Last Call
Antony Williams, Kanye West, Kenneth Lewis, Michael Perretta
(Let's run it, let's run it, let's run it)
Yo, fuck you, Kanye, first and foremost
For making me do this shit, muhfucker
Had to throw everybody out the muhfuckin' room
'Cause they don't fuckin'
I'd like to propose a toast
I said toast, motherfucker
And I am
(Here's to the Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
(Here's to the Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol, for the
(Mr. Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
The all around the world Digital Underground Pac
The Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer of the Roc
I take my chain, my 15 seconds of fame
And come back next year with the whole fucking game
Ain't nobody expect Kanye to end up on top
They expected that College Dropout to drop and then flop
Then maybe he stop savin' all the good beats for himself
Roc-A-Fella's only niggas that helped
My money was thinner than Sean Paul's goatee hair
Now Jean Paul Gaultier cologne fill the air, here
They say he bougie, he big-headed
Would you please stop talking about how my dick head is
Flow infectious, give me 10 seconds
I'll have a buzz bigger than insects in Texas
It's funny how wasn't nobody interested
'Til the night I almost killed myself in Lexus
Now I am
(Here's to the Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
(Here's to the Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol, for the
(Mr. Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Now was Kanye the most overlooked? Yes sir
Now is Kanye the most overbooked? Yes sir
Though the fans want the feeling of A Tribe Called Quest
But all they got left is this guy called West
That'll take Freeway, throw him on tracks with Mos Def
When you call him Kwa-li or Kwe-li, I put him on songs with Jay-Z
I'm the Gap like Banana Republic and Old Navy, and ooh
It come out sweeter than old Sadie
Nice as Bun-B when I met him at the Source awards
Girl he had with him, ass coulda won the horse awards
And I was almost famous, now everybody love Kanye
I'm almost Raymond
Some say he arrogant. Can y'all blame him?
It was straight embarrassing how y'all played him
Last year shoppin' my demo, I was tryna shine
Every motherfucker told me that I couldn't rhyme
Now I could let these dream killers kill my self-esteem
Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams
I use it as my gas, so they say that I'm gassed
But without it I'd be last, so I ought to laugh
So I don't listen to the suits behind the desk no more
You niggas wear suits 'cause you can't dress no more
You can't say shit to Kanye West no more
I rocked 20,000 people, I was just on tour, nigga
I'm Kan, the Louis Vuitton Don
Bought my mom a purse, now she Louis Vuitton Mom
I ain't play the hand I was dealt, I changed my cards
I prayed to the skies and I changed my stars
I went to the malls and I balled too hard
"Oh my God, is that a black card?"
I turned around and replied, "Why yes
But I prefer the term African American Express"
Brains, power, and muscle, like Dame, Puffy, and Russell
Your boy back on his hustle, you know what I've been up to
Killin' y'all niggas on that lyrical shit
Mayonnaise-colored Benz, I push Miracle Whips
And I am
(Here's to the Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
(Here's to the Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol for my niggas
(Mr. Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
So this A&R over at Roc-A-Fella, named Hip Hop
Picked the "Truth" beat for Beanie
And I was in the session with him, I had my demo with me
You know, like I always do
I played a songs, he's like "Who that spittin'?" I'm like "It's me"
He's like, "Oh, okay."
Uh, he started talkin' to me on the phone, going back and forth
Just askin' me to send him beats
And I think he's tryna get into managing producers
'Cause he had this other kid named Just Blaze he was messin' with
And um, he was friends with my mentor, No I.D.
And No I.D. told him
"Look, man, if you wanna mess with Kanye you gotta tell him that you like the way he rap"
I was all, I dunno if he was gassin' me or not
But he's like he wanna manage me as a rapper and a producer
I'm like, oh shit
I was messin' with, uh, D-Dot also
People were like this, started talking about the ghost production
But that's how I got in the game
If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here
So you know, after they picked that "Truth" beat
I was figuring I was gonna get some more work
But shit just wasn't poppin' off like that
I was stayin' in Chicago, I had my own apartment
I be doin' like just beats for local acts just to try to keep the lights on
And then to go out and buy, get a Pelle Pelle off lay-away
Get some Jordans or something or get a TechnoMarine
That's what we wore back then
I made this one beat where I sped up this Harold Melvin sample
I played it for Hip over the phone
He's like, "Oh, yo that shit is crazy
Jay might want it for this compilation album he doin' called The Dynasty"
And at that time, like the drums really weren't soundin' right to me
So I went and um, I was listening to Dre Chronic 2001 at that time
And really I just, like bit the drums off "Xxplosive"
And put it like with it sped up sample
And now it's kind of like my whole style, where it started
When he rapped on "This Can't be Life"
And that was like, really the first beat of that kind that was on The Dynasty album
I could say that was the the resurgence of the soul sound
You know, I got to come in and track the beat
And at the time I was still with my other management
I really wanted to roll with Hip Hop
Just I, I just needed some fresh air, you know what I'm sayin'?
'Cause I, I been there for a while
I appreciate what they did for me but
You know there's a time in every man's life where he gotta make a change
And try to move up to the next level
That day I came and I tracked the beat and I got to meet Jay-Z and he said
"Oh, you a real soulful dude"
And he, uh, played the song 'cause he already spit his verse by the time I got to the studio
You know he do it one take
He said tell me what you think of this
And I heard it, and I was thinking like, man
I really wanted more like of the simple type Jay-Z
I ain't want like the, the more introspective, complicated rhy- or the, in my personal opinion
So he asked me, "What you think of it?"
And I was like, "Man, that shit tight," you know what I'm sayin'? What I'ma tell him?
I was on the train, man, you know
So after that I went back home
And, man I'm, I'm just in Chicago, I'm tryna do my thing
You know, I got groups, I got acts I'm tryna get on
And like wasn't nothin really like poppin' off the way it should have been
One of my homies that was one of my artists, he got signed
But it was supposed to really go through my production company
But he ended up going straight with the company
So, like I'm just straight holdin' the phone
Gettin' the bad news that dude was tryna leave my company
And I got evicted at the same time
So I went down and tracked the beats from him
And I took that money, came back, packed all my shit up in a U-Haul
Maybe about ten days before I had to actually get out
So I ain't have to deal with the landlord, 'cause he's a jerk
Me and my mother drove to
Newark, New Jersey, I hadn't even seen my apartment
I remember I pulled up, I unpacked all my shit
You know, we went to IKEA, I bought a bed, I put the bed together myself
I loaded up all my equipment, and the first beat I made was, uh, "Heart of the City"
And Beans was still working on his album at that time
So I came up there to Baseline, it was Beans' birthday, matter of fact
And I played like seven beats
And, you know I guess he was in the zone, he already had the beats that he wanted
I had did "Nothing Like It" already at that time
But then Jay walked in
I remember he had a Gucci bucket hat on
I remember it like, like it was yesterday
And Hip Hop said, "Yo, play that one beat for him"
So I played "Heart of the City"
And really I made "Heart of the City," I really wanted to give that beat to DMX
Then I played another beat, then I played another beat
And I remember that Gucci bucket, he took it and like put it over his face
And made one of them faces like, ooh
Two days later I'm in Baseline and I seen Dame
Dame didn't know who I was and I was like, "Yo, what's up I'm Kanye"
"You that kid that gave all them beats to Jay? Yo, this nigga got classics to your beats, B"
You know how he talk his shit
I'm like "oh, shit"
And all this time I'm starstruck, man
I'm still thinking 'bout, you know I'm picturing these niggas on the show
The Streets is Watching or whatever
I'm lookin', these were superstars in my eyes
And they still are, you know
So, Jay came in and he spit all these songs like in one day, and in two days
I gotta bring up one thing, you know, go back to in story
The day I did the 'Can't be Life' beat I tracked
I remember Lenny S, he had some Louis Vuitton sneakers on, he think he fly
And Hip Hop was there, I think Ty-Ty, John Meneilly, a bunch of people
I didn't know all these people at the time, they was in the room, and I said, "Yo, Jay I could rap"
And I spit this rap that said, uh "I'm killin' y'all niggas on that lyrical shit
Mayonnaise colored Benz, I push miracle whips"
And I saw his eyes light up when I said that line
But you know the rest, the rap was like real wack and shit, so that's all the response
He said, "Man, that was tight"
And that was it, you know, I ain't get no deal or nothin'
Okay, fast forward
So, Blueprint, "H to the Izzo," my first hit single
And I just took that proudly, built relationships with people
My relationship with Kweli I think was one of the best ones to ever happen to my career as a rapper
Because, you know, of course later he allowed me to go on tour with him
Man, I appre-, I love him for that
And at this time, you know I didn't have a deal
I had songs, and I had relationships with all these A&R's
'Cause they wanted beats from me, so they'd call me up, I'd play them some beats
"Gimme a beat that sound like Jay-Z"
You know, they dick riders, whatever
So I'll play them these post-Blueprint beats or whatever and then I'll play my shit
I'll be like, "Yo, but I rap too"
Ayy, I guess they was lookin' at me crazy 'cause you know
'Cause I ain't have a jersey on or whatever
Everybody out there listen here
I played them 'Jesus Walks' and they didn't sign me
You know what happened, it was some A&R's that fucked with me though
But then like the heads, it'd be somebody at the company that'll say "nah"
Like, Dave Lighty fucked with me, my nigga Mel brought me to a bunch of labels
Jessica Rivera, man
I'm not gonna say nothin' to mess my promotion up
Let's just say I ain't get my deal
The nigga that was behind me, I mean, he wasn't even a nigga
The person that actually kicked everything off was Joe 3H from Capitol Records
He wanted to sign me really bad
Dame was like, "Yo, you got a deal with Capitol? Okay, man, just make sure it's not wack"
Then one day I just went ahead and played it
I wanted to play some songs, cause you know Cam was in the room, Young Guru, and Dame was in the room
So I played, actually it's a song you'll never hear
Well maybe I might use it so, it's called 'Wow'
I go to Jacob with 25 thou', you go with 25 hundred, wow
I got eleven plaques on my walls right now
You got your first gold single, damn, nigga, wow"
Like the chorus went like
Don't bite that chorus, I might still use it
So I play that song for him and he's like "oh, shit"
"I ain't gonna front, it's kinda hot"
Like they still weren't looking at me like a rapper
And I'm sure Dame figured
Like, man, if he do a whole album, if his raps is wack
At least we can throw Cam on every song and save the album, you know
So, uh, Dame took me into the hallway
He's like "Yo, man, B, B, you don't want a brick, you don't want a brick"
"You gotta be under an umbrella or you'll get rained on"
I told Hip Hop and Hip Hop was like, "oh, word?"
Actually, even with that I was still about to take the deal with Capitol
'Cause it was already on the table and 'cause of my relationship with 3H
That, you know, 'cause I told him I was gonna do it, and I'm a man of my word
I was gonna roll with what I said I was gonna do
Then, you know, I'm not gonna name no names
But people told me, "Oh, he's just a producer rapper"
And told 3H that told the heads of the Capitol
And right, the day I'm talking about, I planned out everything I was gonna do, man
I had picked out clothes, I already started booking studio sessions
I started arranging my album, thinking of marketing schemes, man, I was ready to go
And, and they had Mel call me, they said, "Yo, Capitol pulled on the deal"
And, you know I told them that Roc-A-Fella was interested and
I don't know if they thought that was just something I was saying to gas them up
To try to push the price up or whatever
I went up,I called G, I said, "Man, you think we could still get that deal with Roc-A-Fella?"
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
(Let's run it, let's run it, let's run it)
(Vamos a correrlo, vamos a correrlo, vamos a correrlo)
Yo, fuck you, Kanye, first and foremost
Yo, jódete, Kanye, en primer lugar
For making me do this shit, muhfucker
Por hacerme hacer esta mierda, hijo de puta
Had to throw everybody out the muhfuckin' room
Tuve que echar a todos de la maldita habitación
'Cause they don't fuckin'
Porque no joden
I'd like to propose a toast
Me gustaría proponer un brindis
I said toast, motherfucker
Dije brindis, hijo de puta
And I am
Y yo soy
(Here's to the Roc)
(Aquí está para el Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
Y me preguntan, me preguntan, me preguntan, yo les digo
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Aquí está para Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Levanta tus copas, tus copas, tus copas al cielo y
(Here's to the Roc)
(Aquí está para el Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol, for the
Esta es la última llamada para el alcohol, para el
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(Sr. Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Así que levanta tu trasero de la pared
The all around the world Digital Underground Pac
El todo alrededor del mundo Digital Underground Pac
The Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer of the Roc
El Rudolph el reno de nariz roja del Roc
I take my chain, my 15 seconds of fame
Tomo mi cadena, mis 15 segundos de fama
And come back next year with the whole fucking game
Y vuelvo el próximo año con todo el maldito juego
Ain't nobody expect Kanye to end up on top
Nadie esperaba que Kanye terminara en la cima
They expected that College Dropout to drop and then flop
Esperaban que College Dropout cayera y luego fracasara
Then maybe he stop savin' all the good beats for himself
Entonces tal vez él deje de guardar todas las buenas pistas para él mismo
Roc-A-Fella's only niggas that helped
Roc-A-Fella's solo negros que ayudaron
My money was thinner than Sean Paul's goatee hair
Mi dinero era más delgado que el pelo de la barba de Sean Paul
Now Jean Paul Gaultier cologne fill the air, here
Ahora el perfume de Jean Paul Gaultier llena el aire, aquí
They say he bougie, he big-headed
Dicen que es presumido, tiene la cabeza grande
Would you please stop talking about how my dick head is
¿Podrías dejar de hablar de cómo es mi cabeza de pene?
Flow infectious, give me 10 seconds
Flujo infeccioso, dame 10 segundos
I'll have a buzz bigger than insects in Texas
Tendré un zumbido más grande que los insectos en Texas
It's funny how wasn't nobody interested
Es gracioso cómo no estaba interesado nadie
'Til the night I almost killed myself in Lexus
Hasta la noche que casi me mato en Lexus
Now I am
Ahora yo soy
(Here's to the Roc)
(Aquí está para el Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
Y me preguntan, me preguntan, me preguntan, yo les digo
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Aquí está para Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Levanta tus copas, tus copas, tus copas al cielo y
(Here's to the Roc)
(Aquí está para el Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol, for the
Esta es la última llamada para el alcohol, para el
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(Sr. Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Así que levanta tu trasero de la pared
Now was Kanye the most overlooked? Yes sir
¿Fue Kanye el más pasado por alto? Sí señor
Now is Kanye the most overbooked? Yes sir
¿Es Kanye el más sobrecontratado? Sí señor
Though the fans want the feeling of A Tribe Called Quest
Aunque los fans quieren la sensación de A Tribe Called Quest
But all they got left is this guy called West
Pero todo lo que queda es este tipo llamado West
That'll take Freeway, throw him on tracks with Mos Def
Eso tomará a Freeway, lo lanzará en pistas con Mos Def
When you call him Kwa-li or Kwe-li, I put him on songs with Jay-Z
Cuando lo llamas Kwa-li o Kwe-li, lo pongo en canciones con Jay-Z
I'm the Gap like Banana Republic and Old Navy, and ooh
Soy el Gap como Banana Republic y Old Navy, y ooh
It come out sweeter than old Sadie
Sale más dulce que la vieja Sadie
Nice as Bun-B when I met him at the Source awards
Tan agradable como Bun-B cuando lo conocí en los premios Source
Girl he had with him, ass coulda won the horse awards
La chica que tenía con él, el trasero podría haber ganado los premios de caballo
And I was almost famous, now everybody love Kanye
Y yo estaba casi famoso, ahora todos aman a Kanye
I'm almost Raymond
Estoy casi Raymond
Some say he arrogant. Can y'all blame him?
Algunos dicen que es arrogante. ¿Podéis culparle?
It was straight embarrassing how y'all played him
Fue totalmente vergonzoso cómo le jugasteis
Last year shoppin' my demo, I was tryna shine
El año pasado comprando mi demo, estaba tratando de brillar
Every motherfucker told me that I couldn't rhyme
Cada hijo de puta me decía que no podía rimar
Now I could let these dream killers kill my self-esteem
Ahora podría dejar que estos asesinos de sueños maten mi autoestima
Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams
O usar mi arrogancia como el vapor para alimentar mis sueños
I use it as my gas, so they say that I'm gassed
Lo uso como mi gas, así que dicen que estoy gaseado
But without it I'd be last, so I ought to laugh
Pero sin él sería el último, así que debería reír
So I don't listen to the suits behind the desk no more
Así que ya no escucho a los trajes detrás del escritorio
You niggas wear suits 'cause you can't dress no more
Ustedes negros usan trajes porque ya no pueden vestirse
You can't say shit to Kanye West no more
No puedes decir mierda a Kanye West ya
I rocked 20,000 people, I was just on tour, nigga
Moví a 20,000 personas, acababa de estar de gira, negro
I'm Kan, the Louis Vuitton Don
Soy Kan, el Don de Louis Vuitton
Bought my mom a purse, now she Louis Vuitton Mom
Compré un bolso a mi madre, ahora ella es la Madre de Louis Vuitton
I ain't play the hand I was dealt, I changed my cards
No jugué la mano que me dieron, cambié mis cartas
I prayed to the skies and I changed my stars
Oré a los cielos y cambié mis estrellas
I went to the malls and I balled too hard
Fui a los centros comerciales y jugué demasiado duro
"Oh my God, is that a black card?"
"Oh Dios mío, ¿es esa una tarjeta negra?"
I turned around and replied, "Why yes
Me di la vuelta y respondí: "Sí
But I prefer the term African American Express"
Pero prefiero el término American Express Africano"
Brains, power, and muscle, like Dame, Puffy, and Russell
Cerebros, poder y músculo, como Dame, Puffy y Russell
Your boy back on his hustle, you know what I've been up to
Tu chico de vuelta en su ajetreo, sabes lo que he estado haciendo
Killin' y'all niggas on that lyrical shit
Matándote a todos en esa mierda lírica
Mayonnaise-colored Benz, I push Miracle Whips
Mercedes de color mayonesa, empujo Whips milagrosos
And I am
Y yo soy
(Here's to the Roc)
(Aquí está para el Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
Y me preguntan, me preguntan, me preguntan, yo les digo
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Aquí está para Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Levanta tus copas, tus copas, tus copas al cielo y
(Here's to the Roc)
(Aquí está para el Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol for my niggas
Esta es la última llamada para el alcohol para mis negros
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(Sr. Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Así que levanta tu trasero de la pared
So this A&R over at Roc-A-Fella, named Hip Hop
Así que este A&R en Roc-A-Fella, llamado Hip Hop
Picked the "Truth" beat for Beanie
Escogió el ritmo "Truth" para Beanie
And I was in the session with him, I had my demo with me
Y yo estaba en la sesión con él, tenía mi demo conmigo
You know, like I always do
Ya sabes, como siempre hago
I played a songs, he's like "Who that spittin'?" I'm like "It's me"
Reproducí unas canciones, él dice "¿Quién está escupiendo?" Yo digo "Soy yo"
He's like, "Oh, okay."
Él dice, "Oh, está bien."
Uh, he started talkin' to me on the phone, going back and forth
Uh, empezó a hablarme por teléfono, yendo y viniendo
Just askin' me to send him beats
Simplemente pidiéndome que le enviara ritmos
And I think he's tryna get into managing producers
Y creo que está tratando de meterse en la gestión de productores
'Cause he had this other kid named Just Blaze he was messin' with
Porque tenía a este otro chico llamado Just Blaze con el que estaba jugando
And um, he was friends with my mentor, No I.D.
Y um, era amigo de mi mentor, No I.D.
And No I.D. told him
Y No I.D. le dijo
"Look, man, if you wanna mess with Kanye you gotta tell him that you like the way he rap"
"Mira, hombre, si quieres jugar con Kanye tienes que decirle que te gusta cómo rapea"
I was all, I dunno if he was gassin' me or not
Yo estaba como, no sé si me estaba inflando o no
But he's like he wanna manage me as a rapper and a producer
Pero él dice que quiere gestionarme como rapero y productor
I'm like, oh shit
Estoy como, oh mierda
I was messin' with, uh, D-Dot also
Estaba jugando con, uh, D-Dot también
People were like this, started talking about the ghost production
La gente estaba como esto, empezó a hablar sobre la producción fantasma.
But that's how I got in the game
Pero así es como entré en el juego
If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here
Si no fuera por eso, no estaría aquí
So you know, after they picked that "Truth" beat
Así que ya sabes, después de que eligieron ese ritmo de "Verdad"
I was figuring I was gonna get some more work
Estaba pensando que iba a conseguir más trabajo
But shit just wasn't poppin' off like that
Pero las cosas simplemente no estaban despegando así
I was stayin' in Chicago, I had my own apartment
Estaba viviendo en Chicago, tenía mi propio apartamento
I be doin' like just beats for local acts just to try to keep the lights on
Estaba haciendo solo ritmos para actos locales solo para intentar mantener las luces encendidas
And then to go out and buy, get a Pelle Pelle off lay-away
Y luego salir y comprar, conseguir un Pelle Pelle a plazos
Get some Jordans or something or get a TechnoMarine
Conseguir unas Jordans o algo o conseguir un TechnoMarine
That's what we wore back then
Eso es lo que usábamos en aquel entonces
I made this one beat where I sped up this Harold Melvin sample
Hice este ritmo donde aceleré esta muestra de Harold Melvin
I played it for Hip over the phone
Se lo toqué a Hip por teléfono
He's like, "Oh, yo that shit is crazy
Él dijo, "Oh, eso está loco
Jay might want it for this compilation album he doin' called The Dynasty"
Jay podría quererlo para este álbum recopilatorio que está haciendo llamado The Dynasty"
And at that time, like the drums really weren't soundin' right to me
Y en ese momento, como que los tambores realmente no sonaban bien para mí
So I went and um, I was listening to Dre Chronic 2001 at that time
Así que fui y um, estaba escuchando a Dre Chronic 2001 en ese momento
And really I just, like bit the drums off "Xxplosive"
Y realmente solo, como que mordí los tambores de "Xxplosive"
And put it like with it sped up sample
Y lo puse con esa muestra acelerada
And now it's kind of like my whole style, where it started
Y ahora es como mi estilo completo, donde empezó
When he rapped on "This Can't be Life"
Cuando rapeó en "This Can't be Life"
And that was like, really the first beat of that kind that was on The Dynasty album
Y eso fue como, realmente el primer ritmo de ese tipo que estaba en el álbum The Dynasty
I could say that was the the resurgence of the soul sound
Podría decir que fue el resurgimiento del sonido soul
You know, I got to come in and track the beat
Ya sabes, tuve que entrar y seguir el ritmo
And at the time I was still with my other management
Y en ese momento todavía estaba con mi otra administración
I really wanted to roll with Hip Hop
Realmente quería rodar con Hip Hop
Just I, I just needed some fresh air, you know what I'm sayin'?
Solo yo, solo necesitaba un poco de aire fresco, ¿sabes a lo que me refiero?
'Cause I, I been there for a while
Porque yo, había estado allí por un tiempo
I appreciate what they did for me but
Aprecio lo que hicieron por mí pero
You know there's a time in every man's life where he gotta make a change
Ya sabes que hay un momento en la vida de cada hombre en el que tiene que hacer un cambio
And try to move up to the next level
E intentar subir al siguiente nivel
That day I came and I tracked the beat and I got to meet Jay-Z and he said
Ese día llegué y seguí el ritmo y conocí a Jay-Z y él dijo
"Oh, you a real soulful dude"
"Oh, eres un tipo realmente soulful"
And he, uh, played the song 'cause he already spit his verse by the time I got to the studio
Y él, uh, tocó la canción porque ya había escupido su verso para cuando llegué al estudio
You know he do it one take
Ya sabes que lo hace de una vez
He said tell me what you think of this
Dijo dime qué piensas de esto
And I heard it, and I was thinking like, man
Y lo escuché, y estaba pensando como, hombre
I really wanted more like of the simple type Jay-Z
Realmente quería más como el simple tipo Jay-Z
I ain't want like the, the more introspective, complicated rhy- or the, in my personal opinion
No quería como el, el más introspectivo, complicado rhy- o el, en mi opinión personal
So he asked me, "What you think of it?"
Así que me preguntó, "¿Qué piensas de eso?"
And I was like, "Man, that shit tight," you know what I'm sayin'? What I'ma tell him?
Y yo estaba como, "Hombre, eso está apretado," ¿sabes a lo que me refiero? ¿Qué le voy a decir?
I was on the train, man, you know
Estaba en el tren, hombre, ya sabes
So after that I went back home
Así que después de eso volví a casa
And, man I'm, I'm just in Chicago, I'm tryna do my thing
Y, hombre, estoy, estoy solo en Chicago, estoy intentando hacer lo mío
You know, I got groups, I got acts I'm tryna get on
Ya sabes, tengo grupos, tengo actos que estoy intentando poner en marcha
And like wasn't nothin really like poppin' off the way it should have been
Y como que no estaba pasando nada realmente como debería haber estado
One of my homies that was one of my artists, he got signed
Uno de mis amigos que era uno de mis artistas, consiguió un contrato
But it was supposed to really go through my production company
Pero se suponía que realmente iba a pasar por mi compañía de producción
But he ended up going straight with the company
Pero terminó yendo directamente con la compañía
So, like I'm just straight holdin' the phone
Así que, como que estoy solo sosteniendo el teléfono
Gettin' the bad news that dude was tryna leave my company
Recibiendo las malas noticias de que el tipo estaba intentando dejar mi compañía
And I got evicted at the same time
Y me desalojaron al mismo tiempo
So I went down and tracked the beats from him
Así que bajé y seguí los ritmos de él
And I took that money, came back, packed all my shit up in a U-Haul
Y tomé ese dinero, volví, empaqué todas mis cosas en una U-Haul
Maybe about ten days before I had to actually get out
Quizás unos diez días antes de que tuviera que salir realmente
So I ain't have to deal with the landlord, 'cause he's a jerk
Así que no tuve que lidiar con el propietario, porque es un imbécil
Me and my mother drove to
Yo y mi madre fuimos a
Newark, New Jersey, I hadn't even seen my apartment
Newark, Nueva Jersey, ni siquiera había visto mi apartamento
I remember I pulled up, I unpacked all my shit
Recuerdo que llegué, desempaqué todas mis cosas
You know, we went to IKEA, I bought a bed, I put the bed together myself
Ya sabes, fuimos a IKEA, compré una cama, monté la cama yo mismo
I loaded up all my equipment, and the first beat I made was, uh, "Heart of the City"
Cargué todo mi equipo, y el primer ritmo que hice fue, uh, "Heart of the City"
And Beans was still working on his album at that time
Y Beans todavía estaba trabajando en su álbum en ese momento
So I came up there to Baseline, it was Beans' birthday, matter of fact
Así que subí a Baseline, era el cumpleaños de Beans, de hecho
And I played like seven beats
Y toqué como siete ritmos
And, you know I guess he was in the zone, he already had the beats that he wanted
Y, ya sabes supongo que estaba en la zona, ya tenía los ritmos que quería
I had did "Nothing Like It" already at that time
Ya había hecho "Nothing Like It" en ese momento
But then Jay walked in
Pero luego entró Jay
I remember he had a Gucci bucket hat on
Recuerdo que llevaba un sombrero de cubo Gucci
I remember it like, like it was yesterday
Lo recuerdo como, como si fuera ayer
And Hip Hop said, "Yo, play that one beat for him"
Y Hip Hop dijo, "Oye, toca ese ritmo para él"
So I played "Heart of the City"
Así que toqué "Heart of the City"
And really I made "Heart of the City," I really wanted to give that beat to DMX
Y realmente hice "Heart of the City", realmente quería darle ese ritmo a DMX
Then I played another beat, then I played another beat
Luego toqué otro ritmo, luego toqué otro ritmo
And I remember that Gucci bucket, he took it and like put it over his face
Y recuerdo ese cubo Gucci, lo tomó y lo puso sobre su cara
And made one of them faces like, ooh
Y puso una de esas caras como, ooh
Two days later I'm in Baseline and I seen Dame
Dos días después estoy en Baseline y veo a Dame
Dame didn't know who I was and I was like, "Yo, what's up I'm Kanye"
Dame no sabía quién era yo y yo estaba como, "Hola, soy Kanye"
"You that kid that gave all them beats to Jay? Yo, this nigga got classics to your beats, B"
"¿Eres ese chico que le dio todos esos ritmos a Jay? Oye, este tío tiene clásicos con tus ritmos, B"
You know how he talk his shit
Ya sabes cómo habla su mierda
I'm like "oh, shit"
Estoy como "oh, mierda"
And all this time I'm starstruck, man
Y todo este tiempo estoy impresionado, hombre
I'm still thinking 'bout, you know I'm picturing these niggas on the show
Todavía estoy pensando en, ya sabes estoy imaginando a estos negros en el show
The Streets is Watching or whatever
The Streets is Watching o lo que sea
I'm lookin', these were superstars in my eyes
Estoy mirando, estos eran superestrellas en mis ojos
And they still are, you know
Y todavía lo son, ya sabes.
So, Jay came in and he spit all these songs like in one day, and in two days
Entonces, Jay entró y escupió todas estas canciones en un día, y en dos días
I gotta bring up one thing, you know, go back to in story
Tengo que mencionar una cosa, ya sabes, volver a la historia
The day I did the 'Can't be Life' beat I tracked
El día que hice el ritmo de 'Can't be Life' que rastreé
I remember Lenny S, he had some Louis Vuitton sneakers on, he think he fly
Recuerdo a Lenny S, tenía unas zapatillas Louis Vuitton, pensaba que era genial
And Hip Hop was there, I think Ty-Ty, John Meneilly, a bunch of people
Y Hip Hop estaba allí, creo que Ty-Ty, John Meneilly, un montón de gente
I didn't know all these people at the time, they was in the room, and I said, "Yo, Jay I could rap"
No conocía a todas estas personas en ese momento, estaban en la habitación, y dije, "Oye, Jay, puedo rapear"
And I spit this rap that said, uh "I'm killin' y'all niggas on that lyrical shit
Y escupí este rap que decía, uh "Estoy matando a todos ustedes en esa mierda lírica
Mayonnaise colored Benz, I push miracle whips"
Mercedes color mayonesa, empujo milagros"
And I saw his eyes light up when I said that line
Y vi cómo se le iluminaban los ojos cuando dije esa línea
But you know the rest, the rap was like real wack and shit, so that's all the response
Pero ya sabes el resto, el rap era realmente malo y mierda, así que esa es toda la respuesta
He said, "Man, that was tight"
Dijo, "Hombre, eso estuvo bien"
And that was it, you know, I ain't get no deal or nothin'
Y eso fue todo, ya sabes, no conseguí ningún trato ni nada
Okay, fast forward
Vale, avance rápido
So, Blueprint, "H to the Izzo," my first hit single
Entonces, Blueprint, "H to the Izzo," mi primer single de éxito
And I just took that proudly, built relationships with people
Y lo tomé con orgullo, construí relaciones con la gente
My relationship with Kweli I think was one of the best ones to ever happen to my career as a rapper
Mi relación con Kweli creo que fue una de las mejores cosas que le pasó a mi carrera como rapero
Because, you know, of course later he allowed me to go on tour with him
Porque, ya sabes, por supuesto más tarde me permitió ir de gira con él
Man, I appre-, I love him for that
Hombre, lo aprecio, lo amo por eso
And at this time, you know I didn't have a deal
Y en este momento, ya sabes que no tenía un trato
I had songs, and I had relationships with all these A&R's
Tenía canciones, y tenía relaciones con todos estos A&R's
'Cause they wanted beats from me, so they'd call me up, I'd play them some beats
Porque querían ritmos de mí, así que me llamaban, les ponía algunos ritmos
"Gimme a beat that sound like Jay-Z"
"Dame un ritmo que suene como Jay-Z"
You know, they dick riders, whatever
Ya sabes, son lameculos, lo que sea
So I'll play them these post-Blueprint beats or whatever and then I'll play my shit
Así que les pongo estos ritmos post-Blueprint o lo que sea y luego pongo mi mierda
I'll be like, "Yo, but I rap too"
Seré como, "Oye, pero también rapeo"
Ayy, I guess they was lookin' at me crazy 'cause you know
Ayy, supongo que me miraban raro porque ya sabes
'Cause I ain't have a jersey on or whatever
Porque no llevaba una camiseta o lo que sea
Everybody out there listen here
Todo el mundo ahí fuera escucha aquí
I played them 'Jesus Walks' and they didn't sign me
Les puse 'Jesus Walks' y no me ficharon
You know what happened, it was some A&R's that fucked with me though
Ya sabes lo que pasó, había algunos A&R's que se llevaban bien conmigo
But then like the heads, it'd be somebody at the company that'll say "nah"
Pero luego como los jefes, sería alguien en la compañía que diría "no"
Like, Dave Lighty fucked with me, my nigga Mel brought me to a bunch of labels
Como, Dave Lighty se llevaba bien conmigo, mi amigo Mel me llevó a un montón de discográficas
Jessica Rivera, man
Jessica Rivera, hombre
I'm not gonna say nothin' to mess my promotion up
No voy a decir nada para estropear mi promoción
Let's just say I ain't get my deal
Digamos simplemente que no conseguí mi trato
The nigga that was behind me, I mean, he wasn't even a nigga
El tío que estaba detrás de mí, quiero decir, ni siquiera era un tío
The person that actually kicked everything off was Joe 3H from Capitol Records
La persona que realmente lo inició todo fue Joe 3H de Capitol Records
He wanted to sign me really bad
Quería ficharme realmente
Dame was like, "Yo, you got a deal with Capitol? Okay, man, just make sure it's not wack"
Dame dijo, "Oye, ¿tienes un trato con Capitol? Vale, hombre, solo asegúrate de que no sea una mierda"
Then one day I just went ahead and played it
Entonces un día simplemente fui y lo puse
I wanted to play some songs, cause you know Cam was in the room, Young Guru, and Dame was in the room
Quería poner algunas canciones, porque ya sabes que Cam estaba en la habitación, Young Guru, y Dame estaba en la habitación
So I played, actually it's a song you'll never hear
Así que puse, en realidad es una canción que nunca escucharás
Well maybe I might use it so, it's called 'Wow'
Bueno, tal vez la use, se llama 'Wow'
I go to Jacob with 25 thou', you go with 25 hundred, wow
Voy a Jacob con 25 mil, tú vas con 2500, wow
I got eleven plaques on my walls right now
Tengo once placas en mis paredes ahora mismo
You got your first gold single, damn, nigga, wow"
Tienes tu primer single de oro, maldita sea, tío, wow"
Like the chorus went like
Como el estribillo iba así
Don't bite that chorus, I might still use it
No muerdas ese estribillo, todavía podría usarlo
So I play that song for him and he's like "oh, shit"
Así que le puse esa canción y él dice "oh, mierda"
"I ain't gonna front, it's kinda hot"
"No voy a mentir, está bastante bien"
Like they still weren't looking at me like a rapper
Como que todavía no me veían como un rapero
And I'm sure Dame figured
Y estoy seguro de que Dame pensó
Like, man, if he do a whole album, if his raps is wack
Como, hombre, si hace un álbum entero, si sus raps son malos
At least we can throw Cam on every song and save the album, you know
Al menos podemos meter a Cam en cada canción y salvar el álbum, ya sabes
So, uh, Dame took me into the hallway
Entonces, uh, Dame me llevó al pasillo
He's like "Yo, man, B, B, you don't want a brick, you don't want a brick"
Dijo "Oye, hombre, B, B, no quieres un ladrillo, no quieres un ladrillo"
"You gotta be under an umbrella or you'll get rained on"
"Tienes que estar bajo un paraguas o te lloverá encima"
I told Hip Hop and Hip Hop was like, "oh, word?"
Le dije a Hip Hop y Hip Hop dijo, "¿oh, en serio?"
Actually, even with that I was still about to take the deal with Capitol
En realidad, incluso con eso todavía estaba a punto de aceptar el trato con Capitol
'Cause it was already on the table and 'cause of my relationship with 3H
Porque ya estaba sobre la mesa y por mi relación con 3H
That, you know, 'cause I told him I was gonna do it, and I'm a man of my word
Eso, ya sabes, porque le dije que iba a hacerlo, y soy un hombre de palabra
I was gonna roll with what I said I was gonna do
Iba a seguir con lo que dije que iba a hacer
Then, you know, I'm not gonna name no names
Entonces, ya sabes, no voy a nombrar a nadie
But people told me, "Oh, he's just a producer rapper"
Pero la gente me decía, "Oh, es solo un rapero productor"
And told 3H that told the heads of the Capitol
Y le dijeron a 3H que le dijera a los jefes de Capitol
And right, the day I'm talking about, I planned out everything I was gonna do, man
Y justo, el día del que estoy hablando, planeé todo lo que iba a hacer, hombre
I had picked out clothes, I already started booking studio sessions
Había elegido ropa, ya había empezado a reservar sesiones de estudio
I started arranging my album, thinking of marketing schemes, man, I was ready to go
Empecé a organizar mi álbum, pensando en estrategias de marketing, hombre, estaba listo para ir
And, and they had Mel call me, they said, "Yo, Capitol pulled on the deal"
Y, y tuvieron a Mel que me llamara, dijeron, "Oye, Capitol se retiró del trato"
And, you know I told them that Roc-A-Fella was interested and
Y, ya sabes que les dije que Roc-A-Fella estaba interesado y
I don't know if they thought that was just something I was saying to gas them up
No sé si pensaron que era solo algo que decía para inflarlos
To try to push the price up or whatever
Para intentar subir el precio o lo que sea
I went up,I called G, I said, "Man, you think we could still get that deal with Roc-A-Fella?"
Subí, llamé a G, dije, "Hombre, ¿crees que todavía podemos conseguir ese trato con Roc-A-Fella?"
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Entonces, ¿no vas a levantar tu copa, no?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Entonces, ¿no vas a levantar tu copa, no?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Entonces, ¿no vas a levantar tu copa, no?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Entonces, ¿no vas a levantar tu copa, no?
(Let's run it, let's run it, let's run it)
(Vamos correr, vamos correr, vamos correr)
Yo, fuck you, Kanye, first and foremost
Yo, foda-se você, Kanye, em primeiro lugar
For making me do this shit, muhfucker
Por me fazer fazer essa merda, filho da puta
Had to throw everybody out the muhfuckin' room
Tive que expulsar todo mundo do maldito quarto
'Cause they don't fuckin'
Porque eles não fodem
I'd like to propose a toast
Gostaria de propor um brinde
I said toast, motherfucker
Eu disse brinde, filho da puta
And I am
E eu sou
(Here's to the Roc)
(Aqui está para o Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
E eles me perguntam, eles me perguntam, eles me perguntam, eu digo a eles
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Aqui está para Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Levante seus copos, seus copos, seus copos para o céu e
(Here's to the Roc)
(Aqui está para o Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol, for the
Esta é a última chamada para álcool, para o
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(Sr. Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Então levante sua bunda da parede
The all around the world Digital Underground Pac
O Digital Underground Pac de todo o mundo
The Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer of the Roc
O Rudolph, a rena de nariz vermelho do Roc
I take my chain, my 15 seconds of fame
Eu pego minha corrente, meus 15 segundos de fama
And come back next year with the whole fucking game
E volto no próximo ano com o jogo todo fodido
Ain't nobody expect Kanye to end up on top
Ninguém esperava que Kanye acabasse no topo
They expected that College Dropout to drop and then flop
Eles esperavam que o College Dropout caísse e fracassasse
Then maybe he stop savin' all the good beats for himself
Então talvez ele pare de guardar todas as boas batidas para si mesmo
Roc-A-Fella's only niggas that helped
Roc-A-Fella são os únicos negros que ajudaram
My money was thinner than Sean Paul's goatee hair
Meu dinheiro era mais fino que o cabelo da barba de Sean Paul
Now Jean Paul Gaultier cologne fill the air, here
Agora o perfume de Jean Paul Gaultier enche o ar, aqui
They say he bougie, he big-headed
Eles dizem que ele é esnobe, ele é cabeça grande
Would you please stop talking about how my dick head is
Você poderia por favor parar de falar sobre como minha cabeça de pau é
Flow infectious, give me 10 seconds
Fluxo infeccioso, me dê 10 segundos
I'll have a buzz bigger than insects in Texas
Eu terei um zumbido maior que insetos no Texas
It's funny how wasn't nobody interested
É engraçado como ninguém estava interessado
'Til the night I almost killed myself in Lexus
Até a noite em que quase me matei em um Lexus
Now I am
Agora eu sou
(Here's to the Roc)
(Aqui está para o Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
E eles me perguntam, eles me perguntam, eles me perguntam, eu digo a eles
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Aqui está para Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Levante seus copos, seus copos, seus copos para o céu e
(Here's to the Roc)
(Aqui está para o Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol, for the
Esta é a última chamada para álcool, para o
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(Sr. Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Então levante sua bunda da parede
Now was Kanye the most overlooked? Yes sir
Agora, Kanye foi o mais negligenciado? Sim senhor
Now is Kanye the most overbooked? Yes sir
Agora, Kanye é o mais sobrecarregado? Sim senhor
Though the fans want the feeling of A Tribe Called Quest
Embora os fãs queiram a sensação de A Tribe Called Quest
But all they got left is this guy called West
Mas tudo o que sobrou é esse cara chamado West
That'll take Freeway, throw him on tracks with Mos Def
Que vai pegar o Freeway, jogá-lo em faixas com Mos Def
When you call him Kwa-li or Kwe-li, I put him on songs with Jay-Z
Quando você o chama de Kwa-li ou Kwe-li, eu o coloco em músicas com Jay-Z
I'm the Gap like Banana Republic and Old Navy, and ooh
Eu sou o Gap como Banana Republic e Old Navy, e ooh
It come out sweeter than old Sadie
Isso sai mais doce que a velha Sadie
Nice as Bun-B when I met him at the Source awards
Legal como Bun-B quando o conheci no Source Awards
Girl he had with him, ass coulda won the horse awards
A garota que ele tinha com ele, a bunda dela poderia ter ganhado os prêmios de cavalo
And I was almost famous, now everybody love Kanye
E eu estava quase famoso, agora todo mundo ama Kanye
I'm almost Raymond
Eu sou quase Raymond
Some say he arrogant. Can y'all blame him?
Alguns dizem que ele é arrogante. Vocês podem culpá-lo?
It was straight embarrassing how y'all played him
Foi totalmente embaraçoso como vocês o trataram
Last year shoppin' my demo, I was tryna shine
No ano passado, comprando minha demo, eu estava tentando brilhar
Every motherfucker told me that I couldn't rhyme
Todo filho da puta me disse que eu não conseguia rimar
Now I could let these dream killers kill my self-esteem
Agora eu poderia deixar esses assassinos de sonhos matar minha autoestima
Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams
Ou usar minha arrogância como o vapor para alimentar meus sonhos
I use it as my gas, so they say that I'm gassed
Eu uso isso como meu gás, então eles dizem que estou cheio de gás
But without it I'd be last, so I ought to laugh
Mas sem isso eu seria o último, então eu deveria rir
So I don't listen to the suits behind the desk no more
Então eu não escuto mais os engravatados atrás da mesa
You niggas wear suits 'cause you can't dress no more
Vocês usam ternos porque não sabem mais se vestir
You can't say shit to Kanye West no more
Você não pode dizer merda para Kanye West mais
I rocked 20,000 people, I was just on tour, nigga
Eu balancei 20.000 pessoas, eu estava apenas em turnê, mano
I'm Kan, the Louis Vuitton Don
Eu sou Kan, o Don da Louis Vuitton
Bought my mom a purse, now she Louis Vuitton Mom
Comprei uma bolsa para minha mãe, agora ela é a mãe da Louis Vuitton
I ain't play the hand I was dealt, I changed my cards
Eu não joguei a mão que me foi dada, eu mudei minhas cartas
I prayed to the skies and I changed my stars
Eu orei para os céus e mudei minhas estrelas
I went to the malls and I balled too hard
Eu fui aos shoppings e joguei duro demais
"Oh my God, is that a black card?"
"Oh meu Deus, é um cartão preto?"
I turned around and replied, "Why yes
Eu me virei e respondi: "Sim
But I prefer the term African American Express"
Mas eu prefiro o termo American Express Africano"
Brains, power, and muscle, like Dame, Puffy, and Russell
Cérebros, poder e músculo, como Dame, Puffy e Russell
Your boy back on his hustle, you know what I've been up to
Seu garoto de volta ao seu jogo, você sabe o que eu tenho feito
Killin' y'all niggas on that lyrical shit
Matando vocês manos nessa merda lírica
Mayonnaise-colored Benz, I push Miracle Whips
Mercedes cor de maionese, eu empurro Whips Milagrosos
And I am
E eu sou
(Here's to the Roc)
(Aqui está para o Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
E eles me perguntam, eles me perguntam, eles me perguntam, eu digo a eles
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Aqui está para Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Levante seus copos, seus copos, seus copos para o céu e
(Here's to the Roc)
(Aqui está para o Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol for my niggas
Esta é a última chamada para álcool para meus manos
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(Sr. Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Então levante sua bunda da parede
So this A&R over at Roc-A-Fella, named Hip Hop
Então este A&R na Roc-A-Fella, chamado Hip Hop
Picked the "Truth" beat for Beanie
Escolheu a batida "Truth" para Beanie
And I was in the session with him, I had my demo with me
E eu estava na sessão com ele, tinha minha demo comigo
You know, like I always do
Você sabe, como eu sempre faço
I played a songs, he's like "Who that spittin'?" I'm like "It's me"
Eu toquei uma música, ele perguntou "Quem está cuspindo?" Eu disse "Sou eu"
He's like, "Oh, okay."
Ele disse, "Ah, ok."
Uh, he started talkin' to me on the phone, going back and forth
Uh, ele começou a falar comigo ao telefone, indo e voltando
Just askin' me to send him beats
Apenas me pedindo para enviar a ele batidas
And I think he's tryna get into managing producers
E eu acho que ele está tentando entrar na gestão de produtores
'Cause he had this other kid named Just Blaze he was messin' with
Porque ele tinha esse outro garoto chamado Just Blaze com quem ele estava mexendo
And um, he was friends with my mentor, No I.D.
E ele era amigo do meu mentor, No I.D.
And No I.D. told him
E No I.D. disse a ele
"Look, man, if you wanna mess with Kanye you gotta tell him that you like the way he rap"
"Olha, cara, se você quer mexer com Kanye, você tem que dizer a ele que gosta do jeito que ele rima"
I was all, I dunno if he was gassin' me or not
Eu estava tipo, eu não sei se ele estava me inflando ou não
But he's like he wanna manage me as a rapper and a producer
Mas ele disse que queria me gerenciar como rapper e produtor
I'm like, oh shit
Eu fiquei tipo, oh merda
I was messin' with, uh, D-Dot also
Eu estava mexendo com, uh, D-Dot também
People were like this, started talking about the ghost production
As pessoas estavam assim, começaram a falar sobre a produção fantasma
But that's how I got in the game
Mas foi assim que entrei no jogo
If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here
Se não fosse por isso, eu não estaria aqui
So you know, after they picked that "Truth" beat
Então você sabe, depois que eles escolheram aquele beat "Truth"
I was figuring I was gonna get some more work
Eu estava pensando que ia conseguir mais trabalho
But shit just wasn't poppin' off like that
Mas as coisas simplesmente não estavam acontecendo assim
I was stayin' in Chicago, I had my own apartment
Eu estava morando em Chicago, tinha meu próprio apartamento
I be doin' like just beats for local acts just to try to keep the lights on
Eu fazia apenas beats para artistas locais apenas para tentar manter as luzes acesas
And then to go out and buy, get a Pelle Pelle off lay-away
E então sair e comprar, pegar um Pelle Pelle de lay-away
Get some Jordans or something or get a TechnoMarine
Pegar alguns Jordans ou algo assim ou pegar um TechnoMarine
That's what we wore back then
Isso é o que usávamos naquela época
I made this one beat where I sped up this Harold Melvin sample
Eu fiz esse beat onde acelerei essa amostra de Harold Melvin
I played it for Hip over the phone
Eu toquei para o Hip pelo telefone
He's like, "Oh, yo that shit is crazy
Ele disse, "Oh, yo essa merda é louca
Jay might want it for this compilation album he doin' called The Dynasty"
Jay pode querer isso para o álbum de compilação que ele está fazendo chamado The Dynasty"
And at that time, like the drums really weren't soundin' right to me
E naquela época, tipo, as baterias realmente não estavam soando bem para mim
So I went and um, I was listening to Dre Chronic 2001 at that time
Então eu fui e, eu estava ouvindo Dre Chronic 2001 naquela época
And really I just, like bit the drums off "Xxplosive"
E realmente eu apenas, tipo mordi as baterias de "Xxplosive"
And put it like with it sped up sample
E coloquei isso com a amostra acelerada
And now it's kind of like my whole style, where it started
E agora é meio que o meu estilo todo, onde começou
When he rapped on "This Can't be Life"
Quando ele cantou em "This Can't be Life"
And that was like, really the first beat of that kind that was on The Dynasty album
E isso foi como, realmente o primeiro beat desse tipo que estava no álbum The Dynasty
I could say that was the the resurgence of the soul sound
Eu poderia dizer que foi a ressurgência do som soul
You know, I got to come in and track the beat
Você sabe, eu tive que entrar e rastrear o beat
And at the time I was still with my other management
E naquela época eu ainda estava com a minha outra gestão
I really wanted to roll with Hip Hop
Eu realmente queria rolar com o Hip Hop
Just I, I just needed some fresh air, you know what I'm sayin'?
Só eu, eu só precisava de um ar fresco, sabe o que eu estou dizendo?
'Cause I, I been there for a while
Porque eu, eu estive lá por um tempo
I appreciate what they did for me but
Eu aprecio o que eles fizeram por mim mas
You know there's a time in every man's life where he gotta make a change
Você sabe que há um momento na vida de todo homem em que ele tem que fazer uma mudança
And try to move up to the next level
E tentar subir para o próximo nível
That day I came and I tracked the beat and I got to meet Jay-Z and he said
Naquele dia eu vim e rastreei o beat e conheci o Jay-Z e ele disse
"Oh, you a real soulful dude"
"Oh, você é um cara realmente cheio de alma"
And he, uh, played the song 'cause he already spit his verse by the time I got to the studio
E ele, uh, tocou a música porque ele já tinha cuspido seu verso até o momento em que cheguei ao estúdio
You know he do it one take
Você sabe que ele faz em uma única tomada
He said tell me what you think of this
Ele disse me diga o que você acha disso
And I heard it, and I was thinking like, man
E eu ouvi, e estava pensando tipo, cara
I really wanted more like of the simple type Jay-Z
Eu realmente queria mais do tipo simples Jay-Z
I ain't want like the, the more introspective, complicated rhy- or the, in my personal opinion
Eu não queria o, o mais introspectivo, complicado rhy- ou o, na minha opinião pessoal
So he asked me, "What you think of it?"
Então ele me perguntou, "O que você acha disso?"
And I was like, "Man, that shit tight," you know what I'm sayin'? What I'ma tell him?
E eu disse, "Cara, essa merda é apertada", sabe o que eu estou dizendo? O que eu vou dizer a ele?
I was on the train, man, you know
Eu estava no trem, cara, sabe
So after that I went back home
Então depois disso eu voltei para casa
And, man I'm, I'm just in Chicago, I'm tryna do my thing
E, cara eu, eu estou apenas em Chicago, estou tentando fazer minha coisa
You know, I got groups, I got acts I'm tryna get on
Você sabe, eu tenho grupos, eu tenho atos que estou tentando colocar
And like wasn't nothin really like poppin' off the way it should have been
E como não estava realmente acontecendo nada do jeito que deveria ter sido
One of my homies that was one of my artists, he got signed
Um dos meus amigos que era um dos meus artistas, ele foi contratado
But it was supposed to really go through my production company
Mas era para realmente passar pela minha produtora
But he ended up going straight with the company
Mas ele acabou indo direto com a empresa
So, like I'm just straight holdin' the phone
Então, tipo eu estou apenas segurando o telefone
Gettin' the bad news that dude was tryna leave my company
Recebendo a má notícia de que o cara estava tentando deixar minha empresa
And I got evicted at the same time
E eu fui despejado ao mesmo tempo
So I went down and tracked the beats from him
Então eu desci e rastreei os beats dele
And I took that money, came back, packed all my shit up in a U-Haul
E peguei esse dinheiro, voltei, empacotei todas as minhas coisas em um U-Haul
Maybe about ten days before I had to actually get out
Talvez cerca de dez dias antes de eu realmente ter que sair
So I ain't have to deal with the landlord, 'cause he's a jerk
Então eu não tive que lidar com o proprietário, porque ele é um idiota
Me and my mother drove to
Eu e minha mãe dirigimos para
Newark, New Jersey, I hadn't even seen my apartment
Newark, New Jersey, eu nem tinha visto meu apartamento
I remember I pulled up, I unpacked all my shit
Lembro que cheguei, desempacotei todas as minhas coisas
You know, we went to IKEA, I bought a bed, I put the bed together myself
Você sabe, fomos à IKEA, comprei uma cama, montei a cama sozinho
I loaded up all my equipment, and the first beat I made was, uh, "Heart of the City"
Carreguei todo o meu equipamento, e o primeiro beat que fiz foi, uh, "Heart of the City"
And Beans was still working on his album at that time
E Beans ainda estava trabalhando em seu álbum naquela época
So I came up there to Baseline, it was Beans' birthday, matter of fact
Então eu subi lá para Baseline, era o aniversário de Beans, na verdade
And I played like seven beats
E eu toquei como sete beats
And, you know I guess he was in the zone, he already had the beats that he wanted
E, você sabe, acho que ele estava na zona, ele já tinha os beats que ele queria
I had did "Nothing Like It" already at that time
Eu já tinha feito "Nothing Like It" naquela época
But then Jay walked in
Mas então Jay entrou
I remember he had a Gucci bucket hat on
Lembro que ele tinha um chapéu de balde Gucci
I remember it like, like it was yesterday
Lembro disso como, como se fosse ontem
And Hip Hop said, "Yo, play that one beat for him"
E Hip Hop disse, "Yo, toque aquele beat para ele"
So I played "Heart of the City"
Então eu toquei "Heart of the City"
And really I made "Heart of the City," I really wanted to give that beat to DMX
E realmente eu fiz "Heart of the City", eu realmente queria dar aquele beat para DMX
Then I played another beat, then I played another beat
Então eu toquei outro beat, então eu toquei outro beat
And I remember that Gucci bucket, he took it and like put it over his face
E lembro daquele balde Gucci, ele pegou e colocou sobre o rosto
And made one of them faces like, ooh
E fez uma daquelas caras como, ooh
Two days later I'm in Baseline and I seen Dame
Dois dias depois eu estou em Baseline e vejo Dame
Dame didn't know who I was and I was like, "Yo, what's up I'm Kanye"
Dame não sabia quem eu era e eu disse, "Oi, tudo bem, eu sou Kanye"
"You that kid that gave all them beats to Jay? Yo, this nigga got classics to your beats, B"
"Você é aquele garoto que deu todos aqueles beats para Jay? Yo, esse cara tem clássicos com seus beats, B"
You know how he talk his shit
Você sabe como ele fala sua merda
I'm like "oh, shit"
Eu estou tipo "oh, merda"
And all this time I'm starstruck, man
E todo esse tempo eu estou deslumbrado, cara
I'm still thinking 'bout, you know I'm picturing these niggas on the show
Eu ainda estou pensando, sabe, eu estou imaginando esses caras no show
The Streets is Watching or whatever
The Streets is Watching ou o que seja
I'm lookin', these were superstars in my eyes
Eu estou olhando, esses eram superstars aos meus olhos
And they still are, you know
E eles ainda são, você sabe
So, Jay came in and he spit all these songs like in one day, and in two days
Então, Jay entrou e cuspiu todas essas músicas em um dia, e em dois dias
I gotta bring up one thing, you know, go back to in story
Eu tenho que trazer uma coisa, sabe, voltar à história
The day I did the 'Can't be Life' beat I tracked
No dia em que fiz a batida 'Can't be Life' eu rastreei
I remember Lenny S, he had some Louis Vuitton sneakers on, he think he fly
Lembro-me de Lenny S, ele tinha uns tênis Louis Vuitton, ele se achava o máximo
And Hip Hop was there, I think Ty-Ty, John Meneilly, a bunch of people
E o Hip Hop estava lá, acho que Ty-Ty, John Meneilly, um monte de gente
I didn't know all these people at the time, they was in the room, and I said, "Yo, Jay I could rap"
Eu não conhecia todas essas pessoas na época, elas estavam na sala, e eu disse, "Ei, Jay, eu posso rimar"
And I spit this rap that said, uh "I'm killin' y'all niggas on that lyrical shit
E eu cuspi essa rima que dizia, uh "Estou matando vocês, caras, nessa merda lírica
Mayonnaise colored Benz, I push miracle whips"
Mercedes cor de maionese, eu empurro milagres"
And I saw his eyes light up when I said that line
E eu vi seus olhos se iluminarem quando eu disse essa linha
But you know the rest, the rap was like real wack and shit, so that's all the response
Mas você sabe o resto, a rima era bem ruim e tal, então essa foi toda a resposta
He said, "Man, that was tight"
Ele disse, "Cara, isso foi demais"
And that was it, you know, I ain't get no deal or nothin'
E foi isso, sabe, eu não consegui nenhum contrato ou nada
Okay, fast forward
Ok, avançando
So, Blueprint, "H to the Izzo," my first hit single
Então, Blueprint, "H to the Izzo," meu primeiro hit single
And I just took that proudly, built relationships with people
E eu apenas aceitei isso orgulhosamente, construí relações com as pessoas
My relationship with Kweli I think was one of the best ones to ever happen to my career as a rapper
Minha relação com Kweli acho que foi uma das melhores coisas que já aconteceu na minha carreira como rapper
Because, you know, of course later he allowed me to go on tour with him
Porque, sabe, claro que mais tarde ele me permitiu ir em turnê com ele
Man, I appre-, I love him for that
Cara, eu agradeço, eu o amo por isso
And at this time, you know I didn't have a deal
E nessa época, sabe, eu não tinha um contrato
I had songs, and I had relationships with all these A&R's
Eu tinha músicas, e tinha relações com todos esses A&R's
'Cause they wanted beats from me, so they'd call me up, I'd play them some beats
Porque eles queriam batidas de mim, então eles me ligavam, eu tocava algumas batidas para eles
"Gimme a beat that sound like Jay-Z"
"Me dê uma batida que soe como Jay-Z"
You know, they dick riders, whatever
Sabe, eles são puxa-sacos, seja lá o que for
So I'll play them these post-Blueprint beats or whatever and then I'll play my shit
Então eu toco para eles essas batidas pós-Blueprint ou o que seja e então eu toco as minhas
I'll be like, "Yo, but I rap too"
Eu fico tipo, "Ei, mas eu também rimo"
Ayy, I guess they was lookin' at me crazy 'cause you know
Ayy, acho que eles me olhavam estranho porque sabe
'Cause I ain't have a jersey on or whatever
Porque eu não estava usando uma camisa de time ou seja lá o que for
Everybody out there listen here
Todo mundo aí fora escute aqui
I played them 'Jesus Walks' and they didn't sign me
Eu toquei 'Jesus Walks' para eles e eles não me contrataram
You know what happened, it was some A&R's that fucked with me though
Você sabe o que aconteceu, tinha alguns A&R's que gostavam de mim
But then like the heads, it'd be somebody at the company that'll say "nah"
Mas então como os chefes, seria alguém na empresa que diria "não"
Like, Dave Lighty fucked with me, my nigga Mel brought me to a bunch of labels
Tipo, Dave Lighty gostava de mim, meu mano Mel me levou a várias gravadoras
Jessica Rivera, man
Jessica Rivera, cara
I'm not gonna say nothin' to mess my promotion up
Eu não vou dizer nada para estragar minha promoção
Let's just say I ain't get my deal
Vamos apenas dizer que eu não consegui meu contrato
The nigga that was behind me, I mean, he wasn't even a nigga
O cara que estava por trás de mim, quero dizer, ele nem era um cara
The person that actually kicked everything off was Joe 3H from Capitol Records
A pessoa que realmente deu início a tudo foi Joe 3H da Capitol Records
He wanted to sign me really bad
Ele queria muito me contratar
Dame was like, "Yo, you got a deal with Capitol? Okay, man, just make sure it's not wack"
Dame estava tipo, "Ei, você tem um contrato com a Capitol? Ok, cara, só se certifique de que não é ruim"
Then one day I just went ahead and played it
Então um dia eu simplesmente fui em frente e toquei
I wanted to play some songs, cause you know Cam was in the room, Young Guru, and Dame was in the room
Eu queria tocar algumas músicas, porque sabe, Cam estava na sala, Young Guru, e Dame estava na sala
So I played, actually it's a song you'll never hear
Então eu toquei, na verdade é uma música que você nunca vai ouvir
Well maybe I might use it so, it's called 'Wow'
Bem, talvez eu possa usá-la, então, é chamada 'Wow'
I go to Jacob with 25 thou', you go with 25 hundred, wow
Eu vou para Jacob com 25 mil, você vai com 2.500, uau
I got eleven plaques on my walls right now
Eu tenho onze placas na minha parede agora
You got your first gold single, damn, nigga, wow"
Você tem seu primeiro single de ouro, caramba, cara, uau"
Like the chorus went like
Como o refrão era tipo
Don't bite that chorus, I might still use it
Não copie esse refrão, eu ainda posso usá-lo
So I play that song for him and he's like "oh, shit"
Então eu toquei essa música para ele e ele ficou tipo "oh, merda"
"I ain't gonna front, it's kinda hot"
"Eu não vou mentir, é meio quente"
Like they still weren't looking at me like a rapper
Tipo, eles ainda não me viam como um rapper
And I'm sure Dame figured
E tenho certeza que Dame pensou
Like, man, if he do a whole album, if his raps is wack
Tipo, cara, se ele fizer um álbum inteiro, se as rimas dele forem ruins
At least we can throw Cam on every song and save the album, you know
Pelo menos podemos colocar Cam em todas as músicas e salvar o álbum, sabe
So, uh, Dame took me into the hallway
Então, uh, Dame me levou para o corredor
He's like "Yo, man, B, B, you don't want a brick, you don't want a brick"
Ele disse "Ei, cara, B, B, você não quer um tijolo, você não quer um tijolo"
"You gotta be under an umbrella or you'll get rained on"
"Você tem que estar sob um guarda-chuva ou vai se molhar"
I told Hip Hop and Hip Hop was like, "oh, word?"
Eu contei para o Hip Hop e o Hip Hop ficou tipo, "oh, sério?"
Actually, even with that I was still about to take the deal with Capitol
Na verdade, mesmo com isso eu ainda estava prestes a fechar o contrato com a Capitol
'Cause it was already on the table and 'cause of my relationship with 3H
Porque já estava na mesa e por causa da minha relação com 3H
That, you know, 'cause I told him I was gonna do it, and I'm a man of my word
Isso, sabe, porque eu disse a ele que ia fazer, e eu sou um homem de palavra
I was gonna roll with what I said I was gonna do
Eu ia seguir com o que eu disse que ia fazer
Then, you know, I'm not gonna name no names
Então, sabe, eu não vou citar nomes
But people told me, "Oh, he's just a producer rapper"
Mas as pessoas me disseram, "Ah, ele é apenas um produtor que rima"
And told 3H that told the heads of the Capitol
E disseram a 3H que contou aos chefes da Capitol
And right, the day I'm talking about, I planned out everything I was gonna do, man
E certo, no dia de que estou falando, eu planejei tudo o que ia fazer, cara
I had picked out clothes, I already started booking studio sessions
Eu tinha escolhido roupas, já tinha começado a reservar sessões de estúdio
I started arranging my album, thinking of marketing schemes, man, I was ready to go
Comecei a organizar meu álbum, pensando em estratégias de marketing, cara, eu estava pronto para ir
And, and they had Mel call me, they said, "Yo, Capitol pulled on the deal"
E, e eles fizeram Mel me ligar, eles disseram, "Ei, a Capitol desistiu do contrato"
And, you know I told them that Roc-A-Fella was interested and
E, sabe, eu disse a eles que a Roc-A-Fella estava interessada e
I don't know if they thought that was just something I was saying to gas them up
Eu não sei se eles pensaram que era apenas algo que eu estava dizendo para inflá-los
To try to push the price up or whatever
Para tentar aumentar o preço ou seja lá o que for
I went up,I called G, I said, "Man, you think we could still get that deal with Roc-A-Fella?"
Eu subi, liguei para G, disse, "Cara, você acha que ainda podemos conseguir aquele contrato com a Roc-A-Fella?"
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Então, você não vai levantar seu copo, não vai?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Então, você não vai levantar seu copo, não vai?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Então, você não vai levantar seu copo, não vai?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Então, você não vai levantar seu copo, não vai?
(Let's run it, let's run it, let's run it)
(Allons-y, allons-y, allons-y)
Yo, fuck you, Kanye, first and foremost
Yo, va te faire foutre, Kanye, en premier lieu
For making me do this shit, muhfucker
Pour m'avoir fait faire cette merde, enfoiré
Had to throw everybody out the muhfuckin' room
J'ai dû virer tout le monde de cette putain de pièce
'Cause they don't fuckin'
Parce qu'ils ne foutent rien
I'd like to propose a toast
J'aimerais porter un toast
I said toast, motherfucker
J'ai dit toast, enfoiré
And I am
Et je suis
(Here's to the Roc)
(Voici à la Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
Et ils me demandent, ils me demandent, ils me demandent, je leur dis
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Voici à Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Levez vos verres, vos verres, vos verres vers le ciel et
(Here's to the Roc)
(Voici à la Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol, for the
C'est le dernier appel pour l'alcool, pour le
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(M. Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Alors bouge ton cul du mur
The all around the world Digital Underground Pac
Le tour du monde Digital Underground Pac
The Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer of the Roc
Le Rudolph le renne au nez rouge de la Roc
I take my chain, my 15 seconds of fame
Je prends ma chaîne, mes 15 secondes de gloire
And come back next year with the whole fucking game
Et je reviens l'année prochaine avec tout le putain de jeu
Ain't nobody expect Kanye to end up on top
Personne ne s'attendait à ce que Kanye finisse en haut
They expected that College Dropout to drop and then flop
Ils s'attendaient à ce que College Dropout tombe et fasse un flop
Then maybe he stop savin' all the good beats for himself
Puis peut-être qu'il arrête de garder toutes les bonnes rythmiques pour lui
Roc-A-Fella's only niggas that helped
Roc-A-Fella's sont les seuls négros qui ont aidé
My money was thinner than Sean Paul's goatee hair
Mon argent était plus mince que les poils de la barbiche de Sean Paul
Now Jean Paul Gaultier cologne fill the air, here
Maintenant le parfum Jean Paul Gaultier emplit l'air, ici
They say he bougie, he big-headed
Ils disent qu'il est snob, qu'il a la grosse tête
Would you please stop talking about how my dick head is
Pourriez-vous s'il vous plaît arrêter de parler de la taille de ma bite
Flow infectious, give me 10 seconds
Flow infectieux, donnez-moi 10 secondes
I'll have a buzz bigger than insects in Texas
J'aurai un buzz plus grand que les insectes au Texas
It's funny how wasn't nobody interested
C'est drôle comment personne n'était intéressé
'Til the night I almost killed myself in Lexus
Jusqu'à la nuit où j'ai failli me tuer dans une Lexus
Now I am
Maintenant je suis
(Here's to the Roc)
(Voici à la Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
Et ils me demandent, ils me demandent, ils me demandent, je leur dis
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Voici à Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Levez vos verres, vos verres, vos verres vers le ciel et
(Here's to the Roc)
(Voici à la Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol, for the
C'est le dernier appel pour l'alcool, pour le
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(M. Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Alors bouge ton cul du mur
Now was Kanye the most overlooked? Yes sir
Maintenant, était-ce que Kanye était le plus négligé ? Oui monsieur
Now is Kanye the most overbooked? Yes sir
Maintenant, est-ce que Kanye est le plus surbooké ? Oui monsieur
Though the fans want the feeling of A Tribe Called Quest
Bien que les fans veulent le feeling d'A Tribe Called Quest
But all they got left is this guy called West
Mais tout ce qu'ils ont laissé, c'est ce gars appelé West
That'll take Freeway, throw him on tracks with Mos Def
Qui prendra Freeway, le mettra sur des morceaux avec Mos Def
When you call him Kwa-li or Kwe-li, I put him on songs with Jay-Z
Quand vous l'appelez Kwa-li ou Kwe-li, je le mets sur des chansons avec Jay-Z
I'm the Gap like Banana Republic and Old Navy, and ooh
Je suis le Gap comme Banana Republic et Old Navy, et ooh
It come out sweeter than old Sadie
Ça sort plus doux que la vieille Sadie
Nice as Bun-B when I met him at the Source awards
Sympa comme Bun-B quand je l'ai rencontré aux Source awards
Girl he had with him, ass coulda won the horse awards
La fille qu'il avait avec lui, son cul aurait pu gagner les horse awards
And I was almost famous, now everybody love Kanye
Et j'étais presque célèbre, maintenant tout le monde aime Kanye
I'm almost Raymond
Je suis presque Raymond
Some say he arrogant. Can y'all blame him?
Certains disent qu'il est arrogant. Pouvez-vous lui en vouloir ?
It was straight embarrassing how y'all played him
C'était carrément embarrassant comment vous l'avez joué
Last year shoppin' my demo, I was tryna shine
L'année dernière, en faisant mon démo, j'essayais de briller
Every motherfucker told me that I couldn't rhyme
Chaque enfoiré me disait que je ne pouvais pas rimer
Now I could let these dream killers kill my self-esteem
Maintenant, je pourrais laisser ces tueurs de rêves tuer mon estime de moi
Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams
Ou utiliser mon arrogance comme la vapeur pour alimenter mes rêves
I use it as my gas, so they say that I'm gassed
Je l'utilise comme mon gaz, alors ils disent que je suis gonflé
But without it I'd be last, so I ought to laugh
Mais sans ça, je serais le dernier, alors je devrais rire
So I don't listen to the suits behind the desk no more
Alors je n'écoute plus les costards derrière le bureau
You niggas wear suits 'cause you can't dress no more
Vous portez des costumes parce que vous ne savez plus vous habiller
You can't say shit to Kanye West no more
Vous ne pouvez plus rien dire à Kanye West
I rocked 20,000 people, I was just on tour, nigga
J'ai fait bouger 20 000 personnes, j'étais juste en tournée, nigga
I'm Kan, the Louis Vuitton Don
Je suis Kan, le Don de Louis Vuitton
Bought my mom a purse, now she Louis Vuitton Mom
J'ai acheté un sac à ma mère, maintenant elle est la Maman de Louis Vuitton
I ain't play the hand I was dealt, I changed my cards
Je n'ai pas joué la main qui m'a été donnée, j'ai changé mes cartes
I prayed to the skies and I changed my stars
J'ai prié les cieux et j'ai changé mes étoiles
I went to the malls and I balled too hard
Je suis allé dans les centres commerciaux et j'ai trop dépensé
"Oh my God, is that a black card?"
"Oh mon Dieu, est-ce une carte noire ?"
I turned around and replied, "Why yes
Je me suis retourné et j'ai répondu, "Pourquoi oui
But I prefer the term African American Express"
Mais je préfère le terme American Express Africain"
Brains, power, and muscle, like Dame, Puffy, and Russell
Cerveaux, pouvoir, et muscle, comme Dame, Puffy, et Russell
Your boy back on his hustle, you know what I've been up to
Ton garçon est de retour sur son hustle, tu sais ce que j'ai fait
Killin' y'all niggas on that lyrical shit
Je vous tue tous sur cette merde lyrique
Mayonnaise-colored Benz, I push Miracle Whips
Benz couleur mayonnaise, je pousse des Miracle Whips
And I am
Et je suis
(Here's to the Roc)
(Voici à la Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
Et ils me demandent, ils me demandent, ils me demandent, je leur dis
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Voici à Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Levez vos verres, vos verres, vos verres vers le ciel et
(Here's to the Roc)
(Voici à la Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol for my niggas
C'est le dernier appel pour l'alcool pour mes négros
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(M. Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Alors bouge ton cul du mur
So this A&R over at Roc-A-Fella, named Hip Hop
Donc ce A&R chez Roc-A-Fella, nommé Hip Hop
Picked the "Truth" beat for Beanie
A choisi le beat "Truth" pour Beanie
And I was in the session with him, I had my demo with me
Et j'étais en session avec lui, j'avais ma démo avec moi
You know, like I always do
Tu sais, comme je le fais toujours
I played a songs, he's like "Who that spittin'?" I'm like "It's me"
J'ai joué des chansons, il est comme "Qui crache ça ?" Je suis comme "C'est moi"
He's like, "Oh, okay."
Il est comme, "Oh, d'accord."
Uh, he started talkin' to me on the phone, going back and forth
Euh, il a commencé à me parler au téléphone, à faire des allers-retours
Just askin' me to send him beats
Il me demandait juste de lui envoyer des beats
And I think he's tryna get into managing producers
Et je pense qu'il essaye de se lancer dans le management de producteurs
'Cause he had this other kid named Just Blaze he was messin' with
Parce qu'il avait ce autre gamin nommé Just Blaze avec qui il s'amusait
And um, he was friends with my mentor, No I.D.
Et euh, il était ami avec mon mentor, No I.D.
And No I.D. told him
Et No I.D. lui a dit
"Look, man, if you wanna mess with Kanye you gotta tell him that you like the way he rap"
"Regarde, mec, si tu veux t'occuper de Kanye, tu dois lui dire que tu aimes sa façon de rapper"
I was all, I dunno if he was gassin' me or not
J'étais tout, je ne sais pas s'il me gonflait ou pas
But he's like he wanna manage me as a rapper and a producer
Mais il a dit qu'il voulait me manager en tant que rappeur et producteur
I'm like, oh shit
Je suis comme, oh merde
I was messin' with, uh, D-Dot also
Je m'amusais avec, euh, D-Dot aussi
People were like this, started talking about the ghost production
Les gens étaient comme ça, ont commencé à parler de la production fantôme.
But that's how I got in the game
Mais c'est comme ça que je suis entré dans le jeu
If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here
Si ce n'était pas pour ça, je ne serais pas ici
So you know, after they picked that "Truth" beat
Alors tu sais, après qu'ils aient choisi ce beat "Truth"
I was figuring I was gonna get some more work
Je pensais que j'allais avoir plus de travail
But shit just wasn't poppin' off like that
Mais les choses ne se passaient pas comme ça
I was stayin' in Chicago, I had my own apartment
Je restais à Chicago, j'avais mon propre appartement
I be doin' like just beats for local acts just to try to keep the lights on
Je faisais juste des beats pour des artistes locaux pour essayer de garder les lumières allumées
And then to go out and buy, get a Pelle Pelle off lay-away
Et puis pour sortir et acheter, obtenir un Pelle Pelle en lay-away
Get some Jordans or something or get a TechnoMarine
Obtenir des Jordans ou quelque chose ou obtenir une TechnoMarine
That's what we wore back then
C'est ce que nous portions à l'époque
I made this one beat where I sped up this Harold Melvin sample
J'ai fait ce beat où j'ai accéléré cet échantillon de Harold Melvin
I played it for Hip over the phone
Je l'ai joué pour Hip au téléphone
He's like, "Oh, yo that shit is crazy
Il a dit, "Oh, yo ce truc est fou
Jay might want it for this compilation album he doin' called The Dynasty"
Jay pourrait le vouloir pour cet album de compilation qu'il fait appelé The Dynasty"
And at that time, like the drums really weren't soundin' right to me
Et à ce moment-là, comme les tambours ne sonnaient pas bien pour moi
So I went and um, I was listening to Dre Chronic 2001 at that time
Alors je suis allé et euh, j'écoutais Dre Chronic 2001 à ce moment-là
And really I just, like bit the drums off "Xxplosive"
Et vraiment j'ai juste, comme mordu les tambours de "Xxplosive"
And put it like with it sped up sample
Et je l'ai mis avec cet échantillon accéléré
And now it's kind of like my whole style, where it started
Et maintenant c'est un peu comme mon style entier, où ça a commencé
When he rapped on "This Can't be Life"
Quand il a rappé sur "This Can't be Life"
And that was like, really the first beat of that kind that was on The Dynasty album
Et c'était comme, vraiment le premier beat de ce genre qui était sur l'album The Dynasty
I could say that was the the resurgence of the soul sound
Je pourrais dire que c'était la résurgence du son soul
You know, I got to come in and track the beat
Tu sais, j'ai dû venir et suivre le beat
And at the time I was still with my other management
Et à ce moment-là, j'étais encore avec mon autre management
I really wanted to roll with Hip Hop
Je voulais vraiment rouler avec Hip Hop
Just I, I just needed some fresh air, you know what I'm sayin'?
Juste moi, j'avais juste besoin d'un peu d'air frais, tu sais ce que je veux dire ?
'Cause I, I been there for a while
Parce que moi, j'y étais depuis un moment
I appreciate what they did for me but
J'apprécie ce qu'ils ont fait pour moi mais
You know there's a time in every man's life where he gotta make a change
Tu sais qu'il y a un moment dans la vie de chaque homme où il doit faire un changement
And try to move up to the next level
Et essayer de monter au niveau suivant
That day I came and I tracked the beat and I got to meet Jay-Z and he said
Ce jour-là, je suis venu et j'ai suivi le beat et j'ai rencontré Jay-Z et il a dit
"Oh, you a real soulful dude"
"Oh, tu es un vrai mec soulful"
And he, uh, played the song 'cause he already spit his verse by the time I got to the studio
Et il, euh, a joué la chanson parce qu'il avait déjà craché son verset avant que j'arrive au studio
You know he do it one take
Tu sais qu'il le fait en une prise
He said tell me what you think of this
Il m'a dit de lui dire ce que je pensais de ça
And I heard it, and I was thinking like, man
Et je l'ai entendu, et je pensais comme, mec
I really wanted more like of the simple type Jay-Z
Je voulais vraiment plus du simple type Jay-Z
I ain't want like the, the more introspective, complicated rhy- or the, in my personal opinion
Je ne voulais pas du, du plus introspectif, des rimes compliquées- ou du, à mon avis personnel
So he asked me, "What you think of it?"
Alors il m'a demandé, "Qu'est-ce que tu en penses ?"
And I was like, "Man, that shit tight," you know what I'm sayin'? What I'ma tell him?
Et j'étais comme, "Mec, ce truc est serré," tu sais ce que je vais lui dire ?
I was on the train, man, you know
J'étais dans le train, mec, tu sais
So after that I went back home
Alors après ça, je suis rentré chez moi
And, man I'm, I'm just in Chicago, I'm tryna do my thing
Et, mec, je suis juste à Chicago, j'essaie de faire mon truc
You know, I got groups, I got acts I'm tryna get on
Tu sais, j'ai des groupes, j'ai des actes que j'essaie de faire monter
And like wasn't nothin really like poppin' off the way it should have been
Et comme il n'y avait rien qui décollait vraiment comme ça aurait dû
One of my homies that was one of my artists, he got signed
Un de mes potes qui était un de mes artistes, il a signé
But it was supposed to really go through my production company
Mais c'était censé vraiment passer par ma compagnie de production
But he ended up going straight with the company
Mais il a fini par aller directement avec la compagnie
So, like I'm just straight holdin' the phone
Alors, comme je suis juste là à tenir le téléphone
Gettin' the bad news that dude was tryna leave my company
En recevant la mauvaise nouvelle que le mec essayait de quitter ma compagnie
And I got evicted at the same time
Et j'ai été expulsé en même temps
So I went down and tracked the beats from him
Alors je suis descendu et j'ai suivi les beats pour lui
And I took that money, came back, packed all my shit up in a U-Haul
Et j'ai pris cet argent, je suis revenu, j'ai tout emballé dans un U-Haul
Maybe about ten days before I had to actually get out
Peut-être environ dix jours avant que je doive vraiment partir
So I ain't have to deal with the landlord, 'cause he's a jerk
Alors je n'ai pas eu à faire face au propriétaire, parce qu'il est un connard
Me and my mother drove to
Moi et ma mère sommes allés à
Newark, New Jersey, I hadn't even seen my apartment
Newark, New Jersey, je n'avais même pas vu mon appartement
I remember I pulled up, I unpacked all my shit
Je me souviens que je suis arrivé, j'ai déballé toutes mes affaires
You know, we went to IKEA, I bought a bed, I put the bed together myself
Tu sais, nous sommes allés à IKEA, j'ai acheté un lit, j'ai monté le lit moi-même
I loaded up all my equipment, and the first beat I made was, uh, "Heart of the City"
J'ai chargé tout mon matériel, et le premier beat que j'ai fait était, euh, "Heart of the City"
And Beans was still working on his album at that time
Et Beans travaillait encore sur son album à ce moment-là
So I came up there to Baseline, it was Beans' birthday, matter of fact
Alors je suis monté là-bas à Baseline, c'était l'anniversaire de Beans, en fait
And I played like seven beats
Et j'ai joué comme sept beats
And, you know I guess he was in the zone, he already had the beats that he wanted
Et, tu sais je suppose qu'il était dans la zone, il avait déjà les beats qu'il voulait
I had did "Nothing Like It" already at that time
J'avais déjà fait "Nothing Like It" à ce moment-là
But then Jay walked in
Mais puis Jay est entré
I remember he had a Gucci bucket hat on
Je me souviens qu'il avait un seau Gucci sur la tête
I remember it like, like it was yesterday
Je m'en souviens comme si c'était hier
And Hip Hop said, "Yo, play that one beat for him"
Et Hip Hop a dit, "Yo, joue ce beat pour lui"
So I played "Heart of the City"
Alors j'ai joué "Heart of the City"
And really I made "Heart of the City," I really wanted to give that beat to DMX
Et vraiment j'ai fait "Heart of the City", je voulais vraiment donner ce beat à DMX
Then I played another beat, then I played another beat
Puis j'ai joué un autre beat, puis j'ai joué un autre beat
And I remember that Gucci bucket, he took it and like put it over his face
Et je me souviens de ce seau Gucci, il l'a pris et l'a mis sur son visage
And made one of them faces like, ooh
Et a fait une de ces têtes comme, ooh
Two days later I'm in Baseline and I seen Dame
Deux jours plus tard, je suis à Baseline et je vois Dame
Dame didn't know who I was and I was like, "Yo, what's up I'm Kanye"
Dame ne savait pas qui j'étais et j'étais comme, "Yo, quoi de neuf je suis Kanye"
"You that kid that gave all them beats to Jay? Yo, this nigga got classics to your beats, B"
"Tu es ce gamin qui a donné tous ces beats à Jay ? Yo, ce mec a des classiques sur tes beats, B"
You know how he talk his shit
Tu sais comment il parle de sa merde
I'm like "oh, shit"
Je suis comme "oh, merde"
And all this time I'm starstruck, man
Et tout ce temps je suis étoilé, mec
I'm still thinking 'bout, you know I'm picturing these niggas on the show
Je pense encore à, tu sais je les imagine sur le show
The Streets is Watching or whatever
The Streets is Watching ou quoi que ce soit
I'm lookin', these were superstars in my eyes
Je regarde, c'étaient des superstars à mes yeux
And they still are, you know
Et ils le sont toujours, tu sais
So, Jay came in and he spit all these songs like in one day, and in two days
Alors, Jay est entré et il a craché toutes ces chansons en un jour, et en deux jours
I gotta bring up one thing, you know, go back to in story
Je dois mentionner une chose, tu sais, revenir à l'histoire
The day I did the 'Can't be Life' beat I tracked
Le jour où j'ai fait le beat de 'Can't be Life' que j'ai suivi
I remember Lenny S, he had some Louis Vuitton sneakers on, he think he fly
Je me souviens de Lenny S, il avait des baskets Louis Vuitton, il se croyait cool
And Hip Hop was there, I think Ty-Ty, John Meneilly, a bunch of people
Et Hip Hop était là, je pense Ty-Ty, John Meneilly, un tas de gens
I didn't know all these people at the time, they was in the room, and I said, "Yo, Jay I could rap"
Je ne connaissais pas toutes ces personnes à l'époque, elles étaient dans la pièce, et j'ai dit, "Yo, Jay je peux rapper"
And I spit this rap that said, uh "I'm killin' y'all niggas on that lyrical shit
Et j'ai craché ce rap qui disait, euh "Je vous tue tous sur ce truc lyrique
Mayonnaise colored Benz, I push miracle whips"
Mercedes couleur mayonnaise, je pousse des miracles"
And I saw his eyes light up when I said that line
Et j'ai vu ses yeux s'illuminer quand j'ai dit cette ligne
But you know the rest, the rap was like real wack and shit, so that's all the response
Mais tu connais la suite, le rap était vraiment nul et merdique, donc c'est toute la réponse
He said, "Man, that was tight"
Il a dit, "Mec, c'était serré"
And that was it, you know, I ain't get no deal or nothin'
Et c'était tout, tu sais, je n'ai pas eu de contrat ou quoi que ce soit
Okay, fast forward
D'accord, avançons rapidement
So, Blueprint, "H to the Izzo," my first hit single
Alors, Blueprint, "H to the Izzo," mon premier single à succès
And I just took that proudly, built relationships with people
Et j'ai juste pris ça fièrement, construit des relations avec les gens
My relationship with Kweli I think was one of the best ones to ever happen to my career as a rapper
Ma relation avec Kweli je pense était l'une des meilleures choses qui soit jamais arrivée à ma carrière de rappeur
Because, you know, of course later he allowed me to go on tour with him
Parce que, tu sais, bien sûr plus tard il m'a permis de partir en tournée avec lui
Man, I appre-, I love him for that
Mec, je l'apprécie, je l'aime pour ça
And at this time, you know I didn't have a deal
Et à cette époque, tu sais je n'avais pas de contrat
I had songs, and I had relationships with all these A&R's
J'avais des chansons, et j'avais des relations avec tous ces A&R
'Cause they wanted beats from me, so they'd call me up, I'd play them some beats
Parce qu'ils voulaient des beats de moi, alors ils m'appelaient, je leur jouais quelques beats
"Gimme a beat that sound like Jay-Z"
"Donne-moi un beat qui ressemble à Jay-Z"
You know, they dick riders, whatever
Tu sais, ils sont des suiveurs, peu importe
So I'll play them these post-Blueprint beats or whatever and then I'll play my shit
Alors je leur joue ces beats post-Blueprint ou quoi et puis je joue mon truc
I'll be like, "Yo, but I rap too"
Je serai comme, "Yo, mais je rappe aussi"
Ayy, I guess they was lookin' at me crazy 'cause you know
Ayy, je suppose qu'ils me regardaient bizarrement parce que tu sais
'Cause I ain't have a jersey on or whatever
Parce que je n'avais pas de maillot ou quoi que ce soit
Everybody out there listen here
Tout le monde là-bas écoute ici
I played them 'Jesus Walks' and they didn't sign me
Je leur ai joué 'Jesus Walks' et ils ne m'ont pas signé
You know what happened, it was some A&R's that fucked with me though
Tu sais ce qui s'est passé, il y avait des A&R qui m'ont soutenu
But then like the heads, it'd be somebody at the company that'll say "nah"
Mais ensuite comme les chefs, il y aurait quelqu'un à la compagnie qui dirait "non"
Like, Dave Lighty fucked with me, my nigga Mel brought me to a bunch of labels
Comme, Dave Lighty m'a soutenu, mon pote Mel m'a amené à un tas de labels
Jessica Rivera, man
Jessica Rivera, mec
I'm not gonna say nothin' to mess my promotion up
Je ne vais rien dire pour ne pas gâcher ma promotion
Let's just say I ain't get my deal
Disons simplement que je n'ai pas eu mon contrat
The nigga that was behind me, I mean, he wasn't even a nigga
Le mec qui était derrière moi, je veux dire, ce n'était même pas un mec
The person that actually kicked everything off was Joe 3H from Capitol Records
La personne qui a vraiment tout déclenché était Joe 3H de Capitol Records
He wanted to sign me really bad
Il voulait vraiment me signer
Dame was like, "Yo, you got a deal with Capitol? Okay, man, just make sure it's not wack"
Dame était comme, "Yo, tu as un contrat avec Capitol? D'accord, mec, assure-toi juste que ce n'est pas nul"
Then one day I just went ahead and played it
Puis un jour je suis allé de l'avant et je l'ai joué
I wanted to play some songs, cause you know Cam was in the room, Young Guru, and Dame was in the room
Je voulais jouer quelques chansons, parce que tu sais Cam était dans la pièce, Young Guru, et Dame était dans la pièce
So I played, actually it's a song you'll never hear
Alors j'ai joué, en fait c'est une chanson que tu n'entendras jamais
Well maybe I might use it so, it's called 'Wow'
Eh bien peut-être que je pourrais l'utiliser alors, elle s'appelle 'Wow'
I go to Jacob with 25 thou', you go with 25 hundred, wow
Je vais chez Jacob avec 25 mille, tu y vas avec 25 cents, wow
I got eleven plaques on my walls right now
J'ai onze plaques sur mes murs en ce moment
You got your first gold single, damn, nigga, wow"
Tu as ton premier single en or, putain, mec, wow"
Like the chorus went like
Comme le refrain allait comme
Don't bite that chorus, I might still use it
Ne mords pas ce refrain, je pourrais encore l'utiliser
So I play that song for him and he's like "oh, shit"
Alors je joue cette chanson pour lui et il est comme "oh, merde"
"I ain't gonna front, it's kinda hot"
"Je ne vais pas mentir, c'est plutôt chaud"
Like they still weren't looking at me like a rapper
Comme ils ne me regardaient toujours pas comme un rappeur
And I'm sure Dame figured
Et je suis sûr que Dame a pensé
Like, man, if he do a whole album, if his raps is wack
Comme, mec, s'il fait un album entier, si ses raps sont nuls
At least we can throw Cam on every song and save the album, you know
Au moins on peut mettre Cam sur chaque chanson et sauver l'album, tu sais
So, uh, Dame took me into the hallway
Alors, euh, Dame m'a emmené dans le couloir
He's like "Yo, man, B, B, you don't want a brick, you don't want a brick"
Il est comme "Yo, mec, B, B, tu ne veux pas d'un échec, tu ne veux pas d'un échec"
"You gotta be under an umbrella or you'll get rained on"
"Tu dois être sous un parapluie ou tu seras mouillé"
I told Hip Hop and Hip Hop was like, "oh, word?"
J'ai dit à Hip Hop et Hip Hop était comme, "oh, vraiment?"
Actually, even with that I was still about to take the deal with Capitol
En fait, même avec ça j'étais encore sur le point de prendre le contrat avec Capitol
'Cause it was already on the table and 'cause of my relationship with 3H
Parce qu'il était déjà sur la table et à cause de ma relation avec 3H
That, you know, 'cause I told him I was gonna do it, and I'm a man of my word
Ça, tu sais, parce que je lui avais dit que j'allais le faire, et je suis un homme de parole
I was gonna roll with what I said I was gonna do
J'allais faire ce que j'avais dit que j'allais faire
Then, you know, I'm not gonna name no names
Puis, tu sais, je ne vais pas nommer de noms
But people told me, "Oh, he's just a producer rapper"
Mais des gens m'ont dit, "Oh, c'est juste un rappeur producteur"
And told 3H that told the heads of the Capitol
Et ont dit à 3H qui a dit aux chefs de Capitol
And right, the day I'm talking about, I planned out everything I was gonna do, man
Et juste, le jour dont je parle, j'avais tout prévu ce que j'allais faire, mec
I had picked out clothes, I already started booking studio sessions
J'avais choisi des vêtements, j'avais déjà commencé à réserver des sessions en studio
I started arranging my album, thinking of marketing schemes, man, I was ready to go
J'ai commencé à organiser mon album, à penser à des stratégies de marketing, mec, j'étais prêt à y aller
And, and they had Mel call me, they said, "Yo, Capitol pulled on the deal"
Et, et ils ont fait appeler Mel, ils ont dit, "Yo, Capitol a retiré l'offre"
And, you know I told them that Roc-A-Fella was interested and
Et, tu sais j'ai dit qu'ils savaient que Roc-A-Fella était intéressé et
I don't know if they thought that was just something I was saying to gas them up
Je ne sais pas s'ils pensaient que c'était juste quelque chose que je disais pour les exciter
To try to push the price up or whatever
Pour essayer de faire monter le prix ou quoi que ce soit
I went up,I called G, I said, "Man, you think we could still get that deal with Roc-A-Fella?"
Je suis monté, j'ai appelé G, j'ai dit, "Mec, tu penses qu'on pourrait toujours avoir ce contrat avec Roc-A-Fella?"
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Alors ne lèveras-tu pas ton verre, ne le feras-tu pas?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Alors ne lèveras-tu pas ton verre, ne le feras-tu pas?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Alors ne lèveras-tu pas ton verre, ne le feras-tu pas?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Alors ne lèveras-tu pas ton verre, ne le feras-tu pas?
(Let's run it, let's run it, let's run it)
(Lass es laufen, lass es laufen, lass es laufen)
Yo, fuck you, Kanye, first and foremost
Yo, fick dich, Kanye, zuallererst
For making me do this shit, muhfucker
Dafür, dass du mich diesen Scheiß machen lässt, Arschloch
Had to throw everybody out the muhfuckin' room
Musste alle aus dem verdammten Raum werfen
'Cause they don't fuckin'
Weil sie nicht verdammt noch mal
I'd like to propose a toast
Ich möchte einen Toast aussprechen
I said toast, motherfucker
Ich sagte Toast, Arschloch
And I am
Und ich bin
(Here's to the Roc)
(Hier ist das Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
Und sie fragen mich, sie fragen mich, sie fragen mich, ich sage ihnen
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Hier ist Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Erhebt eure Gläser, eure Gläser, eure Gläser zum Himmel und
(Here's to the Roc)
(Hier ist das Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol, for the
Das ist der letzte Aufruf für Alkohol, für den
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(Herr Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Also steh auf von der Wand
The all around the world Digital Underground Pac
Der Digital Underground Pac aus aller Welt
The Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer of the Roc
Das Rudolf, das rotnasige Rentier des Roc
I take my chain, my 15 seconds of fame
Ich nehme meine Kette, meine 15 Sekunden Ruhm
And come back next year with the whole fucking game
Und komme nächstes Jahr mit dem ganzen verdammten Spiel zurück
Ain't nobody expect Kanye to end up on top
Niemand hat erwartet, dass Kanye ganz oben landet
They expected that College Dropout to drop and then flop
Sie erwarteten, dass das College Dropout fällt und dann floppt
Then maybe he stop savin' all the good beats for himself
Dann hört er vielleicht auf, alle guten Beats für sich selbst zu sparen
Roc-A-Fella's only niggas that helped
Roc-A-Fella's sind die einzigen Niggas, die geholfen haben
My money was thinner than Sean Paul's goatee hair
Mein Geld war dünner als Sean Pauls Ziegenbart
Now Jean Paul Gaultier cologne fill the air, here
Jetzt füllt Jean Paul Gaultier Parfüm die Luft, hier
They say he bougie, he big-headed
Sie sagen, er ist versnobt, er ist großköpfig
Would you please stop talking about how my dick head is
Könntest du bitte aufhören, darüber zu reden, wie mein Schwanzkopf ist
Flow infectious, give me 10 seconds
Flow ansteckend, gib mir 10 Sekunden
I'll have a buzz bigger than insects in Texas
Ich werde einen größeren Buzz haben als Insekten in Texas
It's funny how wasn't nobody interested
Es ist lustig, wie niemand interessiert war
'Til the night I almost killed myself in Lexus
Bis zu der Nacht, in der ich mich fast in einem Lexus umgebracht habe
Now I am
Jetzt bin ich
(Here's to the Roc)
(Hier ist das Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
Und sie fragen mich, sie fragen mich, sie fragen mich, ich sage ihnen
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Hier ist Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Erhebt eure Gläser, eure Gläser, eure Gläser zum Himmel und
(Here's to the Roc)
(Hier ist das Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol, for the
Das ist der letzte Aufruf für Alkohol, für den
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(Herr Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Also steh auf von der Wand
Now was Kanye the most overlooked? Yes sir
War Kanye der am meisten übersehene? Ja, Sir
Now is Kanye the most overbooked? Yes sir
Ist Kanye der am meisten überbuchte? Ja, Sir
Though the fans want the feeling of A Tribe Called Quest
Obwohl die Fans das Gefühl von A Tribe Called Quest wollen
But all they got left is this guy called West
Aber alles, was sie noch haben, ist dieser Typ namens West
That'll take Freeway, throw him on tracks with Mos Def
Der Freeway nehmen wird, ihn auf Tracks mit Mos Def werfen wird
When you call him Kwa-li or Kwe-li, I put him on songs with Jay-Z
Wenn du ihn Kwa-li oder Kwe-li nennst, setze ich ihn auf Songs mit Jay-Z
I'm the Gap like Banana Republic and Old Navy, and ooh
Ich bin die Lücke wie Banana Republic und Old Navy, und ooh
It come out sweeter than old Sadie
Es kommt süßer heraus als die alte Sadie
Nice as Bun-B when I met him at the Source awards
Nett wie Bun-B, als ich ihn bei den Source Awards getroffen habe
Girl he had with him, ass coulda won the horse awards
Das Mädchen, das er bei sich hatte, hätte den Pferdepreis gewinnen können
And I was almost famous, now everybody love Kanye
Und ich war fast berühmt, jetzt lieben alle Kanye
I'm almost Raymond
Ich bin fast Raymond
Some say he arrogant. Can y'all blame him?
Einige sagen, er sei arrogant. Könnt ihr ihm das vorwerfen?
It was straight embarrassing how y'all played him
Es war geradezu peinlich, wie ihr ihn behandelt habt
Last year shoppin' my demo, I was tryna shine
Letztes Jahr habe ich mein Demo eingekauft, ich wollte glänzen
Every motherfucker told me that I couldn't rhyme
Jeder Arschloch hat mir gesagt, dass ich nicht reimen kann
Now I could let these dream killers kill my self-esteem
Jetzt könnte ich diese Traumkiller meinen Selbstwertgefühl töten lassen
Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams
Oder meine Arroganz als Dampf verwenden, um meine Träume anzutreiben
I use it as my gas, so they say that I'm gassed
Ich benutze es als mein Gas, also sagen sie, dass ich aufgeblasen bin
But without it I'd be last, so I ought to laugh
Aber ohne es wäre ich der Letzte, also sollte ich lachen
So I don't listen to the suits behind the desk no more
Also höre ich nicht mehr auf die Anzüge hinter dem Schreibtisch
You niggas wear suits 'cause you can't dress no more
Ihr Niggas tragt Anzüge, weil ihr euch nicht mehr anziehen könnt
You can't say shit to Kanye West no more
Ihr könnt Kanye West nichts mehr sagen
I rocked 20,000 people, I was just on tour, nigga
Ich habe 20.000 Menschen gerockt, ich war gerade auf Tour, Nigga
I'm Kan, the Louis Vuitton Don
Ich bin Kan, der Louis Vuitton Don
Bought my mom a purse, now she Louis Vuitton Mom
Habe meiner Mutter eine Handtasche gekauft, jetzt ist sie Louis Vuitton Mom
I ain't play the hand I was dealt, I changed my cards
Ich habe nicht die Hand gespielt, die mir ausgeteilt wurde, ich habe meine Karten gewechselt
I prayed to the skies and I changed my stars
Ich betete zum Himmel und ich änderte meine Sterne
I went to the malls and I balled too hard
Ich ging in die Einkaufszentren und ich spielte zu hart
"Oh my God, is that a black card?"
"Oh mein Gott, ist das eine schwarze Karte?"
I turned around and replied, "Why yes
Ich drehte mich um und antwortete: "Ja
But I prefer the term African American Express"
Aber ich bevorzuge den Begriff African American Express"
Brains, power, and muscle, like Dame, Puffy, and Russell
Gehirn, Macht und Muskeln, wie Dame, Puffy und Russell
Your boy back on his hustle, you know what I've been up to
Dein Junge ist wieder auf seinem Hustle, du weißt, was ich gemacht habe
Killin' y'all niggas on that lyrical shit
Ich töte euch Niggas auf diesem lyrischen Scheiß
Mayonnaise-colored Benz, I push Miracle Whips
Mayonnaise-farbener Benz, ich fahre Miracle Whips
And I am
Und ich bin
(Here's to the Roc)
(Hier ist das Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
Und sie fragen mich, sie fragen mich, sie fragen mich, ich sage ihnen
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Hier ist Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Erhebt eure Gläser, eure Gläser, eure Gläser zum Himmel und
(Here's to the Roc)
(Hier ist das Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol for my niggas
Das ist der letzte Aufruf für Alkohol für meine Niggas
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(Herr Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Also steh auf von der Wand
So this A&R over at Roc-A-Fella, named Hip Hop
Also dieser A&R bei Roc-A-Fella, namens Hip Hop
Picked the "Truth" beat for Beanie
Wählte den "Truth" Beat für Beanie
And I was in the session with him, I had my demo with me
Und ich war in der Session mit ihm, ich hatte mein Demo dabei
You know, like I always do
Weißt du, wie ich es immer mache
I played a songs, he's like "Who that spittin'?" I'm like "It's me"
Ich spielte ein Lied, er ist wie "Wer spuckt da?" Ich bin wie "Ich"
He's like, "Oh, okay."
Er ist wie, "Oh, okay."
Uh, he started talkin' to me on the phone, going back and forth
Äh, er fing an, mit mir am Telefon hin und her zu reden
Just askin' me to send him beats
Fragte mich einfach, ihm Beats zu schicken
And I think he's tryna get into managing producers
Und ich denke, er versucht, ins Management von Produzenten einzusteigen
'Cause he had this other kid named Just Blaze he was messin' with
Denn er hatte diesen anderen Kerl namens Just Blaze, mit dem er rummachte
And um, he was friends with my mentor, No I.D.
Und ähm, er war befreundet mit meinem Mentor, No I.D.
And No I.D. told him
Und No I.D. sagte ihm
"Look, man, if you wanna mess with Kanye you gotta tell him that you like the way he rap"
"Schau, Mann, wenn du mit Kanye rummachen willst, musst du ihm sagen, dass dir gefällt, wie er rappt"
I was all, I dunno if he was gassin' me or not
Ich war so, ich weiß nicht, ob er mich aufzieht oder nicht
But he's like he wanna manage me as a rapper and a producer
Aber er sagt, er will mich als Rapper und Produzent managen
I'm like, oh shit
Ich bin wie, oh Scheiße
I was messin' with, uh, D-Dot also
Ich habe auch mit D-Dot rumgemacht
People were like this, started talking about the ghost production
Die Leute haben so angefangen, über die Geisterproduktion zu reden
But that's how I got in the game
Aber so bin ich ins Spiel gekommen
If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here
Wenn das nicht passiert wäre, wäre ich nicht hier
So you know, after they picked that "Truth" beat
Also weißt du, nachdem sie diesen "Truth" Beat ausgewählt hatten
I was figuring I was gonna get some more work
Ich dachte, ich würde noch mehr Arbeit bekommen
But shit just wasn't poppin' off like that
Aber es lief einfach nicht so ab
I was stayin' in Chicago, I had my own apartment
Ich lebte in Chicago, ich hatte meine eigene Wohnung
I be doin' like just beats for local acts just to try to keep the lights on
Ich machte einfach Beats für lokale Acts, um die Lichter an zu lassen
And then to go out and buy, get a Pelle Pelle off lay-away
Und dann rauszugehen und zu kaufen, eine Pelle Pelle auf Raten zu holen
Get some Jordans or something or get a TechnoMarine
Einige Jordans oder so oder eine TechnoMarine zu bekommen
That's what we wore back then
Das ist das, was wir damals getragen haben
I made this one beat where I sped up this Harold Melvin sample
Ich habe diesen einen Beat gemacht, bei dem ich diese Harold Melvin Probe beschleunigt habe
I played it for Hip over the phone
Ich habe es Hip über das Telefon vorgespielt
He's like, "Oh, yo that shit is crazy
Er meinte: "Oh, yo das ist verrückt
Jay might want it for this compilation album he doin' called The Dynasty"
Jay könnte es für dieses Kompilationsalbum wollen, das er The Dynasty nennt"
And at that time, like the drums really weren't soundin' right to me
Und zu der Zeit klangen die Drums für mich einfach nicht richtig
So I went and um, I was listening to Dre Chronic 2001 at that time
Also bin ich hingegangen und ähm, ich habe zu der Zeit Dre Chronic 2001 gehört
And really I just, like bit the drums off "Xxplosive"
Und eigentlich habe ich einfach die Drums von "Xxplosive" genommen
And put it like with it sped up sample
Und es mit der beschleunigten Probe kombiniert
And now it's kind of like my whole style, where it started
Und jetzt ist das sozusagen mein ganzer Stil, wo es angefangen hat
When he rapped on "This Can't be Life"
Als er auf "This Can't be Life" gerappt hat
And that was like, really the first beat of that kind that was on The Dynasty album
Und das war wirklich der erste Beat dieser Art, der auf dem Dynasty Album war
I could say that was the the resurgence of the soul sound
Ich könnte sagen, dass das die Wiederbelebung des Soul-Sounds war
You know, I got to come in and track the beat
Weißt du, ich musste reinkommen und den Beat aufnehmen
And at the time I was still with my other management
Und zu der Zeit war ich noch bei meinem anderen Management
I really wanted to roll with Hip Hop
Ich wollte wirklich mit Hip Hop zusammenarbeiten
Just I, I just needed some fresh air, you know what I'm sayin'?
Einfach ich, ich brauchte einfach frische Luft, verstehst du?
'Cause I, I been there for a while
Weil ich, ich war schon eine Weile dort
I appreciate what they did for me but
Ich schätze, was sie für mich getan haben, aber
You know there's a time in every man's life where he gotta make a change
Weißt du, es gibt eine Zeit im Leben jedes Mannes, in der er eine Veränderung machen muss
And try to move up to the next level
Und versuchen, auf die nächste Stufe zu kommen
That day I came and I tracked the beat and I got to meet Jay-Z and he said
An diesem Tag kam ich und nahm den Beat auf und ich traf Jay-Z und er sagte
"Oh, you a real soulful dude"
"Oh, du bist ein wirklich gefühlvoller Kerl"
And he, uh, played the song 'cause he already spit his verse by the time I got to the studio
Und er, äh, spielte das Lied, weil er seinen Vers schon gespuckt hatte, als ich ins Studio kam
You know he do it one take
Weißt du, er macht es in einem Take
He said tell me what you think of this
Er sagte, sag mir, was du davon hältst
And I heard it, and I was thinking like, man
Und ich hörte es, und ich dachte, Mann
I really wanted more like of the simple type Jay-Z
Ich wollte wirklich mehr von dem einfachen Typ Jay-Z
I ain't want like the, the more introspective, complicated rhy- or the, in my personal opinion
Ich wollte nicht den, den introspektiveren, komplizierten Reim- oder den, meiner persönlichen Meinung nach
So he asked me, "What you think of it?"
Also fragte er mich: "Was hältst du davon?"
And I was like, "Man, that shit tight," you know what I'm sayin'? What I'ma tell him?
Und ich war so: "Mann, das ist eng," verstehst du? Was soll ich ihm sagen?
I was on the train, man, you know
Ich war im Zug, Mann, weißt du
So after that I went back home
Also danach bin ich nach Hause zurückgekehrt
And, man I'm, I'm just in Chicago, I'm tryna do my thing
Und, Mann, ich bin einfach in Chicago, ich versuche, mein Ding zu machen
You know, I got groups, I got acts I'm tryna get on
Weißt du, ich habe Gruppen, ich habe Acts, die ich versuche, ins Spiel zu bringen
And like wasn't nothin really like poppin' off the way it should have been
Und es lief einfach nichts so ab, wie es hätte sein sollen
One of my homies that was one of my artists, he got signed
Einer meiner Homies, der einer meiner Künstler war, wurde unter Vertrag genommen
But it was supposed to really go through my production company
Aber es sollte eigentlich über meine Produktionsfirma laufen
But he ended up going straight with the company
Aber er ging direkt mit der Firma
So, like I'm just straight holdin' the phone
Also, wie ich einfach das Telefon halte
Gettin' the bad news that dude was tryna leave my company
Die schlechten Nachrichten bekommen, dass der Typ versucht, meine Firma zu verlassen
And I got evicted at the same time
Und ich wurde zur gleichen Zeit zwangsgeräumt
So I went down and tracked the beats from him
Also bin ich runtergegangen und habe die Beats von ihm aufgenommen
And I took that money, came back, packed all my shit up in a U-Haul
Und ich habe das Geld genommen, bin zurückgekommen, habe all meine Sachen in einen U-Haul gepackt
Maybe about ten days before I had to actually get out
Vielleicht etwa zehn Tage, bevor ich tatsächlich raus musste
So I ain't have to deal with the landlord, 'cause he's a jerk
Also musste ich mich nicht mit dem Vermieter auseinandersetzen, weil er ein Idiot ist
Me and my mother drove to
Ich und meine Mutter fuhren nach
Newark, New Jersey, I hadn't even seen my apartment
Newark, New Jersey, ich hatte meine Wohnung noch nicht einmal gesehen
I remember I pulled up, I unpacked all my shit
Ich erinnere mich, ich bin vorgefahren, ich habe all meine Sachen ausgepackt
You know, we went to IKEA, I bought a bed, I put the bed together myself
Weißt du, wir sind zu IKEA gefahren, ich habe ein Bett gekauft, ich habe das Bett selbst zusammengebaut
I loaded up all my equipment, and the first beat I made was, uh, "Heart of the City"
Ich habe all meine Ausrüstung geladen, und der erste Beat, den ich gemacht habe, war, äh, "Heart of the City"
And Beans was still working on his album at that time
Und Beans arbeitete zu der Zeit noch an seinem Album
So I came up there to Baseline, it was Beans' birthday, matter of fact
Also bin ich zu Baseline hochgekommen, es war Beans' Geburtstag, um genau zu sein
And I played like seven beats
Und ich habe so sieben Beats gespielt
And, you know I guess he was in the zone, he already had the beats that he wanted
Und, weißt du, ich denke, er war in der Zone, er hatte schon die Beats, die er wollte
I had did "Nothing Like It" already at that time
Ich hatte zu der Zeit schon "Nothing Like It" gemacht
But then Jay walked in
Aber dann kam Jay rein
I remember he had a Gucci bucket hat on
Ich erinnere mich, er hatte einen Gucci Eimerhut auf
I remember it like, like it was yesterday
Ich erinnere mich daran, als wäre es gestern gewesen
And Hip Hop said, "Yo, play that one beat for him"
Und Hip Hop sagte: "Yo, spiel ihm diesen einen Beat"
So I played "Heart of the City"
Also spielte ich "Heart of the City"
And really I made "Heart of the City," I really wanted to give that beat to DMX
Und eigentlich habe ich "Heart of the City" gemacht, ich wollte diesen Beat eigentlich DMX geben
Then I played another beat, then I played another beat
Dann spielte ich einen anderen Beat, dann spielte ich einen anderen Beat
And I remember that Gucci bucket, he took it and like put it over his face
Und ich erinnere mich an diesen Gucci Eimer, er nahm ihn und legte ihn über sein Gesicht
And made one of them faces like, ooh
Und machte eines dieser Gesichter wie, ooh
Two days later I'm in Baseline and I seen Dame
Zwei Tage später bin ich in Baseline und ich sehe Dame
Dame didn't know who I was and I was like, "Yo, what's up I'm Kanye"
Dame wusste nicht, wer ich war und ich war so: "Yo, was geht, ich bin Kanye"
"You that kid that gave all them beats to Jay? Yo, this nigga got classics to your beats, B"
"Bist du der Typ, der all diese Beats an Jay gegeben hat? Yo, dieser Nigga hat Klassiker zu deinen Beats, B"
You know how he talk his shit
Weißt du, wie er seinen Scheiß redet
I'm like "oh, shit"
Ich bin so "oh, Scheiße"
And all this time I'm starstruck, man
Und die ganze Zeit bin ich starstruck, Mann
I'm still thinking 'bout, you know I'm picturing these niggas on the show
Ich denke immer noch darüber nach, weißt du, ich stelle mir diese Niggas in der Show vor
The Streets is Watching or whatever
The Streets is Watching oder so
I'm lookin', these were superstars in my eyes
Ich schaue, das waren Superstars in meinen Augen
And they still are, you know
Und das sind sie immer noch, weißt du
So, Jay came in and he spit all these songs like in one day, and in two days
Also, Jay kam rein und hat all diese Songs an einem Tag ausgespuckt, und in zwei Tagen
I gotta bring up one thing, you know, go back to in story
Ich muss eine Sache ansprechen, weißt du, zurück zur Geschichte
The day I did the 'Can't be Life' beat I tracked
An dem Tag, an dem ich den 'Can't be Life' Beat gemacht habe
I remember Lenny S, he had some Louis Vuitton sneakers on, he think he fly
Ich erinnere mich an Lenny S, er hatte einige Louis Vuitton Sneakers an, er dachte, er sei cool
And Hip Hop was there, I think Ty-Ty, John Meneilly, a bunch of people
Und Hip Hop war da, ich denke Ty-Ty, John Meneilly, eine Menge Leute
I didn't know all these people at the time, they was in the room, and I said, "Yo, Jay I could rap"
Ich kannte all diese Leute zu der Zeit nicht, sie waren im Raum, und ich sagte: "Yo, Jay, ich kann rappen"
And I spit this rap that said, uh "I'm killin' y'all niggas on that lyrical shit
Und ich spuckte diesen Rap aus, der sagte, äh "Ich töte euch Niggas mit diesem lyrischen Scheiß
Mayonnaise colored Benz, I push miracle whips"
Mayonnaise farbener Benz, ich fahre Wunderautos"
And I saw his eyes light up when I said that line
Und ich sah seine Augen aufleuchten, als ich diese Zeile sagte
But you know the rest, the rap was like real wack and shit, so that's all the response
Aber du kennst den Rest, der Rap war echt schlecht und so, also das war die ganze Reaktion
He said, "Man, that was tight"
Er sagte: "Mann, das war eng"
And that was it, you know, I ain't get no deal or nothin'
Und das war's, weißt du, ich habe keinen Deal oder so bekommen
Okay, fast forward
Okay, vorspulen
So, Blueprint, "H to the Izzo," my first hit single
Also, Blueprint, "H to the Izzo," meine erste Hit-Single
And I just took that proudly, built relationships with people
Und ich habe das stolz genommen, Beziehungen zu Leuten aufgebaut
My relationship with Kweli I think was one of the best ones to ever happen to my career as a rapper
Meine Beziehung zu Kweli denke ich, war eine der besten, die meiner Karriere als Rapper passiert ist
Because, you know, of course later he allowed me to go on tour with him
Denn, weißt du, natürlich hat er mich später auf Tour mit ihm gehen lassen
Man, I appre-, I love him for that
Mann, ich schätze-, ich liebe ihn dafür
And at this time, you know I didn't have a deal
Und zu dieser Zeit, weißt du, hatte ich keinen Deal
I had songs, and I had relationships with all these A&R's
Ich hatte Songs, und ich hatte Beziehungen zu all diesen A&R's
'Cause they wanted beats from me, so they'd call me up, I'd play them some beats
Denn sie wollten Beats von mir, also riefen sie mich an, ich spielte ihnen einige Beats vor
"Gimme a beat that sound like Jay-Z"
"Gib mir einen Beat, der wie Jay-Z klingt"
You know, they dick riders, whatever
Weißt du, sie sind Schwanzlutscher, was auch immer
So I'll play them these post-Blueprint beats or whatever and then I'll play my shit
Also spielte ich ihnen diese post-Blueprint Beats oder was auch immer vor und dann spielte ich meinen Scheiß
I'll be like, "Yo, but I rap too"
Ich war so: "Yo, aber ich rappe auch"
Ayy, I guess they was lookin' at me crazy 'cause you know
Ayy, ich denke, sie haben mich komisch angeschaut, weil du weißt
'Cause I ain't have a jersey on or whatever
Weil ich kein Trikot anhatte oder so
Everybody out there listen here
Jeder da draußen hört zu
I played them 'Jesus Walks' and they didn't sign me
Ich spielte ihnen 'Jesus Walks' vor und sie haben mich nicht unter Vertrag genommen
You know what happened, it was some A&R's that fucked with me though
Du weißt, was passiert ist, es gab einige A&R's, die mit mir abgehangen haben
But then like the heads, it'd be somebody at the company that'll say "nah"
Aber dann wie die Köpfe, es wäre jemand in der Firma, der "nein" sagen würde
Like, Dave Lighty fucked with me, my nigga Mel brought me to a bunch of labels
Wie, Dave Lighty hat mit mir abgehangen, mein Nigga Mel hat mich zu einer Menge Labels gebracht
Jessica Rivera, man
Jessica Rivera, Mann
I'm not gonna say nothin' to mess my promotion up
Ich werde nichts sagen, um meine Promotion zu vermasseln
Let's just say I ain't get my deal
Sagen wir einfach, ich habe meinen Deal nicht bekommen
The nigga that was behind me, I mean, he wasn't even a nigga
Der Nigga, der hinter mir war, ich meine, er war nicht mal ein Nigga
The person that actually kicked everything off was Joe 3H from Capitol Records
Die Person, die eigentlich alles ins Rollen gebracht hat, war Joe 3H von Capitol Records
He wanted to sign me really bad
Er wollte mich wirklich schlecht unter Vertrag nehmen
Dame was like, "Yo, you got a deal with Capitol? Okay, man, just make sure it's not wack"
Dame war so: "Yo, du hast einen Deal mit Capitol? Okay, Mann, stell nur sicher, dass es nicht schlecht ist"
Then one day I just went ahead and played it
Dann habe ich eines Tages einfach vorgespielt
I wanted to play some songs, cause you know Cam was in the room, Young Guru, and Dame was in the room
Ich wollte einige Songs spielen, denn du weißt, Cam war im Raum, Young Guru, und Dame war im Raum
So I played, actually it's a song you'll never hear
Also spielte ich, eigentlich ist es ein Song, den du nie hören wirst
Well maybe I might use it so, it's called 'Wow'
Naja, vielleicht benutze ich ihn also, er heißt 'Wow'
I go to Jacob with 25 thou', you go with 25 hundred, wow
Ich gehe zu Jacob mit 25 Tausend, du gehst mit 25 Hundert, wow
I got eleven plaques on my walls right now
Ich habe elf Plaketten an meinen Wänden gerade jetzt
You got your first gold single, damn, nigga, wow"
Du hast deine erste Gold-Single, verdammt, Nigga, wow"
Like the chorus went like
Wie der Refrain ging so
Don't bite that chorus, I might still use it
Beiß nicht in diesen Refrain, ich könnte ihn noch benutzen
So I play that song for him and he's like "oh, shit"
Also spiele ich ihm diesen Song vor und er ist so "oh, Scheiße"
"I ain't gonna front, it's kinda hot"
"Ich werde nicht lügen, es ist irgendwie heiß"
Like they still weren't looking at me like a rapper
Wie sie mich immer noch nicht als Rapper ansahen
And I'm sure Dame figured
Und ich bin sicher, Dame dachte
Like, man, if he do a whole album, if his raps is wack
Wie, Mann, wenn er ein ganzes Album macht, wenn seine Raps schlecht sind
At least we can throw Cam on every song and save the album, you know
Zumindest können wir Cam auf jeden Song werfen und das Album retten, weißt du
So, uh, Dame took me into the hallway
Also, äh, Dame nahm mich in den Flur
He's like "Yo, man, B, B, you don't want a brick, you don't want a brick"
Er war so: "Yo, Mann, B, B, du willst keinen Ziegelstein, du willst keinen Ziegelstein"
"You gotta be under an umbrella or you'll get rained on"
"Du musst unter einem Regenschirm sein oder du wirst nass"
I told Hip Hop and Hip Hop was like, "oh, word?"
Ich erzählte es Hip Hop und Hip Hop war so: "oh, wirklich?"
Actually, even with that I was still about to take the deal with Capitol
Tatsächlich war ich selbst mit dem immer noch dabei, den Deal mit Capitol zu nehmen
'Cause it was already on the table and 'cause of my relationship with 3H
Denn es war schon auf dem Tisch und wegen meiner Beziehung zu 3H
That, you know, 'cause I told him I was gonna do it, and I'm a man of my word
Das, weißt du, weil ich ihm gesagt hatte, dass ich es tun würde, und ich bin ein Mann meines Wortes
I was gonna roll with what I said I was gonna do
Ich wollte das tun, was ich gesagt hatte, dass ich tun würde
Then, you know, I'm not gonna name no names
Dann, weißt du, ich werde keine Namen nennen
But people told me, "Oh, he's just a producer rapper"
Aber Leute haben mir gesagt: "Oh, er ist nur ein Produzenten-Rapper"
And told 3H that told the heads of the Capitol
Und haben das 3H erzählt, der es den Chefs von Capitol erzählt hat
And right, the day I'm talking about, I planned out everything I was gonna do, man
Und richtig, an dem Tag, von dem ich rede, habe ich alles geplant, was ich tun wollte, Mann
I had picked out clothes, I already started booking studio sessions
Ich hatte Kleidung ausgesucht, ich hatte schon Studio-Sessions gebucht
I started arranging my album, thinking of marketing schemes, man, I was ready to go
Ich fing an, mein Album zu arrangieren, dachte an Marketingstrategien, Mann, ich war bereit zu gehen
And, and they had Mel call me, they said, "Yo, Capitol pulled on the deal"
Und, und sie ließen Mel mich anrufen, sie sagten: "Yo, Capitol hat den Deal zurückgezogen"
And, you know I told them that Roc-A-Fella was interested and
Und, weißt du, ich habe ihnen gesagt, dass Roc-A-Fella interessiert war und
I don't know if they thought that was just something I was saying to gas them up
Ich weiß nicht, ob sie dachten, dass das nur etwas war, was ich sagte, um sie aufzupumpen
To try to push the price up or whatever
Um den Preis hochzutreiben oder so
I went up,I called G, I said, "Man, you think we could still get that deal with Roc-A-Fella?"
Ich bin hochgegangen, ich habe G angerufen, ich sagte: "Mann, denkst du, wir könnten immer noch diesen Deal mit Roc-A-Fella bekommen?"
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Also, warum erhebst du nicht dein Glas, nicht wahr?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Also, warum erhebst du nicht dein Glas, nicht wahr?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Also, warum erhebst du nicht dein Glas, nicht wahr?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Also, warum erhebst du nicht dein Glas, nicht wahr?
(Let's run it, let's run it, let's run it)
(Facciamolo, facciamolo, facciamolo)
Yo, fuck you, Kanye, first and foremost
Yo, fanculo a te, Kanye, prima di tutto
For making me do this shit, muhfucker
Per avermi fatto fare questa merda, stronzo
Had to throw everybody out the muhfuckin' room
Ho dovuto cacciare tutti dalla cazzo di stanza
'Cause they don't fuckin'
Perché non cazzo di...
I'd like to propose a toast
Vorrei proporre un brindisi
I said toast, motherfucker
Ho detto brindisi, stronzo
And I am
E io sono
(Here's to the Roc)
(Ecco alla Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
E mi chiedono, mi chiedono, mi chiedono, io rispondo
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Ecco a Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Alzate i vostri bicchieri, i vostri bicchieri, i vostri bicchieri al cielo e
(Here's to the Roc)
(Ecco alla Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol, for the
Questo è l'ultimo richiamo per l'alcol, per il
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(Signor Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Quindi alza il culo dal muro
The all around the world Digital Underground Pac
Il tutto intorno al mondo Digital Underground Pac
The Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer of the Roc
La renna dal naso rosso Rudolph della Roc
I take my chain, my 15 seconds of fame
Prendo la mia catena, i miei 15 secondi di fama
And come back next year with the whole fucking game
E torno l'anno prossimo con tutto il cazzo di gioco
Ain't nobody expect Kanye to end up on top
Nessuno si aspettava che Kanye finisse in cima
They expected that College Dropout to drop and then flop
Si aspettavano che College Dropout cadesse e poi flop
Then maybe he stop savin' all the good beats for himself
Poi forse smette di riservare tutte le buone basi per sé
Roc-A-Fella's only niggas that helped
Roc-A-Fella's solo negri che hanno aiutato
My money was thinner than Sean Paul's goatee hair
I miei soldi erano più sottili dei capelli della barba di Sean Paul
Now Jean Paul Gaultier cologne fill the air, here
Ora il profumo di Jean Paul Gaultier riempie l'aria, qui
They say he bougie, he big-headed
Dicono che sia borghese, che sia testone
Would you please stop talking about how my dick head is
Potresti per favore smettere di parlare di come è la mia testa di cazzo
Flow infectious, give me 10 seconds
Flusso infettivo, dammi 10 secondi
I'll have a buzz bigger than insects in Texas
Avrò un buzz più grande degli insetti in Texas
It's funny how wasn't nobody interested
È divertente come non c'era nessuno interessato
'Til the night I almost killed myself in Lexus
Fino alla notte in cui ho quasi ucciso me stesso in Lexus
Now I am
Ora io sono
(Here's to the Roc)
(Ecco alla Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
E mi chiedono, mi chiedono, mi chiedono, io rispondo
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Ecco a Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Alzate i vostri bicchieri, i vostri bicchieri, i vostri bicchieri al cielo e
(Here's to the Roc)
(Ecco alla Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol, for the
Questo è l'ultimo richiamo per l'alcol, per il
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(Signor Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Quindi alza il culo dal muro
Now was Kanye the most overlooked? Yes sir
Ora era Kanye il più trascurato? Sì signore
Now is Kanye the most overbooked? Yes sir
Ora è Kanye il più sovrapprenotato? Sì signore
Though the fans want the feeling of A Tribe Called Quest
Anche se i fan vogliono la sensazione di A Tribe Called Quest
But all they got left is this guy called West
Ma tutto ciò che è rimasto è questo tizio chiamato West
That'll take Freeway, throw him on tracks with Mos Def
Che prenderà Freeway, lo metterà su tracce con Mos Def
When you call him Kwa-li or Kwe-li, I put him on songs with Jay-Z
Quando lo chiami Kwa-li o Kwe-li, lo metto su canzoni con Jay-Z
I'm the Gap like Banana Republic and Old Navy, and ooh
Sono il Gap come Banana Republic e Old Navy, e ooh
It come out sweeter than old Sadie
Esce più dolce della vecchia Sadie
Nice as Bun-B when I met him at the Source awards
Gentile come Bun-B quando l'ho incontrato ai Source awards
Girl he had with him, ass coulda won the horse awards
La ragazza che aveva con lui, il culo avrebbe potuto vincere i premi del cavallo
And I was almost famous, now everybody love Kanye
Ero quasi famoso, ora tutti amano Kanye
I'm almost Raymond
Sono quasi Raymond
Some say he arrogant. Can y'all blame him?
Alcuni dicono che sia arrogante. Potete biasimarlo?
It was straight embarrassing how y'all played him
Era proprio imbarazzante come lo avete trattato
Last year shoppin' my demo, I was tryna shine
L'anno scorso comprando la mia demo, stavo cercando di brillare
Every motherfucker told me that I couldn't rhyme
Ogni stronzo mi diceva che non sapevo fare rime
Now I could let these dream killers kill my self-esteem
Ora potrei lasciare che questi killer di sogni uccidano la mia autostima
Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams
O usare la mia arroganza come vapore per alimentare i miei sogni
I use it as my gas, so they say that I'm gassed
Lo uso come il mio gas, quindi dicono che sono gonfio
But without it I'd be last, so I ought to laugh
Ma senza di esso sarei l'ultimo, quindi dovrei ridere
So I don't listen to the suits behind the desk no more
Quindi non ascolto più i tizi in giacca e cravatta dietro la scrivania
You niggas wear suits 'cause you can't dress no more
Voi negri indossate giacche e cravatte perché non sapete più vestirvi
You can't say shit to Kanye West no more
Non potete dire un cazzo a Kanye West
I rocked 20,000 people, I was just on tour, nigga
Ho fatto saltare 20.000 persone, ero appena in tour, negro
I'm Kan, the Louis Vuitton Don
Sono Kan, il Don di Louis Vuitton
Bought my mom a purse, now she Louis Vuitton Mom
Ho comprato a mia madre una borsa, ora è la mamma di Louis Vuitton
I ain't play the hand I was dealt, I changed my cards
Non ho giocato la mano che mi è stata data, ho cambiato le mie carte
I prayed to the skies and I changed my stars
Ho pregato i cieli e ho cambiato le mie stelle
I went to the malls and I balled too hard
Sono andato nei centri commerciali e ho giocato troppo duro
"Oh my God, is that a black card?"
"Oh mio Dio, è una carta nera?"
I turned around and replied, "Why yes
Mi sono girato e ho risposto, "Sì
But I prefer the term African American Express"
Ma preferisco il termine American Express africana"
Brains, power, and muscle, like Dame, Puffy, and Russell
Cervello, potere e muscoli, come Dame, Puffy e Russell
Your boy back on his hustle, you know what I've been up to
Il tuo ragazzo è tornato alla sua fatica, sai cosa ho fatto
Killin' y'all niggas on that lyrical shit
Uccidendo voi negri con quella merda lirica
Mayonnaise-colored Benz, I push Miracle Whips
Mercedes color maionese, spingo Miracle Whips
And I am
E io sono
(Here's to the Roc)
(Ecco alla Roc)
And they ask me, they ask me, they ask me, I tell them
E mi chiedono, mi chiedono, mi chiedono, io rispondo
(Here's to Roc-A-Fella)
(Ecco a Roc-A-Fella)
Raise your glasses, your glasses, your glasses to the sky and
Alzate i vostri bicchieri, i vostri bicchieri, i vostri bicchieri al cielo e
(Here's to the Roc)
(Ecco alla Roc)
This is the last call for alcohol for my niggas
Questo è l'ultimo richiamo per l'alcol per i miei negri
(Mr. Rockefeller)
(Signor Rockefeller)
So get your ass up off the wall
Quindi alza il culo dal muro
So this A&R over at Roc-A-Fella, named Hip Hop
Quindi questo A&R alla Roc-A-Fella, chiamato Hip Hop
Picked the "Truth" beat for Beanie
Ha scelto il beat "Truth" per Beanie
And I was in the session with him, I had my demo with me
E io ero in sessione con lui, avevo la mia demo con me
You know, like I always do
Sai, come faccio sempre
I played a songs, he's like "Who that spittin'?" I'm like "It's me"
Ho suonato una canzone, lui dice "Chi sta sputando?" Io dico "Sono io"
He's like, "Oh, okay."
Lui dice, "Oh, okay."
Uh, he started talkin' to me on the phone, going back and forth
Uh, ha iniziato a parlarmi al telefono, andando avanti e indietro
Just askin' me to send him beats
Chiedendomi solo di mandargli dei beat
And I think he's tryna get into managing producers
E penso che stia cercando di entrare nel management dei produttori
'Cause he had this other kid named Just Blaze he was messin' with
Perché aveva questo altro ragazzo di nome Just Blaze con cui stava giocando
And um, he was friends with my mentor, No I.D.
E um, era amico del mio mentore, No I.D.
And No I.D. told him
E No I.D. gli ha detto
"Look, man, if you wanna mess with Kanye you gotta tell him that you like the way he rap"
"Guarda, uomo, se vuoi giocare con Kanye devi dirgli che ti piace come rappa"
I was all, I dunno if he was gassin' me or not
Ero tutto, non so se mi stava gonfiando o no
But he's like he wanna manage me as a rapper and a producer
Ma ha detto che voleva gestirmi come rapper e produttore
I'm like, oh shit
Io sono tipo, oh merda
I was messin' with, uh, D-Dot also
Stavo giocando con, uh, D-Dot anche
People were like this, started talking about the ghost production
Le persone erano così, hanno iniziato a parlare della produzione fantasma.
But that's how I got in the game
Ma è così che sono entrato nel gioco
If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here
Se non fosse stato per quello, non sarei qui
So you know, after they picked that "Truth" beat
Quindi sai, dopo che hanno scelto quel beat "Truth"
I was figuring I was gonna get some more work
Stavo pensando che avrei avuto un po' più di lavoro
But shit just wasn't poppin' off like that
Ma le cose non stavano proprio decollando così
I was stayin' in Chicago, I had my own apartment
Stavo vivendo a Chicago, avevo il mio appartamento
I be doin' like just beats for local acts just to try to keep the lights on
Facevo solo beats per artisti locali solo per cercare di mantenere le luci accese
And then to go out and buy, get a Pelle Pelle off lay-away
E poi uscire e comprare, prendere un Pelle Pelle a rate
Get some Jordans or something or get a TechnoMarine
Prendere delle Jordans o qualcosa o prendere un TechnoMarine
That's what we wore back then
Questo è quello che indossavamo allora
I made this one beat where I sped up this Harold Melvin sample
Ho fatto questo beat dove ho accelerato questo campione di Harold Melvin
I played it for Hip over the phone
L'ho fatto ascoltare a Hip al telefono
He's like, "Oh, yo that shit is crazy
Lui ha detto, "Oh, yo quella roba è pazzesca
Jay might want it for this compilation album he doin' called The Dynasty"
Jay potrebbe volerlo per questo album compilation che sta facendo chiamato The Dynasty"
And at that time, like the drums really weren't soundin' right to me
E in quel momento, come i tamburi non suonavano proprio bene per me
So I went and um, I was listening to Dre Chronic 2001 at that time
Quindi sono andato e um, stavo ascoltando Dre Chronic 2001 in quel momento
And really I just, like bit the drums off "Xxplosive"
E davvero ho solo, come preso i tamburi da "Xxplosive"
And put it like with it sped up sample
E l'ho messo con il campione accelerato
And now it's kind of like my whole style, where it started
E ora è un po' come il mio stile, da dove è iniziato
When he rapped on "This Can't be Life"
Quando ha rappato su "This Can't be Life"
And that was like, really the first beat of that kind that was on The Dynasty album
E quello era come, davvero il primo beat di quel tipo che era su The Dynasty album
I could say that was the the resurgence of the soul sound
Potrei dire che era la rinascita del suono soul
You know, I got to come in and track the beat
Sai, ho dovuto entrare e tracciare il beat
And at the time I was still with my other management
E a quel tempo ero ancora con il mio altro management
I really wanted to roll with Hip Hop
Volevo davvero andare con Hip Hop
Just I, I just needed some fresh air, you know what I'm sayin'?
Solo io, avevo solo bisogno di un po' d'aria fresca, capisci cosa dico?
'Cause I, I been there for a while
Perché io, ci sono stato per un po'
I appreciate what they did for me but
Apprezzo quello che hanno fatto per me ma
You know there's a time in every man's life where he gotta make a change
Sai c'è un momento nella vita di ogni uomo in cui deve fare un cambiamento
And try to move up to the next level
E cercare di salire al livello successivo
That day I came and I tracked the beat and I got to meet Jay-Z and he said
Quel giorno sono venuto e ho tracciato il beat e ho incontrato Jay-Z e lui ha detto
"Oh, you a real soulful dude"
"Oh, sei un tipo davvero pieno di soul"
And he, uh, played the song 'cause he already spit his verse by the time I got to the studio
E lui, uh, ha messo la canzone perché aveva già sputato la sua strofa prima che arrivassi in studio
You know he do it one take
Sai lui lo fa in una sola presa
He said tell me what you think of this
Ha detto dimmi cosa ne pensi di questo
And I heard it, and I was thinking like, man
E l'ho sentito, e stavo pensando, uomo
I really wanted more like of the simple type Jay-Z
Volevo davvero più del semplice tipo Jay-Z
I ain't want like the, the more introspective, complicated rhy- or the, in my personal opinion
Non volevo come il, il più introspettivo, complicato rhy- o il, a mio parere personale
So he asked me, "What you think of it?"
Quindi mi ha chiesto, "Cosa ne pensi?"
And I was like, "Man, that shit tight," you know what I'm sayin'? What I'ma tell him?
E ho detto, "Uomo, quella roba è stretta," capisci cosa dico? Cosa gli dico?
I was on the train, man, you know
Ero sul treno, uomo, sai
So after that I went back home
Quindi dopo quello sono tornato a casa
And, man I'm, I'm just in Chicago, I'm tryna do my thing
E, uomo sono, sono solo a Chicago, sto cercando di fare la mia cosa
You know, I got groups, I got acts I'm tryna get on
Sai, ho gruppi, ho atti che sto cercando di mettere su
And like wasn't nothin really like poppin' off the way it should have been
E come non stava davvero decollando come avrebbe dovuto
One of my homies that was one of my artists, he got signed
Uno dei miei amici che era uno dei miei artisti, ha firmato
But it was supposed to really go through my production company
Ma doveva davvero passare attraverso la mia casa di produzione
But he ended up going straight with the company
Ma alla fine è andato direttamente con la compagnia
So, like I'm just straight holdin' the phone
Quindi, come sto solo tenendo il telefono
Gettin' the bad news that dude was tryna leave my company
Ricevendo la brutta notizia che il tizio stava cercando di lasciare la mia compagnia
And I got evicted at the same time
E sono stato sfrattato nello stesso momento
So I went down and tracked the beats from him
Quindi sono sceso e ho tracciato i beats per lui
And I took that money, came back, packed all my shit up in a U-Haul
E ho preso quei soldi, sono tornato, ho impacchettato tutte le mie cose in un U-Haul
Maybe about ten days before I had to actually get out
Forse circa dieci giorni prima che dovessi effettivamente andarmene
So I ain't have to deal with the landlord, 'cause he's a jerk
Quindi non ho dovuto occuparmi del padrone di casa, perché è un idiota
Me and my mother drove to
Io e mia madre siamo andati a
Newark, New Jersey, I hadn't even seen my apartment
Newark, New Jersey, non avevo nemmeno visto il mio appartamento
I remember I pulled up, I unpacked all my shit
Ricordo che sono arrivato, ho disimballato tutte le mie cose
You know, we went to IKEA, I bought a bed, I put the bed together myself
Sai, siamo andati all'IKEA, ho comprato un letto, l'ho montato da solo
I loaded up all my equipment, and the first beat I made was, uh, "Heart of the City"
Ho caricato tutta la mia attrezzatura, e il primo beat che ho fatto è stato, uh, "Heart of the City"
And Beans was still working on his album at that time
E Beans stava ancora lavorando al suo album in quel momento
So I came up there to Baseline, it was Beans' birthday, matter of fact
Quindi sono salito lì a Baseline, era il compleanno di Beans, a dire il vero
And I played like seven beats
E ho suonato come sette beats
And, you know I guess he was in the zone, he already had the beats that he wanted
E, sai immagino che fosse in the zone, aveva già i beats che voleva
I had did "Nothing Like It" already at that time
Avevo già fatto "Nothing Like It" in quel momento
But then Jay walked in
Ma poi è entrato Jay
I remember he had a Gucci bucket hat on
Ricordo che aveva un cappello secchiello Gucci
I remember it like, like it was yesterday
Lo ricordo come, come se fosse ieri
And Hip Hop said, "Yo, play that one beat for him"
E Hip Hop ha detto, "Yo, suona quel beat per lui"
So I played "Heart of the City"
Quindi ho suonato "Heart of the City"
And really I made "Heart of the City," I really wanted to give that beat to DMX
E davvero ho fatto "Heart of the City", volevo davvero dare quel beat a DMX
Then I played another beat, then I played another beat
Poi ho suonato un altro beat, poi ho suonato un altro beat
And I remember that Gucci bucket, he took it and like put it over his face
E ricordo quel secchiello Gucci, lo ha preso e come messo sulla sua faccia
And made one of them faces like, ooh
E ha fatto una di quelle facce come, ooh
Two days later I'm in Baseline and I seen Dame
Due giorni dopo sono a Baseline e vedo Dame
Dame didn't know who I was and I was like, "Yo, what's up I'm Kanye"
Dame non sapeva chi fossi ed io ero tipo, "Yo, ciao sono Kanye"
"You that kid that gave all them beats to Jay? Yo, this nigga got classics to your beats, B"
"Sei quel ragazzo che ha dato tutti quei beats a Jay? Yo, questo negro ha dei classici con i tuoi beats, B"
You know how he talk his shit
Sai come parla
I'm like "oh, shit"
Sono tipo "oh, merda"
And all this time I'm starstruck, man
E tutto questo tempo sono starstruck, uomo
I'm still thinking 'bout, you know I'm picturing these niggas on the show
Sto ancora pensando a, sai mi immagino questi negri nello show
The Streets is Watching or whatever
The Streets is Watching o qualcosa del genere
I'm lookin', these were superstars in my eyes
Sto guardando, questi erano superstar ai miei occhi
And they still are, you know
E lo sono ancora, sai
So, Jay came in and he spit all these songs like in one day, and in two days
Allora, Jay è entrato e ha sputato tutte queste canzoni in un giorno, e in due giorni
I gotta bring up one thing, you know, go back to in story
Devo portare su una cosa, sai, tornare indietro nella storia
The day I did the 'Can't be Life' beat I tracked
Il giorno in cui ho fatto il beat di 'Can't be Life' che ho tracciato
I remember Lenny S, he had some Louis Vuitton sneakers on, he think he fly
Ricordo Lenny S, aveva delle sneakers Louis Vuitton, pensava di essere figo
And Hip Hop was there, I think Ty-Ty, John Meneilly, a bunch of people
E Hip Hop era lì, penso Ty-Ty, John Meneilly, un sacco di gente
I didn't know all these people at the time, they was in the room, and I said, "Yo, Jay I could rap"
Non conoscevo tutte queste persone all'epoca, erano nella stanza, e ho detto, "Yo, Jay posso rappare"
And I spit this rap that said, uh "I'm killin' y'all niggas on that lyrical shit
E ho sputato questo rap che diceva, uh "Sto uccidendo voi negri con quella merda lirica
Mayonnaise colored Benz, I push miracle whips"
Mercedes color maionese, spingo miracoli"
And I saw his eyes light up when I said that line
E ho visto i suoi occhi illuminarsi quando ho detto quella riga
But you know the rest, the rap was like real wack and shit, so that's all the response
Ma sai il resto, il rap era davvero scadente e merda, quindi quella è tutta la risposta
He said, "Man, that was tight"
Ha detto, "Uomo, era stretto"
And that was it, you know, I ain't get no deal or nothin'
E quello era tutto, sai, non ho ottenuto nessun accordo o niente
Okay, fast forward
Okay, avanti veloce
So, Blueprint, "H to the Izzo," my first hit single
Quindi, Blueprint, "H to the Izzo," il mio primo singolo di successo
And I just took that proudly, built relationships with people
E l'ho preso con orgoglio, ho costruito relazioni con le persone
My relationship with Kweli I think was one of the best ones to ever happen to my career as a rapper
La mia relazione con Kweli penso sia stata una delle migliori cose che sia mai successa alla mia carriera da rapper
Because, you know, of course later he allowed me to go on tour with him
Perché, sai, ovviamente più tardi mi ha permesso di andare in tour con lui
Man, I appre-, I love him for that
Uomo, lo apprezzo, lo amo per questo
And at this time, you know I didn't have a deal
E in questo momento, sai che non avevo un accordo
I had songs, and I had relationships with all these A&R's
Avevo canzoni, e avevo relazioni con tutti questi A&R
'Cause they wanted beats from me, so they'd call me up, I'd play them some beats
Perché volevano dei beat da me, quindi mi chiamavano, gli facevo ascoltare dei beat
"Gimme a beat that sound like Jay-Z"
"Dammene uno che suoni come Jay-Z"
You know, they dick riders, whatever
Sai, sono dei leccaculo, qualsiasi cosa
So I'll play them these post-Blueprint beats or whatever and then I'll play my shit
Quindi gli faccio ascoltare questi beat post-Blueprint o qualsiasi cosa e poi faccio ascoltare la mia roba
I'll be like, "Yo, but I rap too"
Dico, "Yo, ma rappo anche"
Ayy, I guess they was lookin' at me crazy 'cause you know
Ayy, immagino che mi guardassero strano perché sai
'Cause I ain't have a jersey on or whatever
Perché non avevo una maglia o qualsiasi cosa
Everybody out there listen here
Tutti là fuori ascoltate qui
I played them 'Jesus Walks' and they didn't sign me
Ho fatto ascoltare loro 'Jesus Walks' e non mi hanno fatto firmare
You know what happened, it was some A&R's that fucked with me though
Sai cosa è successo, c'erano alcuni A&R che mi hanno fottuto
But then like the heads, it'd be somebody at the company that'll say "nah"
Ma poi come i capi, sarebbe qualcuno nell'azienda che direbbe "no"
Like, Dave Lighty fucked with me, my nigga Mel brought me to a bunch of labels
Tipo, Dave Lighty mi ha fottuto, il mio negro Mel mi ha portato in un sacco di etichette
Jessica Rivera, man
Jessica Rivera, uomo
I'm not gonna say nothin' to mess my promotion up
Non dirò niente per rovinare la mia promozione
Let's just say I ain't get my deal
Diciamo solo che non ho ottenuto il mio accordo
The nigga that was behind me, I mean, he wasn't even a nigga
Il negro che era dietro di me, intendo, non era nemmeno un negro
The person that actually kicked everything off was Joe 3H from Capitol Records
La persona che ha effettivamente dato il via a tutto era Joe 3H della Capitol Records
He wanted to sign me really bad
Voleva farmi firmare davvero
Dame was like, "Yo, you got a deal with Capitol? Okay, man, just make sure it's not wack"
Dame ha detto, "Yo, hai un accordo con Capitol? Okay, uomo, assicurati solo che non sia scadente"
Then one day I just went ahead and played it
Poi un giorno sono andato avanti e l'ho suonato
I wanted to play some songs, cause you know Cam was in the room, Young Guru, and Dame was in the room
Volevo suonare alcune canzoni, perché sai che Cam era nella stanza, Young Guru, e Dame era nella stanza
So I played, actually it's a song you'll never hear
Quindi ho suonato, in realtà è una canzone che non sentirai mai
Well maybe I might use it so, it's called 'Wow'
Beh forse potrei usarla, si chiama 'Wow'
I go to Jacob with 25 thou', you go with 25 hundred, wow
Vado da Jacob con 25 mila, tu vai con 2500, wow
I got eleven plaques on my walls right now
Ho undici targhe sulle mie pareti adesso
You got your first gold single, damn, nigga, wow"
Hai il tuo primo singolo d'oro, dannazione, negro, wow"
Like the chorus went like
Come andava il ritornello
Don't bite that chorus, I might still use it
Non mordere quel ritornello, potrei ancora usarlo
So I play that song for him and he's like "oh, shit"
Quindi suono quella canzone per lui ed è tipo "oh, merda"
"I ain't gonna front, it's kinda hot"
"Non lo negherò, è un po' caldo"
Like they still weren't looking at me like a rapper
Come se non mi guardassero ancora come un rapper
And I'm sure Dame figured
E sono sicuro che Dame ha pensato
Like, man, if he do a whole album, if his raps is wack
Tipo, uomo, se fa un intero album, se i suoi rap sono scadenti
At least we can throw Cam on every song and save the album, you know
Almeno possiamo mettere Cam su ogni canzone e salvare l'album, sai
So, uh, Dame took me into the hallway
Quindi, uh, Dame mi ha portato nel corridoio
He's like "Yo, man, B, B, you don't want a brick, you don't want a brick"
Dice "Yo, uomo, B, B, non vuoi un mattone, non vuoi un mattone"
"You gotta be under an umbrella or you'll get rained on"
"Devi stare sotto un ombrello o ti pioverà addosso"
I told Hip Hop and Hip Hop was like, "oh, word?"
Ho detto a Hip Hop e Hip Hop era tipo, "oh, davvero?"
Actually, even with that I was still about to take the deal with Capitol
In realtà, anche con quello stavo ancora per prendere l'accordo con Capitol
'Cause it was already on the table and 'cause of my relationship with 3H
Perché era già sul tavolo e a causa della mia relazione con 3H
That, you know, 'cause I told him I was gonna do it, and I'm a man of my word
Quello, sai, perché gli avevo detto che l'avrei fatto, e sono un uomo di parola
I was gonna roll with what I said I was gonna do
Stavo per andare avanti con quello che avevo detto che avrei fatto
Then, you know, I'm not gonna name no names
Poi, sai, non dirò nomi
But people told me, "Oh, he's just a producer rapper"
Ma la gente mi ha detto, "Oh, è solo un rapper produttore"
And told 3H that told the heads of the Capitol
E ha detto a 3H che ha detto ai capi della Capitol
And right, the day I'm talking about, I planned out everything I was gonna do, man
E giusto, il giorno di cui sto parlando, avevo pianificato tutto quello che avrei fatto, uomo
I had picked out clothes, I already started booking studio sessions
Avevo scelto i vestiti, avevo già iniziato a prenotare sessioni in studio
I started arranging my album, thinking of marketing schemes, man, I was ready to go
Avevo iniziato a organizzare il mio album, pensando a schemi di marketing, uomo, ero pronto per andare
And, and they had Mel call me, they said, "Yo, Capitol pulled on the deal"
E, e hanno fatto chiamare Mel, hanno detto, "Yo, Capitol ha ritirato l'accordo"
And, you know I told them that Roc-A-Fella was interested and
E, sai che ho detto loro che Roc-A-Fella era interessata e
I don't know if they thought that was just something I was saying to gas them up
Non so se pensavano che fosse solo qualcosa che stavo dicendo per gasarli
To try to push the price up or whatever
Per cercare di alzare il prezzo o qualcosa del genere
I went up,I called G, I said, "Man, you think we could still get that deal with Roc-A-Fella?"
Sono salito, ho chiamato G, ho detto, "Uomo, pensi che possiamo ancora ottenere quell'accordo con Roc-A-Fella?"
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Allora non alzerai il tuo bicchiere, vero?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Allora non alzerai il tuo bicchiere, vero?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Allora non alzerai il tuo bicchiere, vero?
So won't you raise your glass, won't you?
Allora non alzerai il tuo bicchiere, vero?