Released: February 10, 2004

Featuring: Consequence GLC

Songwriter: Sandra Greene Gwen Gordy Fuqua Marvin Gaye Consequence GLC Kanye West

Producer: Kanye West

[Produced by Kanye West]

[Chorus: Kanye West & GLC]
I've been working this grave-shift
And I ain't made shit (Yeah, yeah)
I wish I could (Me too)
Buy me a spaceship and fly (Swear I do)
Past the sky, oh
GLC feel you, baby—I feel you, man
I've been working this grave-shift
And I ain't made shit
I wish I could
Buy me a spaceship and fly
Past the sky (Man, man, man...)
Oh, oh, oh

[Verse 1: Kanye West]
If my manager insults me again
I will be assaulting him
After I fuck the manager up
Then, I'm gonna shorten the register up
Let's go back, back to the Gap
Look at my check—wasn't no scratch
So if I stole, wasn't my fault
Yeah, I stole—never got caught
They take me to the back and pat me
Asking me about some khakis
But let some Black people walk in
I bet you they show off their token blackie
Oh, now they love Kanye
"Let's put him all in the front of the store"
So I'm on break
Next to the "No Smoking" sign with a blunt in the mall
Taking my hits, writing my hits
Writing my rhymes, playing my mind
This fucking job can't help him
So I quit; y'all welcome
Y'all don't know my struggle
Y'all can't match my hustle
You can't catch my hustle
You can't fathom my love, dude
Lock yourself in a room
Doing five beats a day for three summers
That's A Different World like Cree Summer's
I deserve to do these numbers
"The kid that made that deserves that Maybach!"
So many records in my basement
I'm just waitin' on my spaceship, blaow!

[Chorus: Kanye West, GLC, & Kanye w/ Choir]
I've been working this grave-shift
And I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly
Past the sky, oh
I've been working this grave-shift
And I ain't made shit
I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly
Past the sky
Tryna tell you, man, way past the sky
Oh, oh (Let's go, ugh)

[Verse 2: GLC]
And I didn't even try to work a job
Represent the mob at the same time (Woo)
Thirsty on the grind, Chi state of mind
Lost my mama, lost my mind (Aww)
Life, my love, that's not mine
"Why you ain't signed?" Wasn't my time
Leave me alone, work for y'all
Half of it's yours, half of it's mine
Only wanna ball, never wanna fall (Ugh)
Gotta get mine, gotta take mine (Ugh)
Got a Tec-9, reach my prime (Ugh)
Gotta make these haters respect mine (Yeah)
In the mall 'til 12 when my schedule had said 9
Putting them pants on shelves
Waiting patiently; I ask myself
Where I wanna go, where I wanna be
Life is much more than running in the streets
Holler at 'Ye, hit me with the beat
Put me on my feet, sounds so sweet
Yes, I'm the same ol' G
Same goatee, stayin' low-key, nope
Holler at God: "Man, why'd you have to take my folks?"
Hope to see Freddie G., Yusef G, love my G
Rolly G, police watch me
Smoke my weed and count my Gs
Got a lot of people counting on me (That's right)
And I'm just tryin' to find my peace (That's right)
Should've finished school like my niece
Then I finally wouldn't use my piece, blaow!

[Chorus: Kanye West, GLC, & Kanye w/ Choir]
I've been working this grave-shift
Aww, man, this pressure
And I ain't made shit
I wish I could
Buy me a spaceship and fly
Past the sky, oh
I've been working this grave-shift
And I ain't made shit
I wish I could
Buy me a spaceship and fly
Past the sky
Oh, oh, oh

[Verse 3: Consequence]
I 'member having to take the dollar cab
Coming home real late at night
Standing on my feet all damn day
Tryna make this thing right
And havin' one of my coworkers say, "Yo, you look just like
This kid I seen in an old Busta Rhymes video the other night"
Well, easy come, easy go, how that saying goes
No more broad service, cars, and them TV shows
That all had got snatched from me, A&Rs and they faculties
All turn their back on me and didn't wanna hear a rap from me
So naturally, actually, had to face things factually
Had to be a catastrophe, empty fridge is staring back at me
'Cause nothing's there, nothing's fair
I don't wanna ever go back there
So I won't be taking no days off 'til my spaceship takes off, bow!

[Chorus: Kanye West & Kanye w/ Choir]
I've been working this grave-shift
And I ain't made shit
I wish I could
Buy me a spaceship and fly
Past the sky, oh
I've been working this grave-shift
And I ain't made shit
I wish I could
Buy me a spaceship and fly
Past the sky
Oh, oh, oh

[Outro: Tony Williams]
I wanna fly
I wanna fly
I said I want my chariot to pick me up
And take a brother for a ride
(Heaven knows, heaven knows)

Kanye West

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.