Songwriter: Lupe Fiasco

[Intro]
Ah ha
Talk to 'em
It's what hustler's do
This is a hustler's song
This hustle is gone

[Verse 1]
Let me tell you what this fellow like
Caught somewhere between stop and go like yellow lights
Hustler so I gotta get it mellow right
Down the block, round the clock, bezel like
I roll like cherry red Jell-O dice
It's Was, just the pot callin' the kettle white
It's hot, just the block callin' the ghetto wife
This Paul McCain is my ball and chain, mi amor
Hopefully I won't fall and hang
Like pictures on the walls of halls of fame
It's just a boy man, look what it all became
Good 'n all, but look at what all remains
All the flaws and things
Marks from all the claws and fangs
The remarks from all of y'all that changed
The bustin' back at all y'all I trained
Apologizing to all of y'all I blame

[Hook]
This a hustler's due
And you ain't did it til' a hustler's do
And you didn't know it til' a hustler knew
And you ain't done til' a hustler's through
I'm a customer too, it's what hustler's do
And you ain't seen it til' you seen it from a hustler's view
Open your eyes, it's a hustler's song
God forgive if the hustle is wrong

[Verse 2]
It's bigger things so we Cosa Nostra
Striving to be number one til' I overdose
I speak it now with a number tongue or the throat
Youngest son runnin' from older quotes
Thou shall not sin, thou shall not steal, thou shall not kill
Thou shall not turn your back on those in need
I try to flip, but these government switch
Keeps me at this chosen speed
I'm just a rose in weeds
And I rolls with reasons to stay on this road I lead
Til' I leave with what I sow, my sole in these
Leave my son with the sum of what I sold in deeds
I'm foldin' y'all, probably headed for the pin like bowling balls
Kept it directed at the pen and wrote it for y'all

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
It takes a lot of patience when you takin' it on
A lot of pacin', a lot of makin' it known
I ain't the nigga that be placin' it on
I was the king of this city, now they replacing the throne
I know it's a lot of hatin' waitin' at home
And she ain't waitin' you can hear the bass in her tone
Like she can't make it alone, a broken home
And she the brace for the bone
All this from just embracin' the phone
A lot of ballin' up letters, a lot of erasing the poems
A lot of comin to grips that you gonna be facin' alone
All this time, all this time you was wrong
You know whatever happens I got you
And when whatever happened to happen
They was happy to drop you
No letters and shoes, no cheddar
Your mom sold sweaters, she feel no better

[Hook]

Lupe Fiasco

The Chicago born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco first tasted success when he featured on Kanye West’s hit “Touch the Sky”, a track that shortly preceded his real breakout, his 2006 debut album Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor, and he never looked back. He has established himself as one of the greatest urban wordsmiths of all time, with Genius even dubbing him the ‘Proust of Rap’.

While he’s now regarded of one of the 21st Century’s Hip-Hop greats, he wasn’t always a fan of the genre, initially disliking it due to the prominence of vulgarity and misogyny within it. In his late teens, he aspired to make it as a lyricist. In his early twenty’s, he met Jay-Z, who helped him sign with Atlantic Records in 2005. The following year, he released his debut album (Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor), which was met with acclaim from fans and critics alike, as did his sophomore effort, Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool.

The following eight years of his career saw far less output than many would’ve anticipated. This can be partly attributed to his struggles with Atlantic Records. The executives wanted him to sign a 360 deal; however, as he refused to do so they instead shelved his already completed 3rd album, Lasers, and wouldn’t promote him as they had previously. The overseers at the label also interfered with his music (as they had tried to do with his fan-favorite track “Dumb it Down”); subsequently effecting the quality and sound of his third and fourth albums.