[Verse 1: J. Cole]
I hit the weed I told myself the last time would be my last
I don't trust my own n***as now my mind racing fast
Got my foot up on the gas, got a hundred on the dash
If the police run up on me I ain't stopping for their a**
Boy you know my L's dirty if they stop me I'm goin to jail surely
I'll be next to my brother in the cell no bail for me
Man let me out send me back to b**hes that smell Purdy (pretty)
And all I gotta do is call once and she'll be all ready
Yeah buddy can't you tell I'm goin thru hell
I don't even open my mail
I'm in the shower with soap on the towel
I need cleansing
Bad b**hes all on the prowl they need Benzes
p**y n***as running they mouth but we ain't flinching
They names ain't even mentioned
I got dreams bigger then your whole team
You n***as so broke but yet somehow you seem so green
I guess it's envy, started with a penny now I'm getting plenty money
[Hook:]
One time for the city, yea
Two times for you
Hey
And one time for the city, hey
Two times for you
Hey
[Verse 2: J. Cole]
Look kid, it's raining outside boy
f** an umbrella, n***as banging outside boy
They guns dumb bell a n***a
Tired of telling n***as that's a cease rest in peace
We tired of only having just a peace
And f** policing, they k**ing n***as what's the reason
His daughter starving and she f**ing freezing
So no wonder why he f**ing squeezing
They out here bussin' leavin' n***as stuck in bleedin' on the flo'
Bullets wet you like a semen on a hoe
Breathing slow man I inhale
One day you tryna make rent, next day you in jail
Lord knows he meant well
So I take the pencil and write like a pen pal
Some sh** that's darker than the tints up on the windshield
Welcome to sinville where n***as on base
sh** is looking like an infield
High as a Sprint bill
What you think, that's the reason why this ink in my pen k**s
Phoney n***as until they are extinct, b**h I've been real
[Hook:]
One time for the city, yea
Two times for you
Hey
And one time for the city, hey
Two times for you
Hey
[Verse 3:]
The more n***as sayin'
Cole the wrong one bringin' the city shine
All he ever doin' is paintin' pictures of crime
Tellin' stories of pain, paintin' pictures of dope
b**h if you listen I'm paintin' pictures of hope
That boy in cla** embarra**ed because he broke
Hopin' the day he won't be the bu*t of somebody's jokes
See me; I lived it all from dirt-poorin' and trailer
Worried about my mother and never trustin' my neighbors
To middle-cla** with a backyard and my own room
To bein' the only black kid in my homeroom
Academically gifted and followed my own rules
Was runnin' the streets hey ma I'll be home soon
Was out chasin' ho's, was out hoopin'
Them n***as wasn't ballin' but yet they was foul shootin'
So meet the newest role model who don't know how to fake this sh**
Never sold a rock and look I made it b**h
[Hook:]
One time for the city, yea
Two times for you
Hey
And one time for the city, hey
And two times for you
Hey
[Outro:]
Girl it's been so long, I've been gone from you
But you ain't gotta worry 'bout the thangs I do
It's hard but the thought of you would ease my pain
Girl I promise they gon' know our name
Ain't seen you smile in awhile
But I been dreamin' 'bout you