Can I Live II Songtext
von JAY‐Z

Yeah, is y′all niggas finished, yo
Is y'all niggas finished
Got your little radio play, your little BDS, huh
You finished nigga, huh, huh, y′all finished
Can I live, huh?
Can I live, you're being stingy with the fucking music again, yo

Yo, I blacks out, I pulls the MAC out
Scream "What's that about?", then I clap out
I get my plot on and my drop on, through the rotten
Don′t even hate on those who hate me, I got Pac on
Feeling it, feeling it, chickens are ice grilling it
Cops pulling it over, Jigga react militant
Speed off, officer told me, "Turn the beat off"
I turned it a level higher, then return the devil′s fire


I'm raised different, react in situations niggas lay stiff in
And rookies blame it on the age difference
My subliminal flows create criminal odes
Sing along if y′all with me, 'til the end of the road
I′m cynical when in the view of the public, and this is because
I'm defensive when I′m in interviews
The percentage who don't understand is higher than the percentage who do
Check yourself, what percentage is you?

Can I live
For all my niggas with the all-white Air Force Ones and black guns
Stack ones, yo
Can I live
For all my chicks, pigeon-toed
Stand bowlegged like the bulldog
Know what I mean?

Can I live
To all the cee-lo champs
Two green dice and one red stop, the bank and roll heads, yo
Can I live
To all my niggas who drink Hennessy straight
Cop mixtapes and sell weight niggas


I got the feds sending me letters
'Cause I′m schooling the youth
But they can′t lock me down
'Cause my tool is the truth
Yeah, I sold drugs for a living
That′s a given, why is it?
Why don't y′all try to visit the neighborhoods I lived in

My mind been through hell
My neighborhood is crime central
Where cops lock you up more than try to defend you
I push you to the limit when I'm needing the wealth
And all I see is life cycle just repeating itself
Ran into shorty bopping down the ave
On his way to clocking mad then
He proceeded to show me a block of slab and said

Ayo, there′s money there, I just gotta have
When I catch up to these fiends, I'ma knock them on they ass
Not to brag
Sometimes I look at my life and laugh
How I think about school, and it taught me not a craft
When I backed out
Let one out, let the barrel turn
Holla at you faggots that it's my block to burn

That credit you dead it
I know heads getting annoyed and knew all
About a dope fiend before reading Donald Goines
Flipping boy, using the right cut
One thing that′s fucked up is bad dope that I can′t pump

This slab gotta re-up and re-bag
Blend it in with the raw
Bubble it fast cop more
Once I get it, I got it, I lock it
Nobody pop shit
Selling 20s on my block bitch
For some blacktop shit

What you want nigga?
What you want nigga?
What you want, what you want nigga?

Can I live
To all my niggas that hold coke in they bubble coat
Trying to win in the construction Timbs, yo, can I live
USA, all my chicks that strip
Boos go to the store with the doobie pins still in
All my chicks with the credit card scams
Two kids, one job, and no man
All my chicks getting that washing set with their welfare check

All the mamis dame besa, alright, yeah
All my niggas rocking them fitted caps
Trying to get at this rap, know what I mean?
All my cats with open cases
Big cars, and no license
I like that shit
I see y'all

All my niggas that say pause after they say some fucked up shit
Rock on, Jigga shit
Roc-A-Fella forever yo, uh
Major Coins, yeah, uhuh
Memph Bleek nigga