Introduction:
"Yea I'm inspired by life, and all sorts of things. You could say something right now that would inspire me to write a song, or something to happen. You know, 'Most Kings' just happens to be inspired by a Basquiat drawing. You know the drawing, and he had the "Most young kings get their head cut off" at the bottom. And I looked at that, and I was like that's powerful. You know, just the statement in itself, you know, lends itself for a song. The song starts 'inspired by Basquiat, my chariots on fire. Everybody took shots, hit my body up, I'm tired.' And then it's just 'They build me up to break me down, then build me up again. They like Hov we need you back, so we can kill your ass again.' You know it's like this thing, this love / hate thing that the world has with success, period. It deals for the most part with success. It deals with people you started your life off with, and what success does to them. 'People look at you strange saying you changed, like you worked that hard to stay the same.' It's like you're doing all this for a reason. And what happens most of the time is people change. People change around you, because they start treating you different because of your success. So you are changing. You don't change who you are, the core of who you are, the things that you believe, the things you love, and the things you'd die for, and your principles. You don't change that, but you're going to change who you are. You're gonna change, you know. You can't do the same things, you can't go hang on the corner. Some people may not be comfortable with that. And it deals with the other side of success, how people look at you when you're successful. 'Media meddles, people sue, you settle. Every step you take they remind you, you ghetto.' And so no matter how far you are, you still have that stigma of where you come from when you walk inside the door. Even if you have a tuxedo on it's like 'Oh yea that's the guy who used to be this, and did that.' Most kings get their heads cut off. I mean in war, in battle, in life. At the end of the day you've achieved everything you've wanted, you made it to the top of the thrown. And, at the end of the day you just get your head cut off" - Sean "Jay-Z" Carter
[Verse One]
Martin Luther (Jr.) was never a dreamer
Everything he thought was manifested
Peace to the King
We using them stepping stones to lead the nation
I'm a modern day American
You just see another Black Man
But I'm challenging all of yall
To recognize this African for the God I am
So tell me what's my language
Someone tell me what my tribe is
And f*ck a slave master
Yall ain't about to send back off into Africa
Not empty handed
Look at all this cotton
n*gga look at all your sins
If I ain't the resurrection then who is Him
I'm the melaninated educated
I'm the innocence left in Huey P. (Newton)
I'm the manifestation of everything that the
Black Panthers should of been
I'm greatness
Who dares to challenge this
I'm walking off with the gospels in both hands
Without the crucifix
Mi hermanos Mexicano
But Papa J. (Ruiz) he be Colombia
You better spell that b*tch with two O's
The indigenous hated Columbus
My metaphors equip with hover boards
Silver surf across the universe
My Queen's a vanilla greatness
Her very existence is a testament
I've been beaten down to shackles n*gga
My grand daddy he had it worst
So if he can endure the pain
Then I'm pretty sure that I'm allowed to hurt
Even Jesus wept
So take me up into that motherboard
Let me rip apart these rusted doors
And show yall what I'm made of
Hey cuhz
Let's smoke a blunt to Makaveli
I went from looking up to Pac
To living longer than him and Biggie
Yall don't hear me though
But I'll be damned if yall don't feel me
Said I'll be damned if yall don't feel me
We ain't the flesh but n*ggas is dying off for material
I'm the meditative Buddhist monk
Trying to focus off on the spiritual
So salute me as the general
Or plot my assassination
Allahu Akbar
The flesh is no longer a temptation
A toast to greatness
Yea, a toast to greatness
They build me up to break me down
To build me up again
They like Poe we need you back
So we can kill your ass again
I said they build me up to break me down
To build me up again
They like Poe we need you back
So we can kill your ass again
How I'm feelin