we get tricked

Instead of kisses, we get kicked

It's the hard knock life

I don't know how to sleep, I gotta eat, stay on my toes

Got a lotta beef, so logically, I prey on my foes

Hustlin' is still inside of me, and as far as progress

You'd be hard-pressed to find another rapper hot as me

I gave you prophecy on my first joint, and y'all lamed out

Didn't really appreciate it 'til the second one came out

So I stretched the game out, etched your name out

Put Jigga on top and dropped albums non-stop for ya, n****

It's the hard knock life for us

It's the hard knock life for us

Instead of treated, we get tricked

Instead of kisses, we get kicked

It's the hard knock life for us

It's the hard knock life for us

Instead of treated, we get tricked

Instead of kisses, we get kicked

It's the hard knock life

It's the hard knock life

It's the hard knock life