Shawn Corey Carter better known as Jay-Z, is an American rapper and is the current president and CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records and the former president and CEO of Def Jam. He is the most financially successful American hip-hop artists.

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• For nine six, the only mc wit a flu / Yeah I rhyme sick I be what you tryin to do / Made a fortune off Peru, expedite, china white heron / Nigga please like short sleeves I bear arms.
  • "Brooklyn's Finest", Reasonable Doubt (1996)

• Hand gettin the mic. Forgettin all I ever knew, convenient amnesia. I suggest you call my lawyer, I know the procedure. Lock my body, can't trap my mind; easily, explains why we adapt to crime. I'd rather die enormous than live dormant, that's how we on it.
  • "Can I Live", Reasonable Doubt (1996)

• Whoever said illegal was the easy way out couldn't understand the mechanics / And the workings of the underworld, granted / Nine to five is how to survive - I ain't trying to survive / I'm trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot / Life's ills poison my body / I used to say 'Fuck mic skills' / And never prayed to God, I prayed to Gotti / That's right it's wicked - that's life, I live it / Ain't asking for forgiveness for my sins
  • "D'Evils", Reasonable Doubt (1996)

• Hov' is back, life stories told through rap / Niggas actin' like I sold you crack / Like I told you sell drugs - No! / Hov' did that so hopefully you won't have to go through that
  • Izzo (H.O.V.A.), The Blueprint (2001)

• I sell ice in the winter, I sell fire in hell / I am a hustler, baby, I'll sell water to a well
  • "U Don't Know", The Blueprint (2001)

• Six oohie, jewels drippin, big toolie / I ball for real, y'all niggas is Sam Bowie / And with the third pick - I made the earth sick / M.J., him Jay, fade away perfect"
  • "Hola' Hovito", The Blueprint (2001)

• Niggas pray and pray on my downfall, But every time I hit the ground I bounce up like round ball
  • "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)", The Blueprint (2001)

• On repeat, the CD of B.I.G.'s 'Me and My Bitch' / Watching Bonnie and Clyde, pretending to be that shit / Empty gun in your hand saying, 'Let me see that clip' / Shopping sprees, pull out your Visa quick / A nigga had very bad credit, you helped me lease that whip / You helped me get the keys to that V dot 6 / We was so happy poor but when we got rich / That's when our signals got crossed, and we got flipped
  • Song Cry, The Blueprint (2001)

• Motherfuckers say that I'm foolish I only talk about jewels / Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it? / See I'm influenced by the ghetto you ruined / That same dude you gave nothing, I made something doing
  • "Renegade", The Blueprint (2001)

• Goodbye to the game all the spoils, the adrenaline rush / Your blood boils, you in a spot, knowin' cops could rush / you in the drop, you so easy to touch / No two days are alike, except the 1st and 15th pretty much / And trust, is a word you seldom hear from us / Hustlers, we don't sleep, we rest one eye up / And a drought could define a man when the well dries up / You learn the worth of water / Without work you thirst 'til you die, yup!
  • December 4th, The Black Album (2003)

• I'm not a biter, I'm a writer for myself and others / I say a B.I.G. verse, I'm only biggin' up my brother / Biggin' up my borough, I'm big enough to do it / I'm that thorough, plus I know my own flow is foolish / So them rings and things you sing about, bring 'em out / It's hard to yell when the bar-rell's in your mouth
  • What more Can I Say, The Black Album (2003)

• Pop died, didn't cry, didn't know him that well / Between him doin' heroin and me doin' crack sales / With that in the eggshell, standin' at the tabernacle / Rather the church, pretendin' to be hurt - wouldn't work / So a smirk was all on my face / Like damn, that man's face is just like my face / So pop, I forgive you for all the shit that I lived through / It wasn't all your fault homey, you got caught
  • "Moment of Clarity", The Black Album (2003)

• If skills sold / Truth be told / I'd probably be / Lyricly / Talib Kweli / Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense / (But i did five Mil) / I ain't been rhymin like Common since -- When your sense got that much in common / And you been hustlin since / Your inception / Fuck perception / Go with what makes sense / Since / I know what I'm up against / We as rappers must decide what's most impor-tant
  • "Moment of Clarity", The Black Album (2003)

• I never asked for nothin' I don't demand of myself / Honesty, loyalty, friends and then wealth / Death before dishonor and I tell you what else / I tighten my belt 'fore I beg for help / Foolish pride is what held me together through the years / I wasn't felt which is why I ain't never played myself / I just play the hand I'm dealt, I can't say I've never knelt / Before God and asked for better cards at times to no avail / But I never sat back feelin sorry for myself / If you don't give me heaven I'll raise hell ('Til it's heaven)
  • "Justify My Thug", The Black Album (2003)

• If you're havin' girl problems I feel bad for you son / I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one.
  • 99 Problems, The Black Album (2003)

• "If you hear 99 problems but a bitch ain't one, you think - this guy is talking about women, but I am not. I am not talking about women at all. In the first verse I am talking about the industry, magazines and radio. I am using that as a metaphor. And in the sencond verse I am talking about a K9, which is a female dog, which is a bitch. And then in the third verse I am talking about a guy trying to punk me. So I am not talking about a female at no time in that song. But if you just hear the record, 99 problems but a bitch ain't one, you'll think that I am talking about about women, but I am not, at no point in the song."
  • Jay-Z being interviewed by Charle Rose 2/7/05

• I’m already the GOAT, the next stop is the billie

• • “I Get Money Remix”

• If you kill me you're famous,

If I kill you, I’m brainless,
What’s a nigga to do?

• • "Streets Is Watching"

• I’ve got demons in my past so I’ve got daughters on the way,

If the prophecy is correct then the child should have to pay,
For the sins of the father so I barter my tomorrows against my yesterday’s
In hopes that she’ll be okay

• • "Beach Chair"

• No compass comes with this life, just eyes,

so to map it out you must look inside,
sure books could guide you but your heart defines you, chica

• • "Beach Chair"

• there's heaven, then there's hell niggas

One day your cruisin in your 7 next day your sweatin forgettin your lies
Alibis ain't matchin up, bullshit catchin up
Hit with the rico, they repo your vehico'
Everything was all good just a week ago
'Bout to start bitchin' ain't you? Ready to start snitchin' ain't you?
I'll forgive your weak ass, hustlin' just ain't you
Aside from the fast cars; honey's that shake they
ass at bars you know you wouldn't be involved
with the underworld dealers, carriers of mac-millers
East coast bodiers, west coast cap peelers
Little monkey niggas turn gorillas

• • "Dead Presidentz I"

• Rumor has it "The Blueprint" classic

Couldn't even be stopped by Bin Laden
So September 11th marks the era forever
of a revolutionary Jay Guevera

• • "The Bounce"

• I heard motherfuckers saying they made Hov

Made Hov say, "Ok so, make another Hov"

• • "Lost Ones"

• I'm still here mon frere I know the cross I bear,

They like, that's why they call you Hov? I'm like yea
I'm like air, little shots go through me, won't tear
One tissue no tears, no tissue not an issue

• • "Dig a Hole"

• Now you know yo' ass is Willie when they got you in the mag

for like half a billy, and yo' ass ain't lily
white that mean that shit you write must be illy
Either that or your flow is silly - it's both
I don't mean to boast, but damn if I don't brag
Them crackers gon' act like I ain't on they ass
The Martha Stewart, that's far from Jewish
Far from a Harvard student, just had the balls to do it

• • "What More Can I Say"

• While I'm watchin every nigga watchin me closely

my shit is butter for the bread they wanna toast me
I keep my head, both of them where they supposed to be
Hoes'll get you sidetracked then clap from closed feet

• • "Can I Live"

• But reality bites and this is her life / He wasn't really her husband though he called her wife / It was just this night, when the moon was full and the stars were just right and her dress was real tight / He had her sounding like Lisa Lisa / "Wonder if I take you home, will you still love me after this night" / Mike was the hard head from around the way / That she wanted all her life / Cause she wanted all the hype / She used to hold on tight when he wheelied on the bike / He was a Willie all her life / He wasn't really the one to like / There was a dude name Chi, who would really treat her right / He wanted to run to the country to escape the city life / But Isis, liked this, Broadway life / She loved the Gucci sneakers / The Red, Green and White / Hanging out the window when she first seen him fight / So turned on that she had to shower twice*
  • • "Meet The Parents" - Blueprint 2 The Gift and The Curse (2002)

• I guess it's just the need to be heard / I need niggas to say / I can't believe your words / I'm just an addict / Addicted to music / Thoughts is sporadic / I gotta un-confuse it / Sorta like a Rubik's Cube is / Every albums' a color / But I fuck up the other / Color / (laughs) I guess I'm more like / A bitch with a belly but her ass is right / (laughs) Y'all don't understand me still / I never enjoy my success but my family will / And I'm alright with that / So the rap Jerry Rice is back / To fulfill a need / Though I lead the league / I pray everyday I travel at God Speed / Not a minute slower cause the minute you Hova / Everybody praying for your spinach to slow up / It's sad but it's true / But nigga's ass gone turn blue / Holding' ya breath, cause the force that's controlling my step / Won't let me lose it till I'm undisputed / Until I'm one with the music / Till I'm dead and gone in search of the perfect song* - ***"Addicted to the Game" - Blueprint 2 (Unreleased and Underground) (2002)

• This ain't no tall order, this nothing to me / Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week.
  • "Diamonds from Sierra Leone"

• No one in the corner got a bop like this/ 'don't wear skinny jeans coz my knots so thick/ No one in the coner got pockets like this/ so I rock ROC jeans coz my pockets so thick...
  • "Swagga Like Us"

• You can pay for school, but you can't buy class
  • "Swagga Like Us"

• With the same sword they knight you, they gon' good night you with/Shit, that's only half if they like you/That ain't even the half what they might do/Don't believe me, ask Michael/See Martin, see Malcolm/See Biggie, see Pac, see success and its outcome/See Jesus, see Judas/See Caesar, see Brutus, see success is like suicide/Suicide, it's a suicide/If you succeed, prepare/to be crucified/Media meddles, niggaz sue you, you settle/Every step you take, they/remind you you're ghetto/So it's tough being Bobby Brown/To be Bobby then, you have to be/Bobby now/And the question is, "Is to have had and lost/Better than not having at all?"
  • "Lost(remix)" by Coldplay Feat. Jay-Z

• Thank God for Cool Herc/ Without this shit I probably would’ve got murked/ Shout outs to Grandmaster Flash and the cash/ And even Jazz bum ass..
  • "I Do It For Hip-Hop" with Ludacris and Nas

• "There is no social commentary in night clubs"

• "If Jeezy's payin LeBron, I’m paying Dwayne Wade/

3 dice cee-lo/ 3 card marley/ Labor Day parade/ rest in peace Bob Marley/Statue of Liberty/ long live the World Trade"

• • "Empire State of Mind" Blueprint 3

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• I never lost sense of who I was — not for a day, not before I had a record deal, and certainly not after. I believe that's why I'm sitting right here with you today. It didn't change it one bit.

• Death don't discriminate, it eliminate all.