Jay-z - What's Free lyrics

[Intro: Meek Mill] You know what free is n***a? [Chorus: Meek Mill] What's free? Free is when nobody else could tell us what to be Free is when the TV ain't controllin' what we see Told my n***as "I need you" Through all the fame you know I stay true Pray my n***as stay free Made a few mistakes but this ain't where I wanna be Before I'm judged by 12, put a 12 on my V Told my n***as, "I need you" Stay up I know these times ain't true Real life, what's free [Verse 1: Rick Ross] Since a lad, I was cunning Just got a pad out in London I keep stackin' my money, I need a ladder by summer AK shots, n***as duckin' stray shots Been a Top Dawg, that's before the K.Dots Crackin' in '06, immaculate showmanship Talk it like you Mitch, disastrous on the strip Holdin' on your b**h, coulda never sold you a brick With them people you never been on a list Mona Lisa to me ain't nothin' but a b**h Hanging pictures like n***as swinging from his dick We so different you thought these didn't exist The Megalodon never seen on his wrist I'm from the South where they never make it this rich God is the greatest, but Satan been on his sh** Walkin' the pavement, I pray I'm illuminated Over a decade and never nobody's favorite Pot and kilo go hand in hand like we gamblin' huf My amigo, a million grams and we countin' 'em up You was dead broke, I let you hold a pack You paid for it, but I f**ed around and stole the track Screaming "gang gang" now you wanna rap Racketeering charges caught him on a tap Lookin' for a bond lawyers wanna tax Purple hair got them f*ggots on your back [Chorus: Meek Mill] What's free? Free is when nobody else could tell us what to be Free is when the TV ain't controlling what we see Told my n***as "I need you" Through all the fame you know I stay true Pray my n***as stay free Made a few mistakes but this ain't where I wanna be Before I'm judged by 12, put a 12 on my V Told my n***as "I need you" Stay up I know these times ain't true Real life, what's free? [Verse 2: Meek Mill] Fed investigations, heard they plottin' like I trap 20 mil' in cash, they know I got that off a rap Maybe it's the Michael Rubins or the Robert Krafts Or the billionaire from Marcy ain't no way they got my back Seein' how I prevailed now they try to knock me back, uh Lock me in the cell for all them nights and I won't snap, uh Two-fifty a show and they still think I'm sellin' crack When you bring my name up to the judge just tell em' facts Tell em how we fundin' all these kids to go to college Tell him how we ceasin' all these wars, stoppin' violence Tryna fix the system and the way they designed it I think they want me silenced (Shush) Oh say can you see I don't feel like I'm free Locked down in my cell, shackled from ankle to feet Judge bangin' that gavel turned me to slave from a king Another day in the bing, I gotta hang from a string Just for poppin' a wheelie, my people march in the city From a cell to a chopper view from the top of the city You can tell how we rockin' soon as I pop up we litty Poppin' like Bad Boy in '94, Big Poppa and Diddy And n***as counted me out like my accountant ain't busy That's five milli' in twenties, sit up and count 'til I'm dizzy Phantom, five hundred thousand, hundred round in a stizzy Is we beefin' or rappin', I might just pop up with Drizzy like [Chorus: Meek Mill] What's free? Free is when nobody else could tell us what to be Free is when the TV ain't controlling what we see Told my n***as 'I need you' Through all the fame you know I stay true Pray my n***as stay free Made a few mistakes but this ain't where I wanna be Before I'm judged by 12, put a 12 on my V Told my n***as 'I need you' Stay up I know these times ain't true Real life, what's free? [Verse 3: JAY-Z] In the land of the free, where the blacks enslaved Three-fifth's of a man I believe's the phrase I'm 50% of D'usse and it's debt free (Yeah) 100% of Ace of Spades, worth half a B (Uh) Roc Nation, half of that, that's my piece Hunnid percent of Tidal to bust it up with my G's Since most of my n***as won't ever work together You run a cheque up but they never give you leverage No red hat, don't Michael and Prince me and Ye They separate you when you got Michael and Prince's DNA, uh I ain't one of these house n***as you bought My house like a resort, my house bigger than yours My spou- (C'mon man) My route better of course We started without food in our mouth They gave us pork and pig intestines sh** you discarded that we ingested, we made the project a wave You came back, reinvested and gentrified it Took n***a's sense of pride Now how that's free? And the people stole their soul and hit n***as with 360's I ain't got a billion streams, got a billion dollars Inflating numbers like we 'posed to be happy about this We was praisin' Billboard but we were young Now I look at Billboard like 'Is you dumb?' To this day, Grandma 'fraid of what I might say They gon' have to k** me Grandmama, I'm not they slave (Ha-ha-ha) Check out the bizarre rappin' style used by me the HOV Look at my hair free, care free n***as ain't near free Enjoy your chains, whats your employer name with the hair piece? I survived the hood, can't no Shaytan rob me My accountant's so good I'm practically livin' tax free Factory, that's me Sold d**, got away scot-free That's a CC, E-copy Guilt free, still me And they expect me to not feel a way to this day You would say y'all k** me s**er free, no shuckin me I don't jive turkey Say “Happy Thanksgiving" sh** sound like murder to me Smoke free All of y'all calling out toll free Labels rob you for millions yet you wanna put a hole in me Sugar free, seasoned but I'm salt free Lay a hand on Hov, my shooter shoot for free I promise World War three Send an order through a hands free, k** you in 24 hours or shorter you can't ignore the hand speed On god, it's off the head this improv But it's no comedy Sign I fail, hell naw (Ha-ha-ha)