Jay-Z - 4:44 Album Lyrics

Kill Jay-Z, they'll never love you
You'll never be enough, let's just keep it real, Jay-Z
F*ck Jay-Z, I mean, you shot your own brother
How can we know if we can trust Jay-Z?
And you know better, nigga, I know you do
But you gotta do better, boy, you owe it to Blue
You had no father, you had the armor
But you got a daughter, gotta get softer
Die Jay-Z, this ain't back in the days
You don't need an alibi, Jay-Z
Cry Jay-Z, we know the pain is real
But you can't heal what you never reveal
What's up, Jay-Z?
You know you owe the truth to all the youth
That fell in love with Jay-Z
You got people you love you sold drugs to
You got high on the life, that shit drugged you!
You walkin' around like you invincible
You dropped outta school, you lost your principles
I know people backstab you, I felt bad too
But this 'f*ck everybody' attitude ain't natural
But you ain't a Saint, this ain't KumbaYe
But you got hurt because you did cool by 'Ye
You gave him 20 million without blinkin'
He gave you 20 minutes on stage, f*ck was he thinkin'?
"F*ck wrong with everybody?" is what you sayin'
But if everybody's crazy, you're the one that's in sane
Crazy how life works
You got a knot in your chest, imagine how a knife hurts
You stabbed Un over some records
Your excuse was "He was talkin' too reckless!"
Let go your ego over your right shoulder
Your left is sayin', "Finish your breakfast!"
You egged Solange on
Knowin' all along, all you had to say you was wrong
You almost went Eric Benét
Let the baddest girl in the world get away
I don't even know what else to say
Nigga, never go Eric Benét!
I don't even know what you woulda done
In the Future, other niggas playin' football with your son
You wouldv'e lost it
13 bottles of Ace of Spade, what it did to Boston
Nah, Jay-Z
Bye, Jay-Z

Skin is, skin, is
Skin black, my skin is black
My, black, my skin is yellow

Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga
Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga
Still nigga, still nigga
I like that second one
Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga
Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga
Still nigga, still nigga

O.J. like, "I'm not black, I'm O.J."
Okay
House nigga, don't f*ck with me
I'm a field nigga with shined cutlery
Gold-plated quarters where the butlers be
I'mma play the corners where the hustlers be
I told him, "Please don't die over the neighborhood
That your momma rentin'
Take your drug money and buy the neighborhood
That's how you rinse it"
I bought every V12 engine
Wish I could take it back to the beginnin'
I coulda bought a place in Dumbo before it was Dumbo
For like two million
That same building today is worth twenty-five million
Guess how I'm feelin'? Dumbo

Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga
Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga
Still nigga, still nigga
Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga
Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga
Still nigga, still nigga

You wanna know what's more important than throwin' away money at a strip club? Credit
You ever wonder why Jewish people own all the property in America? This how they did it
Financial freedom my only hope
F*ck livin' rich and dyin' broke
I bought some artwork for one million
Two years later, that shit worth two million
Few years later, that shit worth eight million
I can't wait to give this shit to my children
Y'all think it's bougie, I'm like, it's fine
But I'm tryin' to give you a million dollars worth of game for nine ninety-nine
I turned that two to a four, four to an eight
I turned my life into a nice first week release date, mm
Y'all out here still takin' advances, huh?
Me and my niggas takin' real chances, uh
Y'all on the 'gram holdin' money to your ear
There's a disconnect, we don't call that money over here, yeah

Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga
Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga
Still nigga, still nigga
Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga
Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga
Still nigga, still nigga

(Good morn' or evening, friends
Smile, you recordin')

[Jay-Z:]
Slammin' Bentley doors like we invented doors
20 years ago we drove Bentley Azures
We drinkin' Cristal in, yeah
Kept the trey on me like Chris Paulin'
Drinkin' Ace of Spade like it's codeine now
Tryna put a million on the whole team now
Push through the pain so we can see new life
So all the ladies havin' babies, see a sacrifice
Mama had four kids, but she's a lesbian
Had to pretend so long that she's a thespian
Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate
Society shame and the pain was too much to take
Cried tears of joy when you fell in love
Don't matter to me if it's a him or her
I just wanna see you smile through all the hate
Marie Antoinette, baby, let 'em eat cake

Bad times turn to good memories, smile
Even when I'm gone and you remember me, smile
Good times never fade away, smile
Even if I'm not with you here today, smile
Good morn' or evening, friends
Smile
Here's your friendly announcer
Smile

Far as draft picks, my name did not get called
Bet before I go I put a billion on the board
Hall of Fame Hov, I did it all without a pen
Y'all knew that was comin', I had to remind y'all again, huh?
Flyin' paper planes through the projects
Now the whole projects on my jet
Now you see the real in the front row
In every one of y'all televised shows
Super facts
Niggas switched sides, traded pride, we don't do all that
A loss ain't a loss, it's a lesson
Appreciate the pain, it's a blessin'

Bad times turn to good memories, smile
Even when I'm gone and you remember me, smile
Good times never fade away, smile
Even if I'm not with you here today, smile
Good morn' or evening, friends

I mastered my aesthetics
I know you often heard me wax poetic
'Bout bein' back in the Lexus
But trust me, that was nothin'
A nigga up in the hundreds of millions
I have no ceilings, ah, this that feelin', I'm that boy
Anita Baker's "You Bring Me Joy"
Slappin' out of the toy, the separation is clear
In my rear-view mirror, objects is further than they appear
Oh yeah, I was born with a pair
Playin' for high stakes
Norman Cake, he looked up and out of the Lear
How niggas can't relate?
F*ck a slice of the apple pie, want my own cake
Chargin' my own fate
Respect Jimmy Iovine
But he gotta respect the Elohim as a whole new regime
And niggas playin' for power, huh
So our music is ours
Niggas only own houses
Ours was, "F*ck you, pay me"
Now it's, "F*ck payin' me, I pay you
Put the rest away for Blue"
That blood money, I giggle at it
Can't even support my Mrs. habit
Jewelry shoppin' in Paris
All y'all jewelers should be embarrassed, huh
Blood diamonds drippin', we cute
I still ain't trippin', that's life, winners and losers
Drug dealers and abusers, America likes me ruthless
My therapist said I relapsed
I said, "Prehaps I Freudian slipped in European whips"
God sent me to break the chain
I'm the true and livin'
God in the flesh, the rest of these niggas is vain
A stain on the white suit, inferior IQ
Niggas'll rip your shit off TIDAL just to spite you
Ahhhh, what did I do?
'Cept try to free you
Niggas'll love you but hate you 'cause they can't be you
Dump 'em all in the bayou, uh
Everybody wave bye to the guy you thought you could lie to
This was meant to be a haiku, huh
But my story's too wide to fit inside the line
And too old, these that drugs
Heroin flow, I spaz on the stove
This is Hov, no Flex zone, nigga, who lied to you?
Look, you a pedestrian
Don't ever question the security I provided you
Oh y'all thought I was washed?
I'm at the cleaners
Launderin' dirty money like the Teamsters, huh
Shout out to Hoffa back home, he in the church
When I heard you got booked, that shit hurt
Feared for you, bro, we know the system don't work
Take a young niggas freedom over some dirt
Yet it's legal in Colorado
Yeah, we deny
Black entrepreneurs, free enterprise
That's why it's a black market, that's why it's called "the trap"
That's why it's called "the projects" 'cause it's exactly that!
All these people was gon' kill me, heh
'Cause the more I reveal me, the more they 'fraid of the real me
Welcome back Carter, smile

[Gloria Carter:]
Living in the shadow
Can you imagine what kind of life it is to live?
In the shadows people see you as happy and free
Because that's what you want them to see
Living two lives, happy, but not free
You live in the shadows for fear of someone hurting your family or the person you love
The world is changing and they say it's time to be free
But you live with the fear of just being me
Living in the shadow feels like the safe place to be
No harm for them, no harm for me
But life is short, and it's time to be free
Love who you love, because life isn't guaranteed
Smile

Ready for it
I'm ready for it
Yeah
Ah

East-side nigga with the fees high nigga
With that lease high
Talking about that "he saw" nigga
With that "we saw" nigga
With that "he saw"
God dance, uh
Your eyes speak the truth with everything else, stars
They pretend we can but the vibes don't fly, bruh

I survived reading guys like you
I'm surprised y'all think you can disguise y'all truths
I seen eyes wide as they about to shoot
You can be a hairpin off and you can trigger your roots
I wave to these haters, don't give me dap
You know the world can see just how phony you act, bruh
Y'all body language is all remedial
How could you see the difference between you and I?
My crash course was much tougher
Around friends who kill they friends
Then hug they friends' mothers
And show up at the funeral, complete with blank stares
Invisible ink, I had to read things that wasn't there
Memories may sneak down my cheek
But I could see a side eye in my sleep

Ready for it, deep breath, fill up the void
Eyes open them up, check out the cords
Still stinging from tears, they try to see you
I'm ready for earth, ready for real
Solipsistic admit it, I see you there
So it seems, so you seem
I can't tell if you're image or just the flare
In my dreams, in my dreams

I sat down with Prince, eye to eye
He told me his wishes before he died
Now, Londell McMillan, he must be color blind
They only see green from them purple eyes
They eyes hide, they eyes high
My eyes wide shut to all the lies
These industry niggas, they always been fishy
But ain't no Biggie, no lazy eye, huh
This guy had 'Slave' on his face
You think he wanted the masters with his masters?
You greedy bastards sold tickets to walk through his house
I'm surprised you ain't auction off the casket
Don't big bro me, don't big homie
I've seen pure admiration become rivals
I've been to Paris at least two times
I've seen the Eiffel, I've seen a eyeful

Ready for it, deep breath, fill up the void
Eyes open them up, check out the cords
Still stinging from tears, they try to see you
I'm ready for earth, ready for real
Solipsistic admit it, I see you there
So it seems, so you seem
I can't tell if you're image or just the flare
In my dreams, in my dreams

I've been out of touch for a couple years
I've been ready for this for real
Hoping I can touch what I see
'Cause I've been ready for you, for real

East-side nigga with the fees high nigga
With that lease high
Talking about that "he saw" nigga
With that "we saw" nigga
With that "he saw"
God dance, uh

Do I find it so hard
When I know in my heart
I'm letting you down everyday
Letting you down everyday
Why do I keep on running away?

Look, I apologize, often womanize
Took for my child to be born
See through a woman's eyes
Took for these natural twins to believe in miracles
Took me too long for this song
I don't deserve you, I harass you out in Paris
Please come back to Rome, you make it home
We talked for hours when you were on tour
Please pick up the phone, pick up the phone
Said: "Don't embarrass me," instead of "Be mine"
That was my proposal for us to go steady
That was your 21st birthday, you mature faster than me
I wasn't ready, so I apologize
I've seen the innocence leave your eyes
I still mourn this death, I apologize for all the stillborns
'Cause I wasn't present, your body wouldn't accept it
I apologize to all the woman whom I
Toyed with you emotions because I was emotionless
I apologize 'cause at your best you are love
And because I fall short of what I say I'm all about
Your eyes leave with the soul that your body once housed
And you stare blankly into space
Thinkin' of all the time you wasted it, on all this basic shit
So I apologize

I'm never gonna treat you
I'm never gonna treat you like I should

I apologize, our love was one for the ages and I contained us
And all this ratchet shit and we more expansive now
Meant to cry and die alone in these mansions
Or sleep with our back turned
We're supposed to vacay 'til our backs burn
We're supposed to laugh 'til our hearts stop
And then we end a space with a dark stop
And let love light the way
Like the men before me, I cut off my nose to spite my face
I never wanted another woman to know
Something about me that you didn't know
I promised, I cried, I couldn't hold
I suck at love, I think I need a do-over
I will be emotionally available if I invited you over
I stew over what if you over my shit?

I'm never gonna treat you
I'm never gonna treat you like I should

And if my children knew, I don't even know what I would do
If they ain't look at me the same
I would prob'ly die with all the shame
"You did what with who?"
What good is a ménage à trois when you have a soulmate?
"You risked that for Blue?"
If I wasn't a superhero in your face
My heart breaks for the day I had to explain my mistakes
And the mask goes away and Santa Claus is fake
And you go online and see
For Blue's tooth, the tooth fairy didn't pay

I'm never gonna treat you like I should

My nigga got on
My nigga got all white, no socks
My nigga got that cocaina on today
That's how he feel
Turn my vocal up
That's how you feel, Emory?
Turn my vocal up some more
Turn my vocal up, Guru!
Turn the music up too

Super Bowl goals
My wife in the crib feedin' the kids liquid gold
We in a whole different mode
Kid that used to pitch bricks can't be pigeonholed
I cooked up more chicken when the kitchen closed
Oh, we gon' reach a billi' first
I told my wife the spiritual shit really work
Alhamdulillah, I run through 'em all
Hovi's home, all these phonies come to a halt
All this old talk left me confused
You'd rather be old rich me or new you?
And old niggas, y'all stop actin' brand new
Like 2Pac ain't have a nose ring too, huh

Nobody wins when the family feuds
But my stash can't fit into Steve Harvey's suit
I'm clear why I'm here, how about you?
Ain't no such thing as an ugly billionaire, I'm cute
Mmmmm
Pretty much
If anybody gettin' handsome checks, it should be us
F*ck rap, crack cocaine
Nah, we did that, black-owned things
Hundred percent, black-owned champagne
And we merrily merrily eatin' off these streams
Y'all still drinkin' Perrier-Jouët, huh
But we ain't get through to you yet, uh
What's better than one billionaire? Two (two)
'Specially if they're from the same hue as you
Y'all stop me when I stop tellin' the truth

Hahahaha
I would say I'm the realest nigga rappin'
But that ain't even a statement
That's like sayin' I'm the tallest midget
Wait, that ain't politically correct
Forget it
Can I get "Amen" from the congregation?
Amen, amen
Can I get a "Amen" from the congregation?
Amen, amen

Yeah, I'll f*ck up a good thing if you let me
Let me alone, Becky
A man that don't take care his family can't be rich
I'll watch Godfather, I miss that whole shit
My consciousness was Michael's common sense
I missed the karma, that came as a consequence
Niggas bustin' off through the curtains 'cause she hurtin'
Can't losin' the babies 'cause their future's uncertain
Nobody wins when the family feuds
We all screwed 'cause we never had the tools
I'm tryna fix you
I'm tryna get these niggas with no stripes to be official
Y'all think small, I think Biggie
Y'all whole pass is in danger, ten Mississippi
Al Sharpton in the mirror takin' selfies
How is him or Pill Cosby 'posed to help me?
Old niggas never accepted me
New niggas is the reason I stopped drinkin' Dos Equis
We all lose when the family feuds
What's better than one billionaire? Two
I'll be damned if I drink some Belvedere while Puff got Ciroc
Y'all need to stop

Higher, higher, higher, higher
Higher, higher, higher, higher
Higher, higher, higher, higher

Love me like, love
Higher
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah

Now greetings to the world
Gangsta no live in a tenement yard
Rude boy no live in a tenement yard
Too much watchy, watchy, watchy
Too much su, su, su, su, su
Them chatty, chatty, chatty
Them su, su, su, su, su (f*ck all this pretty Shawn Carter shit nigga, HOV)

Shawn was on that gospel shit
I was on the total f*ckin' opposite
Shit, stuff a million dollars in the sock drawer
That's a war chest in case you need your chest knocked off
Y'all be talkin' crazy under them IG pictures
So when you get to Hell you tell 'em Blanco sent you
I can't take no threats, I got a set of twins
Those were just the words you'll never hear again
For the final time, you don't believe these fools
I've never seen a worker rock so many jewels
I've never seen the runner with so many cars
Y'all couldn't stop me, you're not as tough as you say you are
My advice is just don't be too nice to niggas
Just set the price so niggas'll live your live, my nigga
Once upon a time in the projects
Shawn was in flight mode, I bought a Pyrex
I was in fight mode and now it's, "F*ck me, mijo"
I was movin' them kilos, help you move your peoples
Sometimes you need your ego, gotta remind these fools
Who they effin' with, and we got FN's too
Before we had A&R's, we had AR's too
We the only ones really movin' like y'all say y'all do
We still movin' like y'all niggas say y'all did
Emory passed you niggas and he did a bid
Ty-Ty jumped over niggas and he's like 5'6"
Got the heart of a giant, don't you ever forget
Don't you never forget, Jigga got this shit poppin'
I pulled out the pot when we was outta options

Gangsta no live in a tenement yard
Rude boy no live in a tenement yard
Too much watchy, watchy, watchy
Them su, su, su, su, su
Too much chatty, chatty, chatty (f*ck all this pretty Shawn Carter shit nigga, HOV)
And them su, su, su, su, su

Put that drum in your ear, don't get Srem'd
I'll Bobby Shmurda anybody you heard of
Niggas could not be further, I fathered your style
Birth of a Nation, Nat Turner style
Uh, y'all make me turn up all this talkin' down
Uh, niggas is skippin' leg day just to run they mouth
I be skippin' leg day, I still run the world
I pressed ahead of your team with one finger curled
I'll line you all up with one finger wave
Make niggas weave, niggas is out here fake
Laced front to the back, don't front
Y'all gonna make me wig, I'ma give y'all what you want

Gangsta no live in a tenement yard
Dreadlocks no live in a tenement yard
Too much watchy, watchy, watchy
And them su, su, su, su, su
Too much chatty, chatty, chatty
And them su, su, su, su, su (f*ck all this pretty Shawn Carter shit nigga, HOV)

Can't you see it's my ambition
I'll come to nice up the whole nation
What a bam bam yeah, loud
I'm Mister What-A-Bam-Bam (do it, Jay!)
Can't you see it's my ambition
I'll come to nice up the whole nation
What a bam bam
What a bam bam
I don't give a God damn
I don't give a God damn
When mi come a dance and mi spliff and Guinness
Yow, crowd of people, go and mind yuh business
This a hunting season
Mek I tell you hunting season
Well, I tell ya something season
Yow, this a hunting season
Cake and dumpling season
Spinners and dumpling sea, ha
Don't play by the king
Love is all I and I bring you know
Voice of the one pon gully banking
Top ranking, keep it skanking
Ooh wee, huh
Hear me now

Yeah, got Lil' Cos up here with me
Yeah, yeah

We stuck in La La Land
Even when we win, we gon' lose
We got the same f*ckin' flows
I don't know who is who
We got the same f*ckin' watch
She don't got time to choose
We stuck in La La Land
We got the same f*ckin' moves

Y'all f*ck the same f*ckin' chicks
I'm in the skrt with ya, yeah, right
I'm the skrt with ya, cool story
I'm on the ch, 'nough of this
Look, I know killers, you no killer, huh?
Bathing Ape maybe not a gorilla, huh?
Glorified seat filler, huh?
Stop walkin' around like y'all made Thriller, huh?
Fake Dracos all in the videos
We sure, we shoot 'em in my city though
I don't post no threats on the Internet
I just pose a threat, blame Lenny S for that
I don't be on the 'Gram goin' ham
Givin' information to the pork, that's all spam
Please don't talk about guns
That you ain't never gon' use
Y'all always tell on y'all self
I'm just so f*ckin' confused

Y'all stuck in La La Land
Even when we win, we gon' lose
Y'all got the same f*ckin' flows
I don't know who is who
We got the same f*ckin' watch
She don't got time to choose
We stuck in La La Land
We got the same f*ckin' moves

Y'all niggas still signin' deals? Still?
After all they done stole, for real?
After what they done to our Lauryn Hill?
And y'all niggas is 'posed to be trill?
That's real talk when you behind on your taxes
And you pawned all your chains
And they run off with your masters
And took it to Beverly Hills
While we in Calabasas
And my head is scratchin'
'Cause that shit is backwards
That shit ain't right
Lucian is cool but Lucian don't write
Doug ain't this tight, so
F*ck what we sellin'
F*ck is we makin'?
'Cause their grass is greener
'Cause they always rakin' in mo'
Nah, nah, nah, nah
Nah, nah

Live from Bedford-Stuyvesant, the livest one representing BK to the fullest
Bastards ducking when Hov be buckin', chicken heads be cluckin', uh

Back when ratchet was a ratchet and the vixen was a vixen and Jam Master Jay was alive, I was mixing
Cooking coke in the kitchen back when Rodman was a Piston
Mike was losing to Isiah but he soon would get his sixth one
Gave birth to my verbal imagination, assume a virtue if you have not
Or better yet here's a verse from Hamlet
"Lord, we know who we are
Yet we know not what we may be"
So maybe I'm the one or maybe I'm crazy
I'm from Marcy houses where the boys die by the thousand
Back when Pam was on Martin yeah that's where it all started
When Denzel was blottin' carpet, I'll pack a nine millimeter when Slick Rick made Mona Lisa
When Lisa Bonet was Beyoncé of her day, I had divas ya'll
Think I just popped up in this bitch like a fetus? Nah
Pregnant pause, give you some second thoughts
There's room on the bandwagon, don't abort
Marcy me

Marcy me
Streets is my artery, the vein of my existence
I'm the Gotham City heartbeat
I started in lobbies now, parley with Saudis
Sufi to the goofies I could probably speak Farsi
That's poetry read a coca leaf from my past
Came through the bushes smelling like roses I need a trophy just for that
Old Brooklyn not this new shit, shit feel like a spoof
Fat laces in your shoe I'm talking busting off the roof
Hold a uzi vertical, let the thing smoke
Y'all flirting with death, I be winking through the scope
Shout out to all the murderers turned murals, plural, f*ck the Federal Bureau
Shout out to Nostrand Ave, Flushing Ave, Myrtle
All the County of Kings, may your ground stay fertile
Shout out to Big Poppa, Daddy Kane, heroes
Thus concluding my concerto, Marcy me

Must be in the air, oh can't walk away I know ,I know
Just the way I was raised I know, I know, I know
Oh Marcy, Marcy me just the way I am, always gonna be
I ain't gonna change, no
Marcy, Marcy me, just the way I am
I know, I know, I ain't gonna change, no
(Como as minhas mãos tocando aqui
Eu não canto do mundo, o meu tempo)

Daddy, what's a will?

Take those moneys and spread 'cross families
My sisters, Hattie and Lou, the nephews, cousins and TT
Eric, the rest to B for whatever she wants to do
She might start an institute
She might put poor kids through school
My stake in Roc Nation should go to you
Leave a piece for your siblings to give to their children too
TIDAL, the champagne, D'USSÉ, I'd like to see
A nice peace-fund ideas from people who look like we
We gon' start a society within society
That's major, just like the Negro League
There was a time America wouldn't let us ball
Those times are now back, just now called Afro-tech
Generational wealth, that's the key
My parents ain't have shit, so that ship started with me
My mom took her money, she bought me bonds
That was the sweetest thing of all time, uh

Legacy, legacy, legacy, legacy
Black excellence baby, you gon' let 'em see
Legacy, legacy, legacy, legacy
Black excellency, baby, let 'em see

I've been listening to Wu-Tang and niggas like
"Your seed, married his seed, married my seed"
That's how we keep Carter money all in the family
You see, my father, son of a preacher man
Whose daughter couldn't escape the reach of the preacher's hand
That charge of energy set all the Carters back
It took all these years to get to zero in fact
I hated religion 'cause here was this Christian
He was preaching on Sundays, versus how he was living Monday
Someday I forgive him 'cause strangely our division led to multiple religions I studied
Muslim, Buddhist, and Christians, and
I was running from Him, He was giving me wisdom
See how the universe works?
It takes my hurt and help me find more of myself
It's a gift and a curse
That's called the red queens race

You run this hard just to stay in place
Keep up the pace, baby
Keep up the pace
You run this hard just to stay in place

Legacy, legacy, legacy, legacy
Black excellence, you gon' let 'em see
Legacy, legacy, legacy, legacy
Black excellency, baby, let 'em see

Day, someday, someday, we all
Someday, we'll all be free, yeah