Lyrics Hard Knock Life - Jay-Z

Hard Knock Life

Take the baseline out, uh huh\nJigga uh huh uh huh uh huh\nAnnie Sample:\nIt’s the hard knock life for us (uh-huh)\nIt’s the hard knock life for us\nInstead of treated, we get tricked\nInstead of kisses, we get kicked\nIt’s the hard knock life!\nVerse 1:\n>From standing on the corner poppin\nTo driving some of the hottest cars New York has ever seen\nTo dropping some of the hottest verses rap has ever heard\n>From the dope spot, where the smoke lock\nFleeing the murder scene, you know me well\n>From nightmares of a lonely cell, my only hell\nBut since when ya’ll niggas know me to bail? Fuck Naw\nWhere all my niggas with the rubber grips, off shots\nAnd if you with me ma I rubbing your tits, and what not\nI’m form the school of the hard knocks, we must not\nLet outsiders violate our blocks, and my plot\nLet’s stick up the world and split it 50−50, uh huh\nLet’s take the dough and stay real jiggy, uh huh\nLet’s sip the Cris and get pissy pissy\nFlow imminently like the memory of my nigga Biggie, baby!\nYou know it’s hell when I come through\nThe life and times of Shawn Carter nigga Volume 2, ya’ll niggas get ready\nAnnie Sample:\nIt’s the hard knock life for us\nIt’s the hard knock life for us\nInstead of treated, we get tricked\nInstead of kisses, we get kicked\nIt’s the hard knock life!\nVerse 2:\nI flow for those droned out\nAll my niggas locked in the 10 by 4 controlling the house\nWe live in hard knocks we don’t take over we bomb blocks\nBurn 'em down and you can have 'em back daddy, I’d rather that\nI flow for chicks wishing they ain’t have to strip to pay tuition\nI see you vision mama, I put my money on the longshots\nAll my ballers that born to glock\nNow I’ma be on top whether I perform or not\nI went from lukewarm to hot\nSleeping on futons and cots, the king size, dream machine to grief\nI’ve seen pies let the thing between my eyes analyze life’s ills\nThen I put it down tight grill\nI’m tight grill with the phony rappers you might feel we homeys\nI’m like still you don’t know me, shit\nI’m tight grill when my situation ain’t improving\nI’m trying to murder everything moving, Feel Me!\nAnnie Sample:\nIt’s the hard knock life for us\nIt’s the hard knock life for us\nInstead of treated, we get tricked\nInstead of kisses, we get kicked\nIt’s the hard knock life for us\nIt’s the hard knock life for us\nSteada treated, we get tricked\nSteada kisses, we get kicked\nIt’s the hard knock life!\nVerse 3:\nI don’t how to sleep, I gotta eat, stay on my toes\nGotta a lot of beef so logically I prey on my foes\nHustlin still inside of me and as far as progress\nYou be hardpressed to find another rapper hot as me\nI gave you prophecy on my first joint, and ya’ll lamed out\nDidn’t really appreciate it till the second one came out\nSo I stretched the game out, X’ed your name out\nPut Jigga on top, and drop albums non-stop for ya nigga\nAnnie Sample:\nIt’s the hard knock life for us\nIt’s the hard knock life for us\nInstead of treated, we get tricked\nInstead of kisses, we get kicked\nIt’s the hard knock life for us\nIt’s the hard knock life for us\nInstead of treated, we get tricked\nInstead of kisses, we get kicked\nIt’s the hard knock life!\nIt’s the hard knock life!\nIt’s the hard knock life!