JAY-Z

Released: June 30, 2017

Songwriter: JAY-Z No I.D. Donny Hathaway Edward Howard

Producer: No I.D.

[Intro: Blue Ivy Carter]
Daddy, what's a will?

[Verse 1: JAY-Z]
Take those monies 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 a 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 shift started with me
My mom took her money, she bought me bonds
That was the sweetest thing of all time, uh

[Chorus: JAY-Z]
Legacy, Legacy, Legacy, Legacy
Black excellence baby, you gon' let 'em see
Legacy, Legacy, Legacy, Legacy
Black excellency, baby, let 'em see

[Interlude: JAY-Z]
I remember, like, listenin' 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

[Verse 2: JAY-Z]
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 preachin' on Sundays, versus how he was livin' Monday
Someday I forgive him
'Cause strangely our division led to multiple religions
I studied Muslim, Buddhist, and Christians
And I was runnin' from him, He was givin' 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 Queen's Race

[Bridge: JAY-Z]
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

[Chorus: JAY-Z]
Legacy, Legacy, Legacy, Legacy
Black excellence, you gon' let 'em see
Legacy, Legacy, Legacy, Legacy
Black excellency, baby, let 'em see

[Outro: Donny Hathaway]
Day, someday, someday we'll all
Someday we'll all be free

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.

more tracks from the album

4:44

From the album

4:44 (2017)

JAY-Z popular songs

LegacyJAY-Z

JAY-Z

4:44