Featuring: Beanie Sigel

Songwriter: Beanie Sigel JAY-Z

Producer: Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie Ron “Amen-Ra” Lawrence DJ Green Lantern

[Intro: Jay-Z]
Jeah
Yeah, yeah
How real is this, how real is this
Inspect this here, check

[Verse 1: Jay-Z]
I'm from where the hammer's rung new's cameras never come
You and your man houndin' every verse in your rhyme
Where the grams is slung, niggas vanish every summer
Where the blue vans would come we throw the work in the can
And run
Where the plans was to get funds and skate off the set
To achieve this goal quicker, sold all my weight wet
Faced with immeasurable odds still I get straight bets
So I felt some more something and you nothing check
I from the other side with other guys don't walk to much
And girls in the projects wouldn't fuck us if we talked too
Much
So they ran up town and sought them dudes to trust
I don't know what the fuck they thought those niggas is foul
Just like us
I'm from where the beef is inevitable, summertime's
Unforgetable
Boosters in abundance, buy a half-price sweater new
Your world was everything, so everything you said you'd do
You did it, couldn't talk about it if you ain't lived it
I from where niggas pull your car, and argue all day about
Who's the best MC's, Biggie, Jay-Z, and Nas
Where the drugs Czars evolve, and thugs always are
At each other's throats for the love of foreign cars
Cats catch cases, hoping the judge R and R's
But most times find themselves locked up behind bars
I'm from where they ball and breed rhyme stars
I'm from Marcy son, just thought I'd remind y'all

[Chorus: Jay-Z]
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing
Nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing
Nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing
Nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing
Nice

[Verse 2: Beanie Sigel]
I'm from the place where the church is the flakiest
And niggas is praying to God so long that they Atheist
Where you can't put your vest away and say you'll wear it
Tomorrow
'Cause the day after we'll be saying, damn I was just with
Him yesterday
I'm a block away from Hell, not enough shots away from
Straight shells
An ounce away from a triple beam still using a hand-held
Weight scale
Your laughing, you know the place well
Where the Liqour Store's and the base well
And Government, fuck Government, niggas polotic themselves
Where we call the cops the A-Team
'Cause they hop out of vans and spray things
And life expectancy so low we making out wills at eight-teen
Where how you get rid of guys who step out of line, your rep
Solidifies
So tell me when I rap you think I give a fuck who criticize?
If the shit is lies, God strike me And I got a question
Are you forgiving guys who live just like me? We'll never
Know
One day I pray to you and said if I ever blow, I let 'em
Know
Mistakes ain't exactly what takes place in the ghetto
Promise fulfilled, but still I feel my job ain't done
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing
Nice

[Chorus: Jay-Z]
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing
Nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing
Nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing
Nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing
Nice

[Verse 3: Jay-Z]
I'm from where they cross-over and clap boards
Lost Jehovah in place of rap lords, listen
I'm up the block, round the corner, and down the street
From where the pimps, prostitutes, and the drug lords meet
We make a million off of beats, 'cause our stories is deep
And fuck tomorrow, as long as the night before was sweet
Niggas get lost for weeks in the streets, twisted off weed
And no matter the weather, niggas know how to draw heat
Whether your four-feet or minute size, it always starts out
With
Three dice and shoot the five
Niggas thought they douce was live, and now hit 'em with
Trips
And I reached down for their money, pa forget about this
This time around it's platinum, like the shit on my wrist
And this Glock on my waist, y'all can't do shit about this
Niggas will show you love, that's how they fool thugs
Before you know it your lying in a pool of blood

[Chorus: Jay-Z]
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing
Nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing
Nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing
Nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing
Nice

JAY-Z

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.