JAY-Z

Released: September 11, 2001

Songwriter: Al Green Bink! JAY-Z

Producer: Bink!

[Produced by Bink!]

[Intro]
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Ugh, right, right, right
Right, right, right, right
Ugh, ugh, ugh
Feel me now, listen—

[Verse]
Momma loved me; Pop left me
Mickey fed me; Annie dressed me
Eric fought me, made me tougher
Love you for that, my nigga, no matter what, bruh
Marcy raised me, and whether right or wrong
Streets gave me all I write in this song
Hootie babysitted, changed my diapers
Gil introduced me to the game that changed my life up
East Trenton grew me, had me skipping school
Valencia's boyfriend Volvo had me making moves
Momma raised me; Pop, I miss you
God, help me forgive him; I got some issues
Mickey cleaned my ears; Annie shampooed my hair
Eric was fly—shit, I used to steal his gear
I was the baby boy; I could do no wrong
Years going past fast—let's move along
Kitchen table: that's where I honed my skills
Jaz made me believe this shit was real
Labels turned me down, couldn't foresee
Clark sought me out; Dame believed
Primo laced me; Ski did, too
Reasonable Doubt: classic, shoulda went triple
Momma loved me, Pop left me
Grandma dressed me; plus, she fed me
Banana pudding was in the hood then
Puffing on Ls, drinking pink Champale
Ty rolled with a nigga, V.A. spot
Tone, Mike 'Zo and them niggas—V.A.'s locked
Biggs fucked with a nigga—what's up, Hoff'?
Bee-High hated the fact I put rap to the back
Money pouring in; clientele growing now
Birth of my first nephew—time to slow it down
October 21st: Lavelle came to the world
Followed by three more boys and then, a baby girl
Momma loved me; Ti-Ti, Uncle Jay—
Loves you to death; won't let no trouble come your way
Oh— Can't forget my man down in Maryland
He's gone 'til November; how can I not remember?
Tell your moms I'm there for her and Tiembra
And your son, too—it's nothing I won't do
Unless you was me, how could you judge me?
I was brought up in pain, y'all can't touch me
Police pursued me, chased, cuffed, and subdued me
Talked to me rudely 'cause I'm young, rich, and I'm Black and living a movie, not living by rules
New rap patrolling the city, follow my crews
Bleek, you're still with me, nigga, what did I say?
Your time is coming: you one hit away
Beans, I ain't trying to change you, just give you some game
To make the transition from the street to the fame
My momma loves me

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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