Jay-Z | Lyrics | Hard Knock Life (The Ghetto Anthem)

Take the baseline out, uh huh
Jigga, uh huh uh huh uh huh, yeah

It's the hard knock life for us
It's the hard knock life for us
'Stead of treated, we get tricked
'Stead of kisses, we get kicked
It's the hard knock life

From standing on the corners boppin'
To driving some of the hottest cars New York has ever seen
For dropping some of the hottest verses rap has ever heard
From the dope spot where the smoke lock
Fleeing the murder scene
You know me well from nightmares of a lonely cell, my only hell
But since when ya'll niggas know me to bail? F*** naw
Where all my niggas with the rubber grips, bust shots
And if you with me ma I rubbing your t*** and what not

I'm form the school of the hard knocks we must not
Let outsiders violate our blocks and my plot
Let's stick up the world and split it 50-50, uh huh
Let's take the dough and stay real jiggy, uh huh
Let's sip the Crys and get pissy pissy
Flow imminently like the memory of my nigga Biggie, baby
You know it's hell when I come through
The life and times of Shawn Carter nigga Volume 2
Ya'll niggas get ready

It's the hard knock life for us
It's the hard knock life for us
'Stead of treated, we get tricked
'Stead of kisses, we get kicked
It's the hard knock life

I flow for those droned out
All my niggas locked down in the 10 by 4 controlling the house
We live in hard knocks we don't take over, we bomb blocks
Burn 'em down and you can have 'em back daddy, I'd rather that
I flow for chicks wishing they ain't have to strip to pay tuition
I see you vision mama
I put my money on the longshots all my ballers that's born to glock
Now I'ma be on top whether I perform or not

I went from lukewarm to hot
Sleeping on guitars and cots, the king size, dream machine to grief
I've seen pies let the thing between my eyes analyze life's ills
Then I put it down tight grill
I'm tight grill with the phony rappers you might feel we homeys
I'm like still you don't know me, s***
I'm tight grill when my situation ain't improving
I'm trying to murder everything moving, feel me

It's the hard knock life for us
It's the hard knock life for us
'Stead of treated, we get tricked
'Stead of kisses, we get kicked

It's the hard knock life for us
It's the hard knock life for us
'Stead of treated, we get tricked
'Stead of kisses, we get kicked
It's the hard knock life

I don't know how to sleep, I gotta eat, stay on my toes
Gotta a lot of b*** so logically I prey on my foes
Hustlin' still inside of me and as far as progress
You be hard pressed to find another rapper hot as me
I gave you prophecy on my first joint and ya'll lamed out
Didn't really appreciate it till the second one came out
So I stretched the game out, X'ed your name out
Put Jigga on top, and drop albums non-stop for ya nigga

It's the hard knock life for us
It's the hard knock life for us
'Stead of treated, we get tricked
'Stead of kisses, we get kicked

It's the hard knock life for us
It's the hard knock life for us
'Stead of treated, we get tricked
'Stead of kisses, we get kicked
It's the hard knock life

It's the hard knock life
It's the hard knock life