Source: Shareif Ziyadat / REFORM Alliance
JAY-Z said “I wouldn’t tell you to cut a bad deal. Like, take the $500,000, go buy some albums, and listen to the albums,” he continued.
The living legend has laid out a game plan for dealing with naysayers, pursuing excellence, and checking one’s ego throughout his catalog. “It’s all there. If you piece it together and really listen to the music for the words, well… It’s all there,” added Hov.
Check out 10 motivating lyrics from his catalog below.
1. Izzo (H.O.V.A.): “Show ’em how to move in a room full of vultures/ Industry shady, it need to be taken over/ Label owners hate me, I’m raisin’ the status quo up/ I’m overcharging n**gas for what they did to the Cold Crush/ Pay us like you owe us for all the years that you h**d us/ We can talk, but money talks, so talk more bucks.”
2. 30 Something: “Yeah, we used to ball like that (like that)/ Now we own the ball team, holla back (Holla back)/ Now I got black cards, good credit and such/ Baby boy, ’cause I’m all grown up.”
3. Legacy: “We gon’ start a society within a society/ That’s major, just like the Negro League/ There was a time America wouldn’t let us ball/ Those times are now back, just now called Afro-tech/ Generational wealth, that’s the key/ My parents ain’t have s**t, so that shift started with me.”
4. Show You How: “Look, think big, f**k getting your nails done/ Think cars, cribs, jewels, some s**t for your son/ Don’t let ’em give you hard d**k and bubble gum/ Make him cop the Lex’ bubble, 2001, hon’.”
5. Moment of Clarity: “Since I know what I’m up against/ We as rappers must decide what’s most important/ 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.”
6. The Story of O.J.: “I coulda bought a place in DUMBO before it was DUMBO/ For like $2 million/ That same building today is worth $25 million/ Guess how I’m feelin’? Dumbo.””
7. Beach Chair: “I’m not afraid of dying, I’m afraid of not trying/ Every day, hit every wave like I’m Hawaiian/ I don’t surf the net, no, I never been on MySpace/ Too busy letting my voice vibrate/ Carving out my space.”
8. Holy Grail: “Get the hell up off your high horse/ You got the s**t that n**gas die for, dry yours/ Why you mad? Take the good with the bad/ Or throw the baby out with that bath water.”
9. A Dream: “Hov, remind yourself: Nobody built like you, you designed yourself!”
10. Light Up: “And since no good deed go unpunished/ I’m not as cool with n**gas as I once was/ I once was cool as the Fonz was/ But these bright lights turned me to a monster/ Sorry, mama, I promised it wouldn’t change me/ But I would have went insane had I remained the same me/ F**k n**gas! B**ches, too!/ All I got is this money — this’ll do.”
