Jay-Z - December 4th lyrics

Album: The Black Album (2003)

[Intro: Gloria Carter]
Shawn Carter was born December fourth
Weighing in at ten pounds, eight ounces
He was the last of my four children
The only one who didn´t give me any pain, when I gave birth to him
And that is how I knew, that he was a special child

"Hi baby, what´s wrong? You look like, you have lost your best friend
Tell me, is it smth that I have done again?
You look like, you have lost your best friend
Tell me.."

[Verse One: Jay-Z]
They say they never really miss you ´til you dead or you gone
So on that note I am leavin after this song
See you aint have got to feel no way about Jay so long
At least let me tell you why I am this way, hold on
I was conceived by Gloria Carter & Adnus Reeves
Who made love under the sycamore tree
Which makes me, a more sicker MC & my momma would claim
At ten pounds when I was born I did not give her no pain
Although through the yeahrs I gave her her fair share
I gave her her 1st real scare, I made up for birth when I got here
She knows my purpose wasn´t (?), I aint perfect, I care
But I feel worthless cause my shirts wasn´t matchin my gear
Now I am just scratchin the surface cause what´s buried under there
Was a kid torn apart once his pop disappeared
I went to school, got good grades, could behave when I wanted
But I had demons deep inside that would raise when confronted
Hold on

[Interlude: Gloria Carter]
Shawn was a very shy child growing up
He was into sports, & a funny story is
At four, he taught himself how to ride a bike
A two-wheel at that, is not that special?
But, I noticed a change in him.. when me & my husband, broke up

[Verse Two: Jay-Z]
Now all the teachers couldn´t reach me & my momma couldn´t beat me
Hard enough to match the pain of my pop not seein me SO!
With that disdain in my membrane
Got on my pimp game, f*ck the world, my defense came
Then the Haven introduced me to the game
Spanish Jose introduced me to ´caine; I am a hustler now
My gear is in, & I am in the in-crowd
And all the wavy light-skinned girls is lovin me now
My self-esteem went through the roof, man I got my swag´
Got a vocal from this girl when her man got bagged
Plus I hit my momma with cash from a show that I had
supposedly - knowin nobody paid Jaz like ass
I am gettin ahead of myself, by the way, I could rap
That came 2nd to me movin this crack
Give me a 2nd I swear, I´d say about my rap career
´til ninety-six came, niggaz I am here - goodbye!

[Interlude: Gloria Carter] - *talking
Shawn used to be in the kitchen, beating on the table & rapping
And umm, into the wee hours of the morning
And then I brought him a boombox
And his sisters & brothers said that he´d drive them nuts
But, that was my way to keep him close to me, & out of trouble

[Verse Three: Jay-Z]
Goodbye to the game all the spoils, the adrenaline rush
Your blood boils, you in a spot, knowin cops could rush
at you in the drop, you so easy to touch
No two days are alike, except the first & 1fifth pretty much
And trust, is a word you seldom hear from us
Hustlers, we do not 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!
And niggaz get tied up for product
And little brothers ring fingers get cut up
to show mothers they really got ´em
And this is the stress I lived with
´til I decided to try this rap shit for a livin
I pray I am forgiven - for every bad decision I made
Every sister I played - cause I am still paranoid to this day
And it is nobody fault, I made the decisions I have made
This is the life I chose, or rather the life that chose me
If you can not respect that, your whole perspective is whack
Maybe you will love me when I fade to black
If you can not respect that, your whole perspective is whack
Maybe you will love me when I fade to black
Now if you can not respect that, your whole perspective is whack
Maybe you will love me when I fade to black
If you can not respect that, your whole perspective is whack
Maybe you will love me when I fade to black.. {*fading out*}

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