Released: May 12, 1998

Songwriter: Mary J. Blige Rick James LL Cool J Irv Gotti JAY-Z

Producer: Irv Gotti

[Intro: Jay-Z]
Ha ha, ha ha, Roc-A-Fella y'all
Futuristic shit, bee-atch
Uh, what the fuck? How we do, how we do
Uh huh, uh huh

[Verse 1: Jay-Z]
It's the eventual triple platinum nigga with the solid gold fade
All that nickle and dime shit, don't hold no weight
Fortune 5, top 5 in the Forbes (you'll see)
As you thumb through The Source, I read the Robb Report
Class C, cold me down with the plastic
That's all I ask of you, like Raphael Saadiq
At the Hotel Nikko, Robert Duvall suite
My people's eyes through the peep hole
I'm loving you down freak, as I
Shoot through the city like a rumor
Not soon enough, to stop 'em from spreading
The newspaper heading read "Jay-Z breathes, 80 degrees
Only thing to cool him off is a Malibu Bay Breeze"
Can't stop for the Feds, say cheese
You know they wanna take a nigga picture
Pray for the day to get ya, but I'ma parlay, stay richer for now
Jigga hasn't done dirt in a while
You know my stomach's getting weak from living life on the streets
For real, I'm trying to oversee it from suites, ordering eats
At the top where the real criminal minds meet
That's where the cream is (right?!)
That's where your dream is (well ain't it?)

[Chorus: Jay-Z, LL Cool J & Mary J. Blige]
You're only a customer (uh)
Walkin' in the presence of hustlers
We spend money all night
(All night long)
Beeotch, Roc-A-Fella y'all, ha ha
You're only a customer (uh)
Walkin' in the presence of hustlers
We spend money all night
(All night long)
Roc-A-Fella...

[Verse 2: Jay-Z & Irv Gotti]
Yeah, ayo my youth had a nigga too aggressive, ha
I used to speed excessive, both eyes closed
No thought infested
Hitting pot holes, cop-o's'll snatch your away
What you deem most precious
Had to rethink things, is pinky rings worth
Life on the run and time served in Sing Sing?
I don't know to tell the truth, if I'm pressed for dough
Gotta consult Irv Gotti y'all, heads got to roll
I was raised to live, Lord I pray you forgive
If not, I just handle it like Jason Kidd
What you're facing is official (it's official)
In most cases when I'm blazing won't miss you (won't miss you)
Case and point made bullshit a issue, I see it to the end
My writing so personal, my heart bleeding through the pen
Make no mistake about me
It's only one nigga living, I got half a cake about me
I got love, I can kill a friend over fam not drugs
And very, few people understand that love
To make a nigga die bleeding is nothing (nothing)
You make a motherfucker die breathing
Then you saying something, beeotch

[Chorus: Jay-Z, LL Cool J & Mary J. Blige]
You're only a customer (uh)
Walkin' in the presence of hustlers
We spend money all night, Roc-A-Fella y'all, ha ha
(All night long)
You're only a customer (uh)
Walkin' in the presence of hustlers
We spend money all night, Roc-A-Fella
(All night long)
You're only a customer (uh)
Walkin' in the presence of hustlers
We spend money all night
(All night long)

[Verse 3: Jay-Z]
Roc-A-Fella...
More flavor than y'all can image having
Graphic like Sega Saturn, traffic like the Bodega
It just so happens, you caught me at the the tail end of my dirt
Brain ain't right from inhaling the work all my life
Fuck it, greasy I, had the whole D.C. high
Pissy off Cristal, 3G high
Seasoned Bacardi, VVS's
Blesses my body, we be fresh at the party
Play yourself go 'head if you don't know the ledge
It's like spitting to God
Get it in your face fucking with niggas over your head
Take your time with me, shifty
Used to make coke stretch like a sample in a 950
Shit with that, while I'm on a Kawasaki bike
At the light, doing a pike, with a bitch on the back
And take flight, my life like it was directed by Hype
In 35 slow-mo, with the Roc-A-Fella logo
Acapulco to Aruba, Bay Breezes and caviar beluga
Very little loot eludes us
In the grayish blueish L-e-x coupe
It's the root of evil in these people, what the fuck?

[Chorus: Jay-Z, LL Cool J & Mary J. Blige]
You're only a customer (uh)
Walkin' in the presence of hustlers
We spend money all night
Roc-A-Fella, uh huh, uh huh, beeotch
(All night long)
You're only a customer (uh)
Walkin' in the presence of hustlers
We spend money all night
(All night long)

[Outro: Jay-Z]
Roc-A-Fella, uh huh, uh huh
Futuristic shit

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.