Released: September 19, 2006

Featuring: GemStones JAY-Z

Songwriter: Prolyfic JAY-Z Lupe Fiasco GemStones

Producer: Prolyfic

[Intro: Lupe Fiasco]
Roc-A-Fella
1st and...!
Jay!
Lupe!
Yeah!
Ugh!

[Verse 1: Lupe Fiasco]
And so it seems that I'm sewing jeans
And 1st and 15th is just a sewing machine
So I cut the pattern and I sew its seams and
Button in this hustling, then, publicly, I'm Buddy Lee
There's no busting them
And cuffing them is like ushering in the regime
They want me to make Prince pants
But I withstand, I ain't gotten into that
A little big in the waist, two-pocket on the back
Call them Lu-vi's, old jeans covered in blue dye (Woo!)
Give 'em the game, that's like giving chocolate to the fat
Look: how you think I got here?
That's the same game that came through where I lived as a kid
In the bad luck truck and threw boxes off the back
Made me a ripper, deliver like river
Content a lil' more thicker, slicker, yeah!
And they said oil and water don't mix
Now they all down at the beach, washing off the fish
Was Blackbeard 'til I brought the Roc into your ships
Yeah!

[Chorus: GemStones]
It's my life (My life)
Everything I do I do for you (I do it all for you)
Everything I say, you know it's the truth (I'll say it is the truth)
I'll take all the pressure off of you (Take pressure off of you)
I'll take the pressure off of you

[Verse 2: Lupe Fiasco]
Yeah! Uhh, it's hella proper (proper)
'Cause it sag so low you can see boxer—like a boxer's
That's the way that the family's pants worn
Don't be sly and try and put 'em on
The stones in the pocket'll drag you down to Davy Jones' locker
Beware if you wanna rock the Knickerbocker
Other nigga from the block what, they was selling O's
Like Wheel of Fortune, of imported cocaine
Just to feel important, it was "Do or Die"
They was tired of being "Po' Pimps," not for sure (Sure)
That was just a product of my common sense (Sense)
I guess, I was just guessing like the consonants
Momma said, "Beware of what the devil do"
"Tell 'em that your soul's not for sale like the Ws"
So go 'head and pirate the highest
Cannons make you leak like, pirated my shh...
It's no shh.. it's just shh like quiet
And big homie's out of retirement, nigga
Yessir!

[Chorus: GemStones & Jay-Z]
It's my life (My life)
Everything I do I do for you (I do it all for you)
Everything I say, you know it's the truth (I'll say it is the truth)
I'll take all the pressure off of you (Take pressure off of you)
Unh!
I'll take (Young!) the pressure off of you
Unh!

[Verse 3: Jay-Z]
So the pen is mightier than the sword, my Lord
My first picture was a line-up, now I'm on the Forbes (Unh)
And I still remain the artiste through thees all
If you force my hand, I'll be forced to draw (Hahaha)
If the war calls for Warhols
Hope you got enough space on your hall's walls
I make niggas murals, then escape the Bureau's investigation
Out in Europe on vacation
I'm back for these puppies with the pound, boy (Rrrrra!)
Here's a round, boy (Rrrra! Rrrra!), down, boy
Sound boy, you don't wanna sound-clash; loud noise
Leave niggas paranoid if not paralyzed
Which means you can't walk in my shoes
Too much green; you can't talk in my hue
Extend the team, nigga, holla at Lu'
1st and 15th, that's my cue
I'm through

[Chorus: GemStones]
It's my life (My life)
Everything I do I do for you (I do it all for you)
Everything I say, you know it's the truth (I'll say it is the truth)
I'll take all the pressure off of you (Take pressure off of you)
I'll take the pressure off of you

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.