JAY-Z

Released: July 7, 2017

Songwriter: James Blake No I.D. JAY-Z

Producer: James Blake

[Verse 1]
Uh, letter to my dad that I never wrote
Speeches I prepared that I never spoke
Words on a paper that I never read
Proses never penned, they stayed in my head
Jotted on dotted lines, "I'ma fight you, nigga"
From stories that I heard, I'm just like you, nigga
Must've been some pain in your past, too
Must've been a karma that was past due
Must it be the energy that passed through
Must've been a pastor, many snafus
Started a good man, you married my mama
I was in her belly, you hurried that Summer
She had two kids from a previous mister
One family, I don't believe in half-sisters
Never treated my brother like a step, Pop
Remembered the many lessons when we stepped out

[Chorus]
What was you preparing us—
For?

[Verse 2]
Did you see the runt as the front-runner
Leader of the pack, you see that in your youngins
What ancestors did you summon to the summit
To give me what I needed, what you need to take from 'em
The tsunamis that I swum in to become in
Had the cable with the anchor for the places that I sunk in
Unc in a better place but you couldn't function
Shot junk in your arms, more than your veins was punctured
I punted on feelings, 'cause you said you was coming
You couldn't kick the habit, I wish you said something
You can't avenge these many sins with your own hands
You wanna make God laugh, just tell him your plans
Who would've thought I'd be the dad I never had
Be the husband I've become, usually nothing come from that
I forgive you as I live through the beautiful present of the past
I'm just thankful that I get all these gifts to unwrap

[Chorus]
What was you preparing us—
For?

Having sold over 100 million records worldwide, and holding the solo artist record of 14 Billboard 200 #1 albums, Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter is possibly the most talented, accomplished and respected rapper of all-time. He has released 13 studio albums and five collaborative albums over his 30-year career.

Three of his albums, Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, and The Black Album, are considered landmarks in the genre, with all of them featured in Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Hov has won 21 Grammy Awards from sixty-four nominations, making him the 10th most awarded artist of all-time.

Legendary for never writing down his lyrics, JAY-Z’s flow is considered one of the greatest to grace the genre, his wordplay and metaphorical ability is unmatched, and his live shows push the envelope of what it means to be a hip hop artist. His MTV Unplugged appearance introduced the idea of having a full band (The Roots) backing up a hip hop artist at major concerts, and during his 2004 documentary Fade to Black he doubled down, selling out Madison Square Garden (in mere minutes) while featuring an enormous live band performance.

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