Moment Of Clarity - Jay-Z

Thank God for granting me this moment of clarity

This moment of honesty

The world’ll feel my truths

All through my Hard Knock Lifetime, A Gift and a Curse

I gave you Volume after Volume of my work

So you can feel my truths

I built the Dynasty by being one of the realest niggas out

Way beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Y’all can’t fill my shoes

From my Blueprint beginning to that Black Album ending

Listen close, you’ll hear what I’m about

Nigga, feel my truths

Pop died, didn’t cry, didn’t know him that well

Between him doing heroin and me doing crack sales

Put that in the eggshell, standing at the tabernacle

Rather the church, pretending 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, homie, you got caught

Into the same game I fought, that Uncle Ray lost

My big brothers and so many others I saw

I’m just glad we got to see each other

Talk and re-meet each other

Save a place in Heaven 'til the next time we meet forever!

Thank God for granting me this moment of clarity

This moment of honesty

The world’ll feel my truths

All through my Hard Knock Lifetime, A Gift and a Curse

I gave you Volume after Volume of my work

So you can feel my truths

I built the Dynasty by being one of the realest niggas out

Way beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Y’all can’t fill my shoes

From my Blueprint beginning to that Black Album ending

Listen close, you’ll hear what I’m about

Nigga, feel my truths

Music business hate me ‘cause the industry ain’t make me

Hustlers and boosters embrace me and the music I be making

I dumbed down for my audience to double my dollars

They criticized me for it, yet they all yell «holla»

If skills sold, truth be told, I’d probably be lyrically Talib Kweli

Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense

But I did 5 mill' - I ain’t been rhyming like Common since (wooo!)

When your cents got that much in common

And you been hustling 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 important

And I can’t help the poor if I’m one of them

So I got rich and gave back, to me that’s the win/win

So next time you see the homie and his rims spin

Just know my mind is working just like them (rims, that is)

Thank God for granting me this moment of clarity

This moment of honesty

The world’ll feel my truths

All through my Hard Knock Lifetime, A Gift and a Curse

I gave you Volume after Volume of my work

So you can feel my truths

I built the Dynasty by being one of the realest niggas out

Way beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Y’all can’t fill my shoes

From my Blueprint beginning to that Black Album ending

Listen close, you’ll hear what I’m about

Nigga, feel my truths

My homie Sig' was on a tier where no tears should fall

‘Cause he was on the block where no squares get off

See, in my inner circle, all we do is ball

'Til we all got triangles on our wall

Ain’t just rapping for the platinum, y’all record

I recall, ‘cause I really been there before

Four scores and seven years ago, prepared the flow

Prepared for war, I should fear no man

You don’t hear me though, these words ain’t just 'pared to go

In one ear, out the other ear, no!

Yo, my balls and my word is alls I have

What you gonna do to me, nigga? Scars will scab

What, you gonna box me, homie? I can dodge a jab

Three shots couldn’t touch me, thank God for that

I’m strong enough to carry Biggie Smalls on my back

And the whole BK, nigga, holla back!

Thank God for granting me this moment of clarity

This moment of honesty

The world’ll feel my truths

All through my Hard Knock Lifetime, A Gift and a Curse

I gave you Volume after Volume of my work

So you can feel my truths

I built the Dynasty by being one of the realest niggas out

Way beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Y’all can’t fill my shoes

From my Blueprint beginning to that Black Album ending

Listen close, you’ll hear what I’m about

Nigga, feel my truths