[Kanye West]
It's like I wanna spit something written
But keep forgetting
So I guess it's from the heart from the start
Played my part
Seemed like I just wasn't reaching the charts
5000 hours, rewritting Power
Over and over
Some nights sober, some nights gone off the Henny as usual
So unusual to be in this position
Everything I say everybody tryna diss 'em
Everybody playin him, truth be told
The last n-gga ever let the truth be told
And oh Mos Def ran to my home
And said they gon have yo a** gone
Light jokes, you keep playin with them white folks
Cant even take the piss
They gon' test your urine
Cut all the sponsorship for the touring!
"Where the Dark Fantasy tour at Ye?"
I dont know, ask, ask Hennesy (thats Coca-Cola)
Say 'he aint clean enough'
but rappers aint mean enough?
Enough lashes like I aint seen enough
On the real, this is like the Neo-Emmitt Till
Whistling- Get yo f-cking a** k**ed
Lets keep this sh** real!
Now who the realest
Everybody feel this
And everyday of my life, people try to tell me that I hate the whites
Cuz I said wats right
I go to sleep and deal wit it every night
And wake up every morning
And walk to the liquor store or coffee store shop on the Mersa wats worser?
Its no verse that would reverse the-
In print or in cursive
They curse the name, or maybe call me Kane
Lets have a 'toast for the douche bags'
Then people wanna talk about me on blogs because I like clothes like look at this f*g
Thats what I have to deal wit real sh**
Yall dont even understand, what it take to be a real man
A black man interested in art, speaking from the heart and playin' my part
All this illuminati talk, like my first hit single wasnt 'Jesus Walks'
For many years, these aint rhymes these is muthaf-cking tears
They playin' wit n-ggas careers
Felt like I'm the only real n-gga here
From my last breath
They kicked me out the awards and my n-gga Diddy left
Then they even set Beyonce up to give the Award back
Didn't even know I afford that
And she rode the wave as I rode the slave
As I felt like a slave as they try to put my sh** up in the grave
N-gga behave, n-gga behave
Be the first ?
I bet ya no one else would ever say nuttin' and stay frontin'
And get up and just perform, sh** is enormous
Shout out to Steve Stout, you know what this sh** 'bout
My whole family, now I'm scared of Grammy's
Cause everybody know that Dark Fantasy was the highest rated album in history
So I just avoided it, not to be exploited, not to be recorded
Cause I cannot afford it, I cannot afford more sh** to be in more debt
Uh, it's too real for these n-ggas, you feel for these n-ggas
How I feel to be a black man, you say something wrong, nobody understand
Money, power, black, opinion, pick two, they would k** ya.
[Mos Def]
No matter what goes on
They may not agree, they may not understand
But God got a plan, to put the mic in my hand
and his hand and that hand
And ideas, and all of theres
And the end, everybody up in here, in this atmosphere
So make it clear, live long and prosper
Much success, even if you wish me the opposite
? I stay on my job
Try to pray to keep my heart from going harm
And I aint perfect, you know that from old me
My life is real even when I'm in the movies
I'm on the ave, I'm in the cave
I buried my Grandmother on Thursday, two weeks ago
My life is real, as it ever been
To all my friends and even foes
Each and every one of those, let em know
I shine a globe, even in the dark, stay smart
Stay sharp, as a harp played by a musician in this position
Feel blessed to make the whole World listen
And just glisten without even trying
Even when I die, I wont stay dead
And its straight off the head, and its straight out the lungs
Looking fly, fresh, old man, so young
And I'm straight from the slums
And never been above so the ba-bum-ba-bum-bum-pum-pum...
This thing ups, let us all give some
Number one yo, I'm number none, no comparision
And make the whole world aware of it
Brooklyn in the building we take care of it
Peace out to all the Sagittarius
And happy birthday Pisces and Aries too
And this go out to all area crew
And if you come from the 78 scene and you just like me
Say it over ?
From the present, and the past and the future and beyond
Me and Lupe and Kanye we play the song and get it on