Jay-Z Quotes

I’m already the GOAT, the next stop is the billie

If you're havin' girl problems I feel bad for you son / I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one.

I never asked for nothin' I don't demand of myself / Honesty, loyalty, friends and then wealth / Death before dishonor and I tell you what else / I tighten my belt 'fore I beg for help / Foolish pride is what held me together through the years / I wasn't felt which is why I ain't never played myself / I just play the hand I'm dealt, I can't say I've never knelt / Before God and asked for better cards at times to no avail / But I never sat back feelin sorry for myself / If you don't give me heaven I'll raise hell ('Til it's heaven)

If skills sold / Truth be told / I'd probably be / Lyricly / Talib Kweli / Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense / (But i did five Mil) / I ain't been rhymin like Common since -- When your sense got that much in common / And you been hustlin since / Your inception / Fuck perception / Go with what makes sense / Since / I know what I'm up against / We as rappers must decide what's most impor-tant

Pop died, didn't cry, didn't know him that well / Between him doin' heroin and me doin' crack sales / With that in the eggshell, standin' at the tabernacle / Rather the church, pretendin' to be hurt - wouldn't work / So a smirk was all on my face / Like damn, that man's face is just like my face / So pop, I forgive you for all the shit that I lived through / It wasn't all your fault homey, you got caught

I'm not a biter, I'm a writer for myself and others / I say a B.I.G. verse, I'm only biggin' up my brother / Biggin' up my borough, I'm big enough to do it / I'm that thorough, plus I know my own flow is foolish / So them rings and things you sing about, bring 'em out / It's hard to yell when the bar-rell's in your mouth

Now you know yo' ass is Willie when they got you in the mag
for like half a billy, and yo' ass ain't lily
white that mean that shit you write must be illy
Either that or your flow is silly - it's both
I don't mean to boast, but damn if I don't brag
Them crackers gon' act like I ain't on they ass
The Martha Stewart, that's far from Jewish
Far from a Harvard student, just had the balls to do it

Music business hate me ‘cause the industry ain't make me
Hustlers and boosters embrace me and the music I be making
I dumbed down for my audience to double my dollars
They criticized me for it, yet they all yell "holla"
If skills sold, truth be told, I'd probably be lyrically Talib Kweli
Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense
But I did 5 mill' – I ain't been rhyming like Common since
When your cents got that much in common
And you been hustling since your inception
Fuck perception! Go with what makes sense
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
So next time you see the homie and his rims spin
Just know my mind is working just like them (rims, that is)

Good-bye to the game all the spoils, the adrenaline rush
Your blood boils, you in a spot knowin' cops could rush
you in the drop, you so easy to touch
No two days are alike, except the 1st and 15th pretty much
And trust, is a word you seldom hear from us
Hustlers, we don't sleep, we rest one eye up
And a drought could define a man when the well dries up
You learn the worth of water
Without work you thirst 'til you die, yup!

Motherfuckers say that I'm foolish I only talk about jewels
Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?
See I'm influenced by the ghetto you ruined
That same dude you gave nothing, I made something doing.

On repeat, the CD of B.I.G.'s 'Me and My Bitch'
Watching Bonnie and Clyde, pretending to be that shit
Empty gun in your hand saying, 'Let me see that clip'
Shopping sprees, pull out your Visa quick
A nigga had very bad credit, you helped me lease that whip
You helped me get the keys to that V dot 6
We was so happy poor but when we got rich
That's when our signals got crossed, and we got flipped.

Niggas pray and pray on my downfall
But every time I hit the ground I bounce up like round ball.

6 oohie, jewels dripping big tooly
I ball for real: y'all niggas is Sam Bowie
And with the third pick, I made the earth sick
M.J., him Jay, fade away perfect.

I sell ice in the winter, I sell fire in hell
I am a hustler, baby, I'll sell water to a well

Hov' is back, life stories told through rap
Niggas acting like I sold you crack
Like I told you sell drugs; No, Hov did that
so hopefully you won't have to go through that.