Decoded. Part 3

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Life Is Slowly Taking You from Who You Are (1:21) [Chorus: Bilal] I know I shouldnt've did that I know I shouldnt've did that1/ I know it's gon' come right back/ I know it's gon' destroy everything I made/ It's probably gon' get ya boy sent away/ But this game I play, ain't no way to fix it/ It's inevitable that I'm/ Falling/ [Jay-Z] Said where I would stop before I even started/ When I get to one brick, When I get to one brick,2 then the Game I will depart with/ Got to one brick then I looked to the sky, like/ then the Game I will depart with/ Got to one brick then I looked to the sky, like/ Sorry G.o.d, I lied, but give me one more try Sorry G.o.d, I lied, but give me one more try3/ Got to two bricks, new cars, new whips4/ But n.i.g.g.as never learn till they end up in the newsclip/ The irony of selling drugs is sort of like I'm using it/ Guess it's two sides to what "substance abuse" is/ Can't stop, won't stop, addicted to this new s.h.i.+t/ Brand new convertibles, I'm so ruthless Brand new convertibles, I'm so ruthless5/ Front row, fight night-see how big my tube is?/ f.u.c.k HD, n.i.g.g.a see how clear my view is? f.u.c.k HD, n.i.g.g.a see how clear my view is?6/ (FALLING)/ But there's a price for overdoing it/ Doin it this big'll put you on the map/ Stick-up kids is out to tax Stick-up kids is out to tax7/ Plus the FBI Boys with the cameras in the back, d.a.m.n!/ I know I shouldnt've did that/ I know it's gon' come right back/ I know it's gon' destroy everything I made/ It's probably gon' get ya boy sent away/ But this game I play, ain't no way to fix it/ It's inevitable-/ Now you're/ (FALLING)/ When you should've fell back,/ Now you're/ (FALLING)/ Right into they lap/ Falling, they applaud and they screamin' at the screen Falling, they applaud and they screamin' at the screen8/ "d.a.m.n, you f.u.c.ked up!" like your favorite movie scene/ G.o.dfather, Goodfellas, Scarface, Casino/ You seen what that last run did to DeNiro/ When he can't beat the odds, can't cheat the cards/ Can't blow too hard, life's a deck of cards Can't blow too hard, life's a deck of cards9/ Now you're tumbling, it's humbling, you're falling, you're mumbling/ Under your breath like you knew this day was coming/ (FALLING)/ Now let's pray that arm candy/ That you left your ex for stay "down" and come in handy/ Cause come January, it gets cold Cause come January, it gets cold10/ When the letters start to slow, when your commissary's11 low/ When your lawyer screams "Appeal!" only thinkin 'bout a bill/ When your chances are nil, d.a.m.n, gravity's ill.../ [ low/ When your lawyer screams "Appeal!" only thinkin 'bout a bill/ When your chances are nil, d.a.m.n, gravity's ill.../ [Bilal] I know I shouldnt've did that/ I know it's gon' come right back/ I know it's gon' destroy everything I made/ It's probably gon' get ya boy sent away/ But this game I play, ain't no way to fix it/ It's inevitable-/ That you're/ (FALLING)/ [Jay-Z] And you can't get up/ All you do is push-up, pull-up, sit-up All you do is push-up, pull-up, sit-up12/ Locked down, the town now belongs to the Squares/ Who say they won't make the same mistakes Who say they won't make the same mistakes13 that got you there/ And ya arm candy's sweet on 'em/ that got you there/ And ya arm candy's sweet on 'em/ And the woman that you left for this heffa got a college degree comin And the woman that you left for this heffa got a college degree comin14/ Bad news keeps coming/ Hard to keep something on your stomach/ You're sick 'bout what your life is becoming/ (FALLING)/ Bunch of used to's, has beens bragging bad 'bout all the new dudes/ Talking tough on the YouTube bout what you used to do Talking tough on the YouTube bout what you used to do15/ But that's old school to the new crew/ They're doing numbers like Sudoku/ They're the new you/ And its d.a.m.n near inevitable they'll experience deja vu too/ Fight, and you'll never survive/ Run, and you'll never escape/ So just fall from grace, d.a.m.n.../ [Bilal] I know I shouldn't've did that/ I know it's gon' come right back/ I know its gon' destroy everything I made/ It's probably gon' get ya boy sent away/ But this game I play, ain't no way to fix it/ It's inevitable that I'm/ FALLING

BIG PIMPIN' (EXTENDED) / FEATURING UGK [image]

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Big Pimpin'. (3:10) Uhh, uh uh uh / It's big pimpin baby.../ It's big pimpin, spendin cheese / Feel me...uh-huh uhh, uh-huh.../ Ge-ge-geyeah, geyeah / Ge-ge-geyeah, geyeah.../ You know I thug em, f.u.c.k em, love em, leave em / Cause I don't f.u.c.kin need em / Take em out the hood, keep em lookin good / But I don't f.u.c.kin feed em But I don't f.u.c.kin feed em1 / First time they fuss I'm breezin / Talkin bout, "What's the reasons?" / I'm a pimp in every sense of the word, b.i.t.c.h / Better trust than believe em / In the cut where I keep em / / First time they fuss I'm breezin / Talkin bout, "What's the reasons?" / I'm a pimp in every sense of the word, b.i.t.c.h / Better trust than believe em / In the cut where I keep em / till I need a nut, til I need to beat the guts till I need a nut, til I need to beat the guts2 / Then it's, beep beep and I'm pickin em up / Let em play with the d.i.c.k in the truck / / Then it's, beep beep and I'm pickin em up / Let em play with the d.i.c.k in the truck / Many chicks wanna put Jigga fists in cuffs Many chicks wanna put Jigga fists in cuffs3 / Divorce him and split his bucks / Just because you got good head, I'ma break bread / so you can be livin it up? s.h.i.+t I / parts with nothin, y'all be frontin / Me give my heart to a woman? / / Divorce him and split his bucks / Just because you got good head, I'ma break bread / so you can be livin it up? s.h.i.+t I / parts with nothin, y'all be frontin / Me give my heart to a woman? / Not for nothin, never happen Not for nothin, never happen4 / / I'll be forever mackin I'll be forever mackin5 / Heart cold as a.s.sa.s.sins, I got no pa.s.sion / I got no patience / And I hate waitin / Hoe get yo' a.s.s in / And let's RI-I-I-I-I-IDE check em out now / RI-I-I-I-I-IDE, yeah / And let's RI-I-I-I-I-IDE check em out now / RI-I-I-I-I-IDE, yeah / [ / Heart cold as a.s.sa.s.sins, I got no pa.s.sion / I got no patience / And I hate waitin / Hoe get yo' a.s.s in / And let's RI-I-I-I-I-IDE check em out now / RI-I-I-I-I-IDE, yeah / And let's RI-I-I-I-I-IDE check em out now / RI-I-I-I-I-IDE, yeah / [Chorus: Jay-Z] / We doin big pimpin, we spendin cheese / Check em out now / Big pimpin, on B.L.A.D.'s / We doin big pimpin up in N.Y.C. / It's just that Jigga Man, Pimp C, and B-U-N B / Yo yo yo big pimpin, spendin cheese / We doin big pimpin, on B.L.A.D.'s / We doin big pimpin up in N.Y.C. / It's just that Jigga Man, Pimp C, and B-U-N B It's just that Jigga Man, Pimp C, and B-U-N B6 / On a canopy my stamina be enough for Pamela Anderson Lee / MTV jam of the week / Made my money quick then back to the streets but / / On a canopy my stamina be enough for Pamela Anderson Lee / MTV jam of the week / Made my money quick then back to the streets but / Still sittin on blades, Still sittin on blades,7 gettin off treys / gettin off treys / Standin on the corner of my block hustlin Standin on the corner of my block hustlin8 / Still gettin that cane / half what I paid slippin right through customs / It'll sell by night it's extra white.../ I got so many grams if the man find out / it will land me in jail for life / But I'm still big pimpin spendin chesse / with B.U.N. B, Pimp C, and Timothy / / Still gettin that cane / half what I paid slippin right through customs / It'll sell by night it's extra white.../ I got so many grams if the man find out / it will land me in jail for life / But I'm still big pimpin spendin chesse / with B.U.N. B, Pimp C, and Timothy / We got b.i.t.c.hes in the back of the truck, laughin it up We got b.i.t.c.hes in the back of the truck, laughin it up9 / Jigga Man that's what's up / Jigga Man that's what's up

STREETS IS WATCHING.

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I Was Not a Pushover. (2:20) Uh-huh uh huh uh / Gee-gee-geyeah / Baby, watchin, streets / Uh-huh uh huh uh / You don't have to look / Uh-huh uh / The streets is watching / Check it, check / Uh-huh uh, check / Look, if I shoot you, I'm brainless / But if you shoot me, then you're famous Look, if I shoot you, I'm brainless / But if you shoot me, then you're famous1-what's a n.i.g.g.a to do? / When the streets is watching, blocks keep clocking / Waiting for you to break, make your first mistake Waiting for you to break, make your first mistake2 / Can't ignore it, that's the fastest way to get extorted / / Can't ignore it, that's the fastest way to get extorted / But my time is money, and twenty-five, I can't afford it But my time is money, and twenty-five, I can't afford it3 / Beef is sorted like G.o.diva chocolates / n.i.g.g.az you bought it, I pull the slide back and c.o.c.k it / Plan aborted, you and your mans get a pa.s.s / This rhyme, you're operating on b.i.t.c.h time / Y'all n.i.g.g.az ain't worth my sh.e.l.ls, all y'all n.i.g.g.az / tryin to do is hurt my sales, and stop trips to John Menielly / The type to start a beef then, run to the cops / / Beef is sorted like G.o.diva chocolates / n.i.g.g.az you bought it, I pull the slide back and c.o.c.k it / Plan aborted, you and your mans get a pa.s.s / This rhyme, you're operating on b.i.t.c.h time / Y'all n.i.g.g.az ain't worth my sh.e.l.ls, all y'all n.i.g.g.az / tryin to do is hurt my sales, and stop trips to John Menielly / The type to start a beef then, run to the cops / When I see you in the street got, one in the drop When I see you in the street got, one in the drop4 / Would I rather be on tour getting a hundred a pop / Taking pictures with some b.i.t.c.hes, in front of the drop / The streets is watching / [ / Would I rather be on tour getting a hundred a pop / Taking pictures with some b.i.t.c.hes, in front of the drop / The streets is watching / [Chorus] / When the streets is watching / Blocks keep clocking / Waiting for you to break, make your first mistake / Can't ignore it / Now it's hard not to kill n.i.g.g.az / It's like a full time job not to kill n.i.g.g.az, can't chill can't chill / / the streets is watching you, when you froze your arms the streets is watching you, when you froze your arms5 / n.i.g.g.az wanna test you and your gun goes warm / n.i.g.g.az wanna test you and your gun goes warm6 / Can't get caught with your feet up, gotta keep your heat up / Sweet n.i.g.g.az running 'round swearing s.h.i.+t is sweeter / Can't get caught with your feet up, gotta keep your heat up / Sweet n.i.g.g.az running 'round swearing s.h.i.+t is sweeter7 / Once you're tagged lame the game is follow the leader / Once you're tagged lame the game is follow the leader8 / Everybody want a piece of your scrilla, so you gotta keep it realer / Kidnap n.i.g.g.az wanna steal ya / / Everybody want a piece of your scrilla, so you gotta keep it realer / Kidnap n.i.g.g.az wanna steal ya / Broke n.i.g.g.az want no cash, they just wanna kill ya / for the name, Broke n.i.g.g.az want no cash, they just wanna kill ya / for the name,9 n.i.g.g.az don't know the rules / Disrespectin the game, want you to blow your cool / Force your hand, of course that man's plottin / Smarten up, the streets is watching, it's on / [ n.i.g.g.az don't know the rules / Disrespectin the game, want you to blow your cool / Force your hand, of course that man's plottin / Smarten up, the streets is watching, it's on / [Chorus] My street mentality flip bricks forever, My street mentality flip bricks forever,10 know me and money / we like armed co-defendants, n.i.g.g.a we stick together / s.h.i.+t whatever for this cheddar ran my game into the ground / Hustle harder until indictment time came around / Now you can look up and down the streets and I can't be found / Put in twenty-four-hour s.h.i.+fts but, that ain't me now / Got a face too easy to trace, n.i.g.g.az mouths got slow leaks / Had to hire a team of workers, couldn't play those streets / Stay out in s.p.a.ce like Mercury, you jerkin me? Hectic / Had to call upon my wolves to send n.i.g.g.az the message / I said this: "Let's play fair and we can stay here / I'm trying to transform you Boyz II Men like daycare" / know me and money / we like armed co-defendants, n.i.g.g.a we stick together / s.h.i.+t whatever for this cheddar ran my game into the ground / Hustle harder until indictment time came around / Now you can look up and down the streets and I can't be found / Put in twenty-four-hour s.h.i.+fts but, that ain't me now / Got a face too easy to trace, n.i.g.g.az mouths got slow leaks / Had to hire a team of workers, couldn't play those streets / Stay out in s.p.a.ce like Mercury, you jerkin me? Hectic / Had to call upon my wolves to send n.i.g.g.az the message / I said this: "Let's play fair and we can stay here / I'm trying to transform you Boyz II Men like daycare" / Hey there's money to be made and n.i.g.g.az got the picture / Stopped playing with my paper and we got richer Hey there's money to be made and n.i.g.g.az got the picture / Stopped playing with my paper and we got richer11 / Then hard times fell upon us, half of my staff / / Then hard times fell upon us, half of my staff / had warrants, the other half, in the casket lay dormant had warrants, the other half, in the casket lay dormant12 / I felt like life was cheating me, for the first time / in my life I was getting money but it was like my conscience was eating me / / I felt like life was cheating me, for the first time / in my life I was getting money but it was like my conscience was eating me / Was this a lesson G.o.d teaching me? Was he saying that? Was this a lesson G.o.d teaching me? Was he saying that?13 / I'm playing the game straight from h.e.l.l from which few came back / like bad c.o.ke, pimp or die, was my mindframe back / When n.i.g.g.az thinkin simplify I was turning cocaine crack? / Ain't a whole lot of brain to that, just trying to maintain a stack / and not collide like two trains that's on the same track / But I get my life together like the oils I bring back / In the bottom of the pot when the water gets hot / / I'm playing the game straight from h.e.l.l from which few came back / like bad c.o.ke, pimp or die, was my mindframe back / When n.i.g.g.az thinkin simplify I was turning cocaine crack? / Ain't a whole lot of brain to that, just trying to maintain a stack / and not collide like two trains that's on the same track / But I get my life together like the oils I bring back / In the bottom of the pot when the water gets hot / Got my transporter take it 'cross the border then stop Got my transporter take it 'cross the border then stop14 / Set up shop with a quarter of rock, here's the plan / For three straight weeks, n.i.g.g.az slaughtered the block / But you know the game is cruel, f.u.c.ked up me and my dudes / One drought can wipe a n.i.g.g.a out, faster than the cops / and this unstable way of living just had to stop / / Set up shop with a quarter of rock, here's the plan / For three straight weeks, n.i.g.g.az slaughtered the block / But you know the game is cruel, f.u.c.ked up me and my dudes / One drought can wipe a n.i.g.g.a out, faster than the cops / and this unstable way of living just had to stop / Half of my n.i.g.g.az got time, we done real things Half of my n.i.g.g.az got time, we done real things15 / By ninety-four became the subject of half of y'all n.i.g.g.az rhymes / / By ninety-four became the subject of half of y'all n.i.g.g.az rhymes / Public apologies to the families of those caught up in my s.h.i.+t Public apologies to the families of those caught up in my s.h.i.+t16 / But that's the life for us lost souls brought up in this s.h.i.+t / The life and times of a n.i.g.g.a's mind, excited with crime / And the lavish luxuries that just excited my mind / I figured, "s.h.i.+t why risk myself I just write it in rhymes / / But that's the life for us lost souls brought up in this s.h.i.+t / The life and times of a n.i.g.g.a's mind, excited with crime / And the lavish luxuries that just excited my mind / I figured, "s.h.i.+t why risk myself I just write it in rhymes / And let you feel me, and if you don't like it then fine" And let you feel me, and if you don't like it then fine"17 / The mindstate of a n.i.g.g.a who boosted the crime rate / so high in one city they send National Guards to get me / Ya dig? / The mindstate of a n.i.g.g.a who boosted the crime rate / so high in one city they send National Guards to get me / Ya dig?[image]

My parents were into every kind of music, including early rap-I remember them playing songs like "King Tim III" by the Fatback Band and, of course, "Rapper's Delight," the first rap song to really break out nationally-and internationally. But while millions of people loved it, including nine-year-old me, it drove the serious rappers of 1979 absolutely crazy.

Rappers had been growing their art for years before this so-called "first rap song" appeared. MCs were tight when they heard it, not just because the lyrics were lightweight, but because the MCs on the record were considered to be wack no-names. Whole chunks of the song were completely bitten: Big Bank Hank not only stole Grandmaster Caz's lyrics for his part in the song, he didn't even bother to change the part where he spells out his name: Check it out I'm the c-a-s-a-n the o-v-a... Check it out I'm the c-a-s-a-n the o-v-a...

But it was a major hit and it created the first real crossroads in the story of hip-hop. Some rappers got angry about the commercializing of their culture. Other people saw it as an opportunity: If a group like the Sugar Hill Gang could have a hit, then that meant that there was a real audience out there for hip-hop. Russell Simmons was in a club with some of the pioneers of hip-hop when he first heard "Rapper's Delight" and, like them, was surprised that the first hip-hop hit came from a group of outsiders. But he did his homework on it and went gold with Kurtis Blow, formed Run-DMC, managed the Fat Boys and Whodini, and launched Def Jam, dominating hip-hop for the next two decades. A lot of other people in that room that night never got paid for the art form they helped invent and are still nursing a grudge against the people who did.

It's a recurring story in hip-hop, the tension between art and commerce. Hip-hop is too important as a tool of expression to just just be reduced to a commercial product. But what some people call "commercializing" really means is that lots of people buy and listen to your records. That was always the point, to me. After my first record got on the radio and on BET, it was wild being at home, feeding my fish, and suddenly seeing myself on TV. But it was satisfying. Hearing it on the radio was even better. There may be some artists who don't believe in radio, especially now, because the radio business is such a shady racket, but radio love puts you in the hood for real. I care if regular people-sisters on their way to work, dudes rolling around in their cars-hear my s.h.i.+t. I'm a music head, so I listen to everything. People around me are pa.s.sionate about music. We study music, seek it out. I know there are a million music blogs out there and people who are willing to put in the work finding new music on them. But I like to reach people who get their music from clubs and the radio and television, too. I want my music to play where those people live. While there's something intensely personal about what I rap about, I also make choices in technique and style to make sure that it can touch as many people as possible without it losing its basic integrity. be reduced to a commercial product. But what some people call "commercializing" really means is that lots of people buy and listen to your records. That was always the point, to me. After my first record got on the radio and on BET, it was wild being at home, feeding my fish, and suddenly seeing myself on TV. But it was satisfying. Hearing it on the radio was even better. There may be some artists who don't believe in radio, especially now, because the radio business is such a shady racket, but radio love puts you in the hood for real. I care if regular people-sisters on their way to work, dudes rolling around in their cars-hear my s.h.i.+t. I'm a music head, so I listen to everything. People around me are pa.s.sionate about music. We study music, seek it out. I know there are a million music blogs out there and people who are willing to put in the work finding new music on them. But I like to reach people who get their music from clubs and the radio and television, too. I want my music to play where those people live. While there's something intensely personal about what I rap about, I also make choices in technique and style to make sure that it can touch as many people as possible without it losing its basic integrity.

There are sometimes two Jay-Zs when you look at my music. There's the one who can drop a "Big Pimpin'" or "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)," songs that are intended for wide audiences, designed to just get listeners high off the sheer pleasure of them. And then there are the deeper alb.u.m cuts, which are more complicated. The entire package is what makes an alb.u.m. I think it's worth it to try to find that balance. It's like life-sometimes you just want to dumb out in the club; other times you want to get real and go deep.

Even then, the idea some people have of "dumbing down" is based on a misperception of what a great rap song can do. A great song can be "dumbed down" in the sense that it appeals to a pretty low common denominator-a big chorus and a great beat and easy-to-follow lyrics can get you a hit (but even then there's an art to combining those elements). But that's not the whole story: A great hit can also give listeners a second layer, and then a third, and more.

The song that's probably the biggest hit in my career so far, "Empire State of Mind," is a great example of how this can work. On the "dumb" side, it's driven by Al Shux's incredible track, Alicia Keys's giant arc of a hook, and my in-the-pocket flow-those are completely universal in their appeal. The next layer down is the storytelling. For a hit song, the narratives are pretty ambiguous: They're about loving a city for all the regular guidebook stuff (the Yankees, the Statue of Liberty, et cetera), but also recognizing it as the place where I used to cop in Harlem cop in Harlem and have a and have a stash spot stash spot where I cooked up work like a where I cooked up work like a pastry pastry. There's a great tension between the anthemic, even hopeful chorus and the lines about the gang of n.i.g.g.as rollin with my click gang of n.i.g.g.as rollin with my click and and corners where we selling rocks corners where we selling rocks and the story of girls who come to the and the story of girls who come to the city of sin city of sin and get turned out. and get turned out.

And for the hip-hop heads who come looking for technique, it's got all kinds of sneaky Easter eggs if you're a close listener: the way I played with the flow on and in the winter gets cold in vogue with your skin out and in the winter gets cold in vogue with your skin out to also make it sound like a reference to Anna Wintour, the editor of to also make it sound like a reference to Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue Vogue (which conjures the image of glossy fas.h.i.+on as a counterpoint to the literal meaning of the line); the way I turn the old cliche about New York being a "melting pot" into a fresh reference to the drug game; the way I use the punchy sonic similarity between "bus trip," "bust out," and "bus route" to amplify a metaphor about getting s.e.xually exploited. Even little s.h.i.+t-the Special Ed shout-out or the line about LeBron James and Dwayne Wade-forces you to keep listening beyond the "dumb" elements. And then there are the bits of snap philosophy- (which conjures the image of glossy fas.h.i.+on as a counterpoint to the literal meaning of the line); the way I turn the old cliche about New York being a "melting pot" into a fresh reference to the drug game; the way I use the punchy sonic similarity between "bus trip," "bust out," and "bus route" to amplify a metaphor about getting s.e.xually exploited. Even little s.h.i.+t-the Special Ed shout-out or the line about LeBron James and Dwayne Wade-forces you to keep listening beyond the "dumb" elements. And then there are the bits of snap philosophy-Jesus can't save you life starts when the church ends-and punch lines with new slang like n.i.g.g.a, I be Spiked out, I could trip a referee. n.i.g.g.a, I be Spiked out, I could trip a referee. It's a trick I learned from all the greatest emcees: a "dumbed down" record actually forces you to be smarter, to balance art, craft, authenticity, and accessibility. It's a trick I learned from all the greatest emcees: a "dumbed down" record actually forces you to be smarter, to balance art, craft, authenticity, and accessibility.

When I first heard the track for "Empire" I was sure it would be a hit. It was gorgeous. My instinct was to dirty it up, to tell stories of the city's gritty side, to use stories about hustling and getting hustled to add tension to the soaring beauty of the chorus. The same thing happened with another big hit, "A Hard Knock Life." The chorus is a sweet-sounding children's song, but the lyrics are adult: violent and real. Knowing how to complicate a simple song without losing its basic appeal is one of the keys to good songwriting.

LET ME HANDLE MY BUSINESS, d.a.m.n.

The other part of "commercialization" is the idea that artists should only be thinking about their art, not about the business side of what we do. There was maybe a time when people in hip-hop made music only because they loved to make music. But the time came when it started to pay off, to the point that even dudes in the street started thinking, "f.u.c.k selling drugs, this rap s.h.i.+t is going to be my hustle!" A lot of people came to hip-hop like that, not out of a pure love of music, but as a legit hustle, another path out of the hood. I've reflected some of that in my music because, to be honest, it was my mentality to some degree-when I committed to a career in rap, I wasn't taking a vow of poverty. I saw it as another hustle, one that happened to coincide with my natural talents and the culture I loved. I was an eager hustler and a reluctant artist. But the irony of it is that to make the hustle work, really work, over the long term, you have to be a true artist, too.

In the streets there aren't written contracts. Instead, you live by certain codes. There are no codes and ethics in music because there are lawyers. People can hide behind their lawyers and contracts and then rob you blind. A lot of street cats come into the music game and expect a certain kind of honor and ethics, even outside of contracts. But in business, like they say, you don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate. So I mind my business and I don't apologize for it.

There's this sick fascination with the dead artist, the broke artist, the drugged-out artist, the artist who blows all his money on drugs and big chains and ends up on a VH1 special. Or artists so conflicted about making money from their art-which so often means making money from their pain and confusion and dreams-that they do stupid s.h.i.+t with it, set it on fire or something. This is a game people sometimes play with musicians: that to be real, to be authentic, you have to hate having money or that success has to feel like such a burden you want to kill yourself. But whoever said that artists shouldn't pay attention to their business was probably someone with their hand in some artist's pocket.

OPERATION CORPORATE TAKEOVER.

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I'm getting courted by the bosses, the Edgars and Doug Morrises-sss / Jimmy I and Lyor's-ses Jimmy I and Lyor's-ses1 / Gotta be more than choruses / They respect-ing my mind now, just a matter of time now / Operation take over corporate / / Gotta be more than choruses / They respect-ing my mind now, just a matter of time now / Operation take over corporate / Make over offices Make over offices2 / Then take over all of it / Please may these words be recorded / To serve as testimony that I saw it all before it / Came to fruition, sort of a premonition / Uh, uncontrollable hustler's ambition / / Then take over all of it / Please may these words be recorded / To serve as testimony that I saw it all before it / Came to fruition, sort of a premonition / Uh, uncontrollable hustler's ambition / Alias superst.i.tion / Like Stevie, the writing's on the wall like my lady, right baby? Alias superst.i.tion / Like Stevie, the writing's on the wall like my lady, right baby?3 / / Saw it all before some of y'all thought I was crazy Saw it all before some of y'all thought I was crazy4 / Maybe like a fox I'm cagey / Ah, ah, the more successful, the more stressful / The more and more I transform to Gordon Gekko / In the race to a billion, got my face to the ceiling / / Maybe like a fox I'm cagey / Ah, ah, the more successful, the more stressful / The more and more I transform to Gordon Gekko / In the race to a billion, got my face to the ceiling / Got my knees on the floor, please Lord forgive him Got my knees on the floor, please Lord forgive him5 / Has he lost his religion, is the greed gonna get him? / / Has he lost his religion, is the greed gonna get him? / He's having heaven on Earth, will his wings still fit him? He's having heaven on Earth, will his wings still fit him?6 / I got the / I got the Forbes Forbes on my living room floor / on my living room floor / And I'm so close to the cover, f.u.c.ker I want more And I'm so close to the cover, f.u.c.ker I want more7 / / Time Time's most influential was impressive / Especially since I wasn't in the artist's section / Had me with the builders and the t.i.tans / Had me right with Rupert Murdoch / Billionaire boys and some dudes you never heard of Billionaire boys and some dudes you never heard of8 / Word up on Madison Ave is I'm a cash cow / Word down on Wall Street homie you get the cash out / / Word up on Madison Ave is I'm a cash cow / Word down on Wall Street homie you get the cash out / IPO Hov no need for reverse merger IPO Hov no need for reverse merger9 / The boy money talks no need to converse further / The baby blue Maybach like I own Gerber / / The boy money talks no need to converse further / The baby blue Maybach like I own Gerber / Boardroom I'm lifting your skirt up Boardroom I'm lifting your skirt up10 / The corporate takeover / The corporate takeover

MOMENT OF CLARITY.

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Moment of Clarity. (2:27) (Wooo) (Yeah) / (Turn the music up turn the lights down I'm in my zone) / [Chorus] / Thank G.o.d for granting me this moment of clarity Thank G.o.d for granting me this moment of clarity1 / This moment of honesty / The world'll feel my truths / Through my / This moment of honesty / The world'll feel my truths / Through my Hard Knock Life Hard Knock Life time / My time / My Gift and the Curse Gift and the Curse / / I gave you volume after volume I gave you volume after volume2 of my work / So you can feel my truths / I built the of my work / So you can feel my truths / I built the Dynasty Dynasty by being one of the realest n.i.g.g.as out / Way beyond a by being one of the realest n.i.g.g.as out / Way beyond a Reasonable Doubt Reasonable Doubt / (You all can't fill my shoes) / From my / (You all can't fill my shoes) / From my Blueprint Blueprint beginnings / To that beginnings / To that Black Alb.u.m Black Alb.u.m ending / Listen close you hear what I'm about / n.i.g.g.a feel my truths / When Pop died / Didn't cry / ending / Listen close you hear what I'm about / n.i.g.g.a feel my truths / When Pop died / Didn't cry / Didn't know him that well Didn't know him that well3 / Between him doing heroin / And me doing crack sales / With that in the egg sh.e.l.l / Standing at the tabernacle / Rather the church / Pretending to be hurt / Wouldn't work / So a smirk was all on my face / / Between him doing heroin / And me doing crack sales / With that in the egg sh.e.l.l / Standing at the tabernacle / Rather the church / Pretending to be hurt / Wouldn't work / So a smirk was all on my face / Like d.a.m.n that man's face was just like my face Like d.a.m.n that man's face was just like my face4 / So Pop I forgive you / For all the s.h.i.+t that I live through / / So Pop I forgive you / For all the s.h.i.+t that I live through / It wasn't all your fault It wasn't all your fault5 / Homie you got caught / And to the same game I fought / / Homie you got caught / And to the same game I fought / That Uncle Ray lost That Uncle Ray lost6 / My big brothers and so many others I saw / I'm just glad we got to see each other / / My big brothers and so many others I saw / I'm just glad we got to see each other / Talk and re-meet each other Talk and re-meet each other7/ Save a place in Heaven / till the next time we meet forever / [Chorus] / The music business hate me / 'cause the industry ain't make me 'cause the industry ain't make me8 / Hustlers and boosters embrace me / And the music I be making / I dumb down for my audience / And double my dollars / They criticize me for it / / Hustlers and boosters embrace me / And the music I be making / I dumb down for my audience / And double my dollars / They criticize me for it / Yet they all yell "Holla" Yet they all yell "Holla"9 / If skills sold / Truth be told / I'd probably be / Lyrically / / If skills sold / Truth be told / I'd probably be / Lyrically / Talib Kweli Talib Kweli10 / Truthfully / I wanna rhyme like Common Sense / (But I did five mil) / / Truthfully / I wanna rhyme like Common Sense / (But I did five mil) / I ain't been rhyming like Common since I ain't been rhyming like Common since11 / When your sense got that much in common / And you been hustling since / Your inception / f.u.c.k perception / Go with what makes sense / / When your sense got that much in common / And you been hustling since / Your inception / f.u.c.k perception / Go with what makes sense / Since Since12 / I know what I'm up against / / I know what I'm up against / We as rappers must decide what's most important We as rappers must decide what's most important13 / And I can't help the poor if I'm one of them / So I got rich and gave back / To me that's the win-win / So next time you see the homie and his rims spin / Just know my mind is working just like them / (The rims that is) [ / And I can't help the poor if I'm one of them / So I got rich and gave back / To me that's the win-win / So next time you see the homie and his rims spin / Just know my mind is working just like them / (The rims that is) [Chorus] My homie Sigel's on a tier / Where no tears Where no tears14 should fall / 'cause he was on the block where no squares get off / See in my inner circle all we do is ball / should fall / 'cause he was on the block where no squares get off / See in my inner circle all we do is ball / Till we all got triangles on our wall Till we all got triangles on our wall15 / / He ain't just rappin for the platinum He ain't just rappin for the platinum16 / Y'all record / I recall / 'cause I really been there before / / Y'all record / I recall / 'cause I really been there before / Four scores and seven years ago Four scores and seven years ago17 / Prepared to flow / Prepare for war / I shall fear no man / You don't hear me though / These words ain't just paired to go / In one ear out the other ear / NO / YO / / Prepared to flow / Prepare for war / I shall fear no man / You don't hear me though / These words ain't just paired to go / In one ear out the other ear / NO / YO / My b.a.l.l.s and my word is all I have My b.a.l.l.s and my word is all I have / / What you gonna do to me? What you gonna do to me? / / n.i.g.g.a scars'll scab n.i.g.g.a scars'll scab / / What you gonna box me homie? What you gonna box me homie? / / I can dodge and jab I can dodge and jab / / Three shots couldn't touch me Three shots couldn't touch me18 / Thank G.o.d for that / / Thank G.o.d for that / I'm strong enough to carry Biggie Smalls on my back I'm strong enough to carry Biggie Smalls on my back19 / And the whole BK n.i.g.g.a holla back / And the whole BK n.i.g.g.a holla back When I was a kid my family loved sports. I played baseball with a Little League squad out in Brooklyn. My big brother Eric played basketball in junior and summer leagues and was a straight star. When we first moved to Marcy my father set up a little basketball hoop in our apartment-and we would all sweat it out right there in the living room like it was Madison Square Garden.

But we never could fully dedicate ourselves to becoming true athletes. Life intervened. I hit the streets. But I still loved sports. Playing them, watching them. I wasn't one of those cats who was too cool to lose his s.h.i.+t over a game. I cared.

There's always been a connection between sports and the streets. When Biggie rapped in "Things Done Changed" that either you slangin' crack rock or you got awicked jump shot, either you slangin' crack rock or you got awicked jump shot, he was talking about the two paths out that most young black men think are open to them. The irony is that if you're "slangin' crack rock" you'll probably end up in jail, and if you got a "wicked jump shot," you still won't make it to the NBA unless you're extremely lucky, like win-the-lottery lucky. he was talking about the two paths out that most young black men think are open to them. The irony is that if you're "slangin' crack rock" you'll probably end up in jail, and if you got a "wicked jump shot," you still won't make it to the NBA unless you're extremely lucky, like win-the-lottery lucky.

But even if dreams of the NBA are one of the hoaxes played on young black boys, I also believe that there's a lot to be learned from elite athletes. Sports are one of the great metaphors for life, and watching athletes perform is like watching different ideas about life playing themselves out. Athletes aren't just fascinating for their physical skills, but for what their performances tell us about human potential and character.

I AM THE MIKE JORDAN OF RECORDING.

I know I'm not alone when I say this, but I absolutely love Michael Jordan. Kobe is impressive for his dedication to the game, and has an outside chance to eclipse Jordan someday, and I think LeBron is the best of his generation, but as of now Jordan's inarguably the greatest player to ever touch a basketball. What made his game magical is the way it spoke to deeper s.h.i.+t than just wins and losses. His career was a perfectly composed story about will. To see him come out of retirement, after his father was buried, to come back and win champions.h.i.+ps, there was nothing better in the world. In 1998, when the Bulls were down by three in Game Six of the Finals with seconds left, and Jordan scored, stole the ball from Karl Malone, came down, crossed over Bryon Russell, and hit the winning shot at the buzzer-well, I could have laid down and died after that game. It was perfect.

The first time I met Jordan was at St. John's University, where he was giving the keynote address at their graduation one year. We talked briefly, but didn't really chop it up. A couple of months later, in Chicago, I went to his restaurant at his invitation to have dinner with him. I had Ty-Ty and my friend Juan with me and I told Jordan that if I was going to sit and break bread with him, I'd have to be able to ask him anything. I meant anything.

It was so perfect that I had Juan with me because he's a die-hard Knicks fan, and as much as he respected Jordan, he hated the way Jordan personally sat the Knicks down every year in the Eastern Conference play offs. Juan is a real sports fan; he'd be sick for a week, I'm talking depressed-he wouldn't leave the house-after his team lost. That night he had to sit there and dine with his nemesis. Jordan told Juan the story of how he almost came to the Knicks. He said he was a second away from closing the deal, he was packing his bags to come to New York, when Jerry Krauss called and matched the Knicks' offer at the last minute. Juan looked like he was going to cry.

I asked Jordan who was the hardest n.i.g.g.a that ever guarded him; he told me Joe Dumars. I found out how much Jordan loves Hakeem Olajuwon; he pointed out that he was a leader in steals, which is rare in the center position. I asked him to name his five favorite centers, the best games he ever played, which champions.h.i.+p meant the most to him. I got to be an unabashed fan. It was an absolute dream conversation for me.

The thing that distinguished Jordan wasn't just his talent, but his discipline, his laser-like commitment to excellence. That's something I always respect, especially in people who have great natural talents already. Making music requires a lot of that same discipline and commitment. It's true that I'm able to sometimes come up with songs in a matter of minutes after hearing a track, but that's a skill that I've honed over hundreds of hours of practice and work since I was nine. My earliest mentors in rap taught me that making music is work, whether it was Jaz locking himself in a room working on different flows or Big Daddy Kane taking the time to meticulously put together a stage show. There's unquestionably magic involved in great music, songwriting, and performances-like those nights when a star athlete is totally in the zone and can't miss. But there's also work. Without the work, the magic won't come. There are a hundred Harold Miners (no disrespect) for every Michael Jordan.

I WORK G.o.dd.a.m.n HARD.

For instance, tours are the most lucrative aspect of a recording artist's career; you have a lot more control and fewer people are in your pockets as compared to alb.u.m sales. It can also be stressful beyond belief. Every night you're in a different city, every crowd brings a different vibe, every show is subtly different-but at the same time, you have to hit the same marks night after night, find a new way to get your own energy up when you're performing the same song you did the night before. It becomes less about your innate charisma and talent-although that's still required-and more about being able to meet the mental and physical challenge of it. A tour requires stamina, willpower, and the ability to self-motivate, to hype yourself into game mode night after night. When you're on tours like the ones I've done over the last decade, you're like a professional athlete, except that night after night you're the only one with the bat.

When it comes to signing up new talent, that's what I'm looking for-not just someone who has skill, but someone built for this life. Someone who has the work ethic, the drive. The gift that Jordan had wasn't just that he was willing to do the work, but he loved doing it, because he could feel himself getting stronger, ready for anything. He left the game and came back and worked just as hard as he did when he started. He came into the game as Rookie of the Year, and he finished off the last playoff game of his career with a shot that won the Bulls their sixth champions.h.i.+p.

That's the kind of consistency that you can get only by adding deadserious discipline to whatever talent you have.

BREATHE EASY (LYRICAL EXERCISE).

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[talking] / So I had to memorize these rhymes until I got home / Ya understand? Once you memorize a sentence / It's like an exercise It's like an exercise1 / [ / [echoes] / / [ [heavy breathing] / / [ [talking] / / Ya n.i.g.g.as can't be serious right now / I'm the all time heavy weight champion of flows / I'm leading the league in at least six statistical categories right now / Best flow, Most consistent, Realest stories / Most charisma, I set the most trends / And my interviews are hotter / Holla / I jog in the graveyard / Spar in the same ring / Now it's housed by the building / Ya n.i.g.g.as can't be serious right now / I'm the all time heavy weight champion of flows / I'm leading the league in at least six statistical categories right now / Best flow, Most consistent, Realest stories / Most charisma, I set the most trends / And my interviews are hotter / Holla / I jog in the graveyard / Spar in the same ring / Now it's housed by the building / Where Malcolm X was slain Where Malcolm X was slain2 / / I I spring train in the winter spring train in the winter3 / Round early December / Run suicide drills over and over / With the weight of the world on my shoulder / / Round early December / Run suicide drills over and over / With the weight of the world on my shoulder / That's why they call me "Hova" That's why they call me "Hova"4 / I'm far from being G.o.d / But I work G.o.dd.a.m.n hard / I wake up with the birds when the nerds are asleep / I'm catching my second wind the second the first one end / I am focused man / And I'm not afraid of death / And I'm going all out / I circle the vultures in a van and / I run the block (run) / Pull up in a drop (pull up) / / I'm far from being G.o.d / But I work G.o.dd.a.m.n hard / I wake up with the birds when the nerds are asleep / I'm catching my second wind the second the first one end / I am focused man / And I'm not afraid of death / And I'm going all out / I circle the vultures in a van and / I run the block (run) / Pull up in a drop (pull up) / Push up on my money (push up) Push up on my money (push up)5 / I'm in great shape dunny / I keep jacks jumping thirty-six sets / Like a personal trainer / I'm in great shape dunny / I keep jacks jumping thirty-six sets / Like a personal trainer I teach c.o.ke to stretch I teach c.o.ke to stretch6 / I pump in Rock sweats / All white trainers / The ghettoes, Billy Blanks / I show you n.i.g.g.as what pain is / Maintain your stamina / Hov will damage ya / Spot you two rhymes y'all n.i.g.g.as is amateurs / The fifth / A dead lift if / n.i.g.g.as don't want to get shot then y'all n.i.g.g.as better squat / I drop your set for rep / No need to hit the showers / / I pump in Rock sweats / All white trainers / The ghettoes, Billy Blanks / I show you n.i.g.g.as what pain is / Maintain your stamina / Hov will damage ya / Spot you two rhymes y'all n.i.g.g.as is amateurs / The fifth / A dead lift if / n.i.g.g.as don't want to get shot then y'all n.i.g.g.as better squat / I drop your set for rep / No need to hit the showers / The spit from the fifth leave you wet The spit from the fifth leave you wet7 / Lyrical exercise / [ / Lyrical exercise / [hard breathing] / Y'all n.i.g.g.as ain't tired right? / One, One / Two, Two / Three, Three / Four, Breathe Easy / Suckers / Get your weight up / Not your hate up / Jigga man is diesel / When I lift the eight up When I lift the eight up8 / Y'all ain't ready to workout with the boy / Your flow is brain on drugs / Mines is rap on steroids / I lift every voice when I sing / My ability / Make yours look like an exercise in futility / Bring your squad / Biceps, Triceps, and Quads / We don't struggle with undeveloped muscle / Y'all ain't real / That's y'all Achilles' heel / Same routine when you see me you know the drill / I spot ya / I lift the weight of the watch off your arm / Remain nice and calm / Put down your things / / Y'all ain't ready to workout with the boy / Your flow is brain on drugs / Mines is rap on steroids / I lift every voice when I sing / My ability / Make yours look like an exercise in futility / Bring your squad / Biceps, Triceps, and Quads / We don't struggle with undeveloped muscle / Y'all ain't real / That's y'all Achilles' heel / Same routine when you see me you know the drill / I spot ya / I lift the weight of the watch off your arm / Remain nice and calm / Put down your things / Trinidad of the game know my way around your ring Trinidad of the game know my way around your ring9 / No matter how many pounds you bring / It sounds like the same old thing / R-O-C is the strongest team / No matter how many pounds you bring / It sounds like the same old thing / R-O-C is the strongest team

MY 1ST SONG.

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[Intro: Notorious B.I.G. interview] / / I'm just, tryin to stay above water y'know / Just stay busy, stay workin / Puff told me like, the key to this joint / The key to staying, on top of things / is treat everything like it's your first project, knahmsayin? / Like it's your first day like back when you was an intern / Like, that's how you try to treat things like, just stay hungry / [ I'm just, tryin to stay above water y'know / Just stay busy, stay workin / Puff told me like, the key to this joint / The key to staying, on top of things / is treat everything like it's your first project, knahmsayin? / Like it's your first day like back when you was an intern / Like, that's how you try to treat things like, just stay hungry / [Jay-Z] Uhh, uhh, yes, yes / Y'all wanna know, why he don't stop / Y'all wanna know, why he don't flop / Let me tell you pe-eople why / Came from the bottom of the block I / When I was born, it was sworn, I was never gon' be s.h.i.+t / Had to pull the opposite out this b.i.t.c.h / Had to get my ri-ide on / Eyes on the prize, Shawn knew I had to / Had to had to get these chips to get these chips / / Had to make moves like Olajuwon Had to make moves like Olajuwon1 / Started out sellin dimes and nicks / Graduated to a brick / No exaggeration, my infatuation with the strip / Legendary like a schoolboy / / Started out sellin dimes and nicks / Graduated to a brick / No exaggeration, my infatuation with the strip / Legendary like a schoolboy / Crus.h.i.+n merely nearly every every Crus.h.i.+n merely nearly every every2 chick / Heavy s.h.i.+t-that's how schoolboy got whipped / And got left on some chick / Heavy s.h.i.+t-that's how schoolboy got whipped / And got left on some "Just Me, Myself and I" "Just Me, Myself and I"3 / On some Trugoy s.h.i.+t / Had to move to a place, a place of no return / / On some Trugoy s.h.i.+t / Had to move to a place, a place of no return / Had to play with fire and get burned Had to play with fire and get burned / / Only way the boy ever gon' learn Only way the boy ever gon' learn4 / Had to lay way in the cut, till I finally got my turn / Now I'm on top in the spot that I earned / It's my life-it's my pain and my struggle / The song that I sing to you it's my ev-ery-thing / Treat my first like my last, and my last like my first / And my thirst is the same as when I came / It's my joy and my tears and the laughter it brings to me / It's my ev-ery-thing / Like I never rode in a limo / Like I just dropped flows to a demo / Like it's ninety-two again and / And I got O's in the rental / Back in the Stu' again, no problemo livin was a whole lot simpler / When you think back, you thought that / you would never make it this far, then you / take advantage of the luck you handed / Or the talent you been given / / Had to lay way in the cut, till I finally got my turn / Now I'm on top in the spot that I earned / It's my life-it's my pain and my struggle / The song that I sing to you it's my ev-ery-thing / Treat my first like my last, and my last like my first / And my thirst is the same as when I came / It's my joy and my tears and the laughter it brings to me / It's my ev-ery-thing / Like I never rode in a limo / Like I just dropped flows to a demo / Like it's ninety-two again and / And I got O's in the rental / Back in the Stu' again, no problemo livin was a whole lot simpler / When you think back, you thought that / you would never make it this far, then you / take advantage of the luck you handed / Or the talent you been given / Ain't no half-steppin, Ain't no half-steppin,5 ain't no, no slippin / Ain't no different from a block that's. .h.i.ttin' / Gotta get it while the getting's good / ain't no, no slippin / Ain't no different from a block that's. .h.i.ttin' / Gotta get it while the getting's good / Gotta strike while the iron's hot, 'fore you stop Gotta strike while the iron's hot, 'fore you stop6 / Then you gotta bid it good riddance / Goodbye, this is my second major breakup / My first was with a pager / With a hooptie, a cookpot, and the GAME / This one's with the studio, with the stage, with the fortune / / Then you gotta bid it good riddance / Goodbye, this is my second major breakup / My first was with a pager / With a hooptie, a cookpot, and the GAME / This one's with the studio, with the stage, with the fortune / Maybe not the fortune, but certainly the FAME Maybe not the fortune, but certainly the FAME7

"If you're proud to be an American, put your hands up now!" It was the night after the inauguration and I was in Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., playing a free show for ten thousand Obama for America volunteers. It was the cap of a euphoric and surreal few months, when the entire history of the world that I'd known up to that point totally flipped. The words "proud to be an American" were not words I'd ever thought I'd say. I'd written America off, at least politically.

Of course, it's my home, and home to millions of people trying to do the right thing, not to mention the home of hip-hop, Quentin Tarantino flicks, the crossover dribble and lots of other things I couldn't live without. But politically, its history is a travesty. A graveyard. And I knew some of the bodies it buried.

It never seemed as hopeless as it was during the eight years that preceded that night in Was.h.i.+ngton. I was so over America that if John McCain and Sarah Palin had won that election I was seriously ready to pack up, get some land in some other country, and live as an expat in protest. The idea of starting a show that way would've been, at any other time in my entire life up to that point, completely perverse. Because America, as I understood the concept, hated my black a.s.s.

f.u.c.k GOVERNMENT, n.i.g.g.aS POLITIC THEMSELVES.

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Poor people in general have a twisted relations.h.i.+p with the government. We're aware of the government from the time we're born. We live in government-funded housing and work government jobs. We have family and friends spending time in the ultimate public housing, prison. We grow up knowing people who pay for everything with little plastic cards-Medicare cards for checkups, EBT cards for food. We know what AFDC and WIC stand for and we stand for hours waiting for bricks of government cheese. The first and fifteenth of each month are times of peak economic activity. We get to know all kinds of government agencies not because of civics cla.s.s, but because they actually visit our houses and sit up on our couches asking questions. From the time we're small children we go to crumbling public schools that tell us all we need to know about what the government thinks of us.

Then there are the cops.

In places like Marcy there are people who know the ins and outs of government bureaucracies, police procedures, and sentencing guidelines, who spend half of their lives in dirty waiting rooms on plastic chairs waiting for someone to call their name. But for all of this involvement, the government might as well be the weather because a lot of us don't think we have anything to do with it-we don't believe we have any control over this thing that controls us. A lot of our heroes, almost by default, were people who tried to dismantle or overthrow the government-Malcolm X or the Black Panthers-or people who tried to make it completely irrelevant, like Marcus Garvey, who wanted black people to sail back to Africa. The government was everywhere we looked, and we hated it.

Housing projects are a great metaphor for the government's relations.h.i.+p to poor folks: these huge islands built mostly in the middle of nowhere, designed to warehouse lives. People are still people, though, so we turned the projects into real communities, poor or not. We played in fire hydrants and had cookouts and partied, music bouncing off concrete walls. But even when we could shake off the full weight of those imposing buildings and try to just live, the truth of our lives and struggle was still invisible to the larger country. The rest of the country was freed of any obligation to claim us. Which was fine, because we weren't really claiming them, either.

CAN'T SEE THE UNSEEABLE, REACH THE UNREACHABLE Hip-hop, of course, was hugely influential in finally making our slice of America visible through our own lens-not through the lens of outsiders. But it wasn't easy.

There are all the famous incidents of censors.h.i.+p and intimidation: the way politicians attacked rappers, the free-speech cases with groups like Two Live Crew, the dramas surrounding Public Enemy and political rap, the threatening letters from the FBI protesting NWA. But the attempts at censors.h.i.+p only made the targets bigger stars. NWA couldn't have bought the kind of publicity they got from having the actual f.u.c.king FBI the actual f.u.c.king FBI attacking them over a song. This was when you had one prominent Harlem pastor renting a bulldozer and calling news cameras to film him running over a pile of rap CDs in the middle of 125th Street. When WBLS, a legendary black-owned radio station in New York, stripped hip-hop from their playlists in sympathy with the protest, another radio station, Hot 97, came along with an attacking them over a song. This was when you had one prominent Harlem pastor renting a bulldozer and calling news cameras to film him running over a pile of rap CDs in the middle of 125th Street. When WBLS, a legendary black-owned radio station in New York, stripped hip-hop from their playlists in sympathy with the protest, another radio station, Hot 97, came along with an all-rap all-rap format and went straight to number one. In a few years, WBLS came back to rap. In the end, you can't censor the truth, especially when it comes packaged in hot music. format and went straight to number one. In a few years, WBLS came back to rap. In the end, you can't censor the truth, especially when it comes packaged in hot music.

Those battles were big for all of us in hip-hop and offered an important survival lesson: Politicians-at the highest levels-would try to silence and kill our culture if they could hustle some votes out of it. Even black leaders who were supposed to be representing you would turn on you-would pile your records up and run over them with a f.u.c.king bulldozer or try to ban you from radio-if they felt threatened by your story or language. But the thing is, we kept winning.

The push for censors.h.i.+p only reinforced what most of us already suspected: America doesn't want to hear about it. There was a real tension between the power of the story we wanted to tell and just how desperately some powerful people didn't want to hear it. But the story had to come out sooner or later because it was so dramatic, important, crazy-and just plain compelling.

Back in the eighties and early nineties cities in this country were literally battlegrounds. Kids were as well armed as a paramilitary outfit in a small country. Teenagers had Uzis, German Glocks, and a.s.sault rifles-and we had the accessories, too, like scopes and silencers. Guns were easier to get in the hood than public a.s.sistance. There were times when the violence just seemed like background music, like we'd all gone numb.

The deeper causes of the crack explosion were in policies concocted by a government that was hostile to us, almost genocidally hostile when you think about how they aided or tolerated the unleas.h.i.+ng of guns and drugs on poor communities, while at the same time cutting back on schools, housing, and a.s.sistance programs. And to top it all off, they threw in the so-called war on drugs, which was really a war on us. There were racist new laws put on the books, like the drug laws that penalized the possession of crack cocaine with more severe sentences than the possession of powder. Three-strike laws could put young guys in jail for twenty-five years for nonviolent crimes. The disease of addiction was treated as a crime. The rate of incarceration went through the roof. Police abuses and corruption were rampant. Across the country, cops were involved in the drug trade, playing both sides. Young black men in New York in the eighties and nineties were gunned down by cops for the lightest suspected offenses, or died in custody under suspicious circ.u.mstances. And meanwhile we were killing ourselves by the thousands.

Almost twenty years after the fact, there are studies that say between 1989 and 1994 more black men were murdered in the streets of America than died in the entire Vietnam War. America did not want to talk about the human damage, or the deeper causes of the carnage. But then here came rap, like the American nightmare come to life. The disturbing s.h.i.+t you thought you locked away for good, buried at the bottom of the ocean, suddenly materialized in your kid's bedroom, laughing it off, cursing loud, and grabbing its nuts, refusing to be ignored anymore. I'm America's worst nightmare / I'm young black and holding my nuts like shh-yeah. I'm America's worst nightmare / I'm young black and holding my nuts like shh-yeah. Hardcore rap wasn't political in an explicit way, but its volume and urgency kept a story alive that a lot of people would have preferred to disappear. Our story. It scared a lot of people. Hardcore rap wasn't political in an explicit way, but its volume and urgency kept a story alive that a lot of people would have preferred to disappear. Our story. It scared a lot of people.

WE TOTE GUNS TO THE GRAMMYS.

Invisibility was the enemy, and the fight had multiple fronts. For instance, 1998 was an important year for hip-hop. It was two years after Pac had been gunned down, and just a year after Biggie was killed. DMX dropped two number one alb.u.ms that year. Outkast released Aquemini, Aquemini, a game-changing alb.u.m lyrically and sonically, but also for what it meant to Southern rap. (Juvenile's a game-changing alb.u.m lyrically and sonically, but also for what it meant to Southern rap. (Juvenile's 400 Degreez, 400 Degreez, also released in '98, was a major shot in the growing New Orleans movement. I jumped on a remix of his single "Ha," which was a great mix of regional styles.) Mos Def and Talib Kweli had their Black Star alb.u.m, one of the definitive indie rap records of all time. The prototypical "backpack rappers," A Tribe Called Quest, released their last alb.u.m, also released in '98, was a major shot in the growing New Orleans movement. I jumped on a remix of his single "Ha," which was a great mix of regional styles.) Mos Def and Talib Kweli had their Black Star alb.u.m, one of the definitive indie rap records of all time. The prototypical "backpack rappers," A Tribe Called Quest, released their last alb.u.m, The Love Movement. The Love Movement. And the biggest alb.u.m of the year in any genre was And the biggest alb.u.m of the year in any genre was The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

It was a beautiful time all the way around in hip-hop. The alb.u.m I released that year, Vol. 2...Hard Knock Life, Vol. 2...Hard Knock Life, was the biggest record of my life. The opening week was unreal for me-we did more than three hundred thousand units, by far the biggest opening number of my career to that point. The alb.u.m moved Lauryn Hill down to number four, but Outkast's was the biggest record of my life. The opening week was unreal for me-we did more than three hundred thousand units, by far the biggest opening number of my career to that point. The alb.u.m moved Lauryn Hill down to number four, but Outkast's Aquemini Aquemini was right behind me, and was right behind me, and The Love Movement The Love Movement was number three. Those four alb.u.ms together told the story of young black America from four dramatically different perspectives-we were bohemians and hustlers and revolutionaries and s.p.a.ce-age Southern boys. We were funny and serious, spiritual and ambitous, lovers and gangsters, mothers and brothers. This was the full picture of our generation. Each of these alb.u.ms was an innovative and honest work of art and wildly popular on the charts. Every kid in the country had at least one of these alb.u.ms, and a lot of them had all four. The entire world was plugged into the stories that came out of the specific struggles and creative explosion of our generation. And that was just the tip of the iceberg of what was happening in hip-hop that year. was number three. Those four alb.u.ms together told the story of young black America from four dramatically different perspectives-we were bohemians and hustlers and revolutionaries and s.p.a.ce-age Southern boys. We were funny and serious, spiritual and ambitous, lovers and gangsters, mothers and brothers. This was the full picture of our generation. Each of these alb.u.ms was an innovative and honest work of art and wildly popular on the charts. Every kid in the country had at least one of these alb.u.ms, and a lot of them had all four. The entire world was plugged into the stories that came out of the specific struggles and creative explosion of our generation. And that was just the tip of the iceberg of