JAY-Z

Released: June 25, 1996

Songwriter: Ski Beatz C. Biggz D.Willz JAY-Z

Producer: Ski Beatz

[Intro]
You know how we do
Roc-A-Fella... forever...

[Verse 1]
You can catch me
Skatin' through your town, puttin' it down, y'all relatin'
No waitin', I'll make your block infrared hot: I'm like Satan
Y'all feel a nigga's struggle, y'all think a nigga love to
Hustle behind the wheel, tryin' to escape my trouble
Kids stop they greetin' me, I'm talking sweet to keys
Cursin' the very God that brought this grief to be
My life is based on sacrifices, jewels like Isis
And fools that think I slip, you fuck around
You get your guys hit, they built me to be filthy
On some I-do-or-die shit, for real
The price of leather's got me, deeper than ever and
Just think, winter's here, I'm tryin' to feel mink, nig-ga

[Chorus]
Politics as usual

[Verse 2]
I took my Frito to Tito in the district
Blessed me with some VS
Somethings I can live with: stop frontin'
And for the dough I raise, gotta get shit appraised
No disrespect to you, make sure your word is true
I'm takin' wages down in Vegas just in case Tyson
Have a major night off, that's clean money, the tax write-off
You ain't seen money in your life, when it
Comes to this cheese y'all like Three Blind Mice
I'm smokin' bros who pump Willie, I expose
The furthest you Chiles been is the Poconos
My portfolio reads: leads to Don Corleone, nigga please
10-year felon, heavy on the wrist, I faze yous
With the diamond flooded Jesus and blind your facials
For life... sharight, Jigga, I keep it tight, nig-ga

[Chorus]
Politics as usual

[Verse 3]
You feel my triumph never - feel my pain
I'm lyin' low in the leathers, I am, the best that's ever came
The game changes like my mind just ain't right
Rewind get this dough, I guess it ain't your night
Suckin' me in like a vacuum, I remember
Tellin' my family: "I'll be back soon"; that was December
'85 and Jay-Z rise 10 years later
Got me wise still can't break my underworld ties
I wear black a lot, in the Ac', act a lot
Got matchin' VCR's, a huge Magnavox
Ten inch, green like spinach, pop wines that's vintage
It's a lot of big money in my sentence
Hittin' towards a mil', lip a, written I kill like that
Check baby one-two cat, yeah, I do that
Ain't no stoppin' the champagne from poppin'
The drawers from droppin', the law from watchin' - I hate 'em

[Chorus]
Politics as usual

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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Reasonable Doubt

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Reasonable Doubt (1996)

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