Kanye West

Featuring: Lauryn Hill

Songwriter: Kanye West

Producer: Kanye West

[Intro]
I hear you, I hear you, L-Boogie
Remember they used to call you that?
What you say, Lauryn?
You just keep singing, I'mma tell 'em
Oh when it all, it all falls down
I'm telling you all when it all falls down
(Oh when it all)

[Verse 1: Kanye West]
Man I promise, she's so self conscious
She has no idea what she doing in college
That major that she majored in don't make no money
But she won't drop out, her parents will look at her funny
Now, tell me that ain't insecurr
The concept of school seems so securr
Sophmore three yurrs ain't picked a carurr
She like fuck it, I'll just stay down hurr and do hair
Cause that's enough money to buy her a few pairs of new Airs
Cause her baby daddy don't really care
She's so precious with the peer pressure
Couldn't afford a car so she named her daughter Alexis
She had hair so long that it looked like weave
Then she cut it all off now she look like Eve
And she be dealing with some issues that you can't believe
Single black female addicted to retail and well

[Chorus: Kanye West]
Oh when it all, it all falls down
Uh, and when it falls down who you gon' call now?
Oh when it all, it all falls down
C'mon c'mon, and when it falls down

[Verse 2: Kanye West]
Man I promise, I'm so self-conscious
That's why you always see me with at least one of my watches
Rollies and Pashas done drove me crazy
I can't even pronounce nothing, pass that versace!
Then I spent 400 bucks on this
Just to be like, "Nigga, you ain't up on this!"
And I can't even go to the grocery store
Without some Ones that's clean and a shirt with a team
It seems we living the American Dream
But the people highest up got the lowest self-esteem
The prettiest people do the ugliest things
For the road to riches and diamond rings
We shine because they hate us, floss cause they degrade us
We trying to buy back our 40 acres
And for that paper, look how low we a stoop
Even if you in a Benz, you still a nigga in a coupe

[Chorus: Kanye West]
Oh when it all, it all falls down
Uh, and when it falls down who you gon' call now?
Oh when it all, it all falls down
C'mon c'mon, and when it falls down

[Verse 3: Kanye West]
I say fuck the police, that's how I treat 'em
We buy our way out of jail, but we can't buy freedom
We'll buy a lot of clothes but we don't really need 'em
Things we buy to cover up what's inside
Cause they make us hate ourself and love they wealth
That's why shorties holler, "Where the ballers at?"
Drug dealer buy Jordan, crackhead buy crack
And the white man get paid off of all of that
But I ain't even gonna act holier than thou
Cause fuck it, I went to Jacob with 25 thou
Before I had a house and I'd do it again
Cause I wanna be on 106 & Park pushing a Benz
I wanna act ballerific like it's all terrific
I got a couple past-due bills, I won't get specific
I got a problem with spending before I get it
We all self-conscious I'm just the first to admit it

[Chorus: Kanye West]
Oh when it all, it all falls down
Uh, and when it falls down who you gon' call now?
Oh when it all, it all falls down
C'mon c'mon, and when it falls down

Don't stop that shit, keep that shit
Keep that part where I ran out of breath
We ain't doing no punch-ins, man
That's that fake shit
If I was on stage, how I gotta spit it?
It's from the heart anyway
Might cause shortness of breath, ya know?
Couldn't have got nobody better for the job
Thank you very much this a beautiful
Beautiful young lady that's inspired me definitely

The ubiquitous Kanye West—from his famous quip, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” to “I'ma let you finish,” to marrying Kim Kardashian, to announcing that he’s running for President, and admitting his love for President Trump—you can see that he’s a staple of the tabloids and the entertainment world, industry-wide.

That certainly doesn’t take anything away from his music; as a matter of fact, it only seems to add to his fortuitous career. For instance, his 2010 album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, was universally praised by fans and critics alike; it was recorded during the backlash he received from the Swift interruption and during his break-up with then-girlfriend Amber Rose.

He has scored other well-known hits, as well, from each of his previous studio albums—such as “Stronger,” “Heartless,” and “Gold Digger.” Each of his albums has been massive critical and commercial successes, including his collaboration album with JAY-Z, Watch the Throne. As of 2020, West has won an astounding 21 Grammys, tied with JAY-Z as the most decorated hip-hop artist in Grammy history.

more tracks from the album

The College Dropout (Original Version)

From the albums

The College Dropout (Original Version) (2003)
Freshmen Adjustment Vol. 1 (2004)

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The College Dropout (Original Version)