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[Beyoncé]
Deliver me from my enemies, Oâ God.
Defend me from those that rise up against me.
Deliver me from the work of iniquity.
Save me from the brethren.
[Jay-Z]
Mind state of a gangster from the â40s.
Meet the business mind of Motownâs Barry Gordey.
Turned crack rock into a chain of 40/40s.
Sorry my jewelleryâs so Gordie.
Slid into the party with my new pair of Mauries.
America, meet the gangster, Shawn Corey.
Hey, young world, wanna hear a story?
Close your eyes and you could pretend youâre me.
Iâm cut from the cloth of the Kennedyâs.
Frank Sinatra havinâ dinner with the Genovese.
This is the genesis of a nemesis
Mother Americaâs not witnessed since,
The Harlem Renaissance birthed black buisnesses.
This is the tale of lost innocence.
As the incense burn and the turntables turn and that Al Green plays,
I see my motherâs afro as mama taps her toes as she rose her Js.
And my poppa just left the house in search of the killer of my uncle, Ray.
And sheâs tryna calm my nerves, as I observe.
This is just one day.
And what tomorrow has in store,
We can never be sure so all we can do is
â¦Pray.
[Beyoncé]
Because of Your strength, while I walked upon Thee.
For God is my defense.
[Choir]
Pray for me!
[Jay-Z]
As I head to my homeroom, I observe the rooms:
Dope needles on the ground.
I hear a car go vroom, drug dealer in the BMâ with the top down.
As the girls start to giggle, I ask, âWhy you laugh?â
They say, âYou too little.
One day youâll understand.
One day youâll become a man, buy things you have to get you.â
Fast-forward, freeze frame: Iâm a pistol.
Fist full of dollars â ignorance is so blissful.
I didnât choose this life, this life chose me.
Around here is the shit that you just do.
I just left school.
The same BMâ is pulled over by the boys dressed blue.
They have their guns drawn screaminâ,
âJust move unless thereâs something else you suggest we can do.â
He made his way to the trunk, opened it like,
âHuh?â¦â A treasure chest was removed.
Cop said heâll be back next month.
What we called âcorrupt,â he called âpaying dues.â
Now when the rules is blurred, as they is you were,
What am I to do but Pray?
Pray the Lord forgive me.
Pray Godâs been by what Iâm about to go through.
â¦Pray.
[Beyoncé]
Deliver me in Thy righteousness and cause me to escape.
And climb Thyn heir unto me.
Save me, Oâ Lord.
[Choir]
Pray for me!
[Jay-Z]
Cheea.
Anywhere thereâs o-ppression in the drug profession, flourishes like breverages.
Refreshinâ; ahhh, sweet taste of sin.
Everything I seen made me everything I am.
Bad drug dealer or victim, my bag?
What came first â movinâ chickens or the egg?
This is why I be so fresh.
Iâm tryna beat life âcause I canât cheat death.
âPreciate the shamelessness and stainlesses that aim this is.
You know the game this is.
Move coke like Pepsi, donât matter what the brand name is.
â¦I stand behind mine.
Everything I do Iâm a man behind mine.
Iâm not an angel Iâm sure, but every night before I lay,
I drop my knees to the floor and I Pray.
[Beyoncé]
The name shall endure forever.
The name shall be continued as long as the Son.
[Choir]
Pray for me!
[Beyoncé]
Men shall be blessed in Him.
All nations shall call Him blessed.
In Your name I Pray.
[Choir]
Pray for me!
[Beyoncé]
Lord bless Him.
- Album:
- The Unreleased Collection
- The Cuban Connection
- Magna Carta Holy Grail
- Blue
- Miscellaneous
- In My Lifetime, Vol. 1
- Jay-Z: The Hits Collection, Volume One
- The Blueprint 3
- Jaydiohead
- American Gangster
- Kingdom Come
- Greatest Hits
- The Black Album
- Bring It On: The Best Of Jay-Z
- The Blueprint 2.1
- Chapter One: Greatest Hits
- The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse
- The Blueprint
- Jay-Z: Unplugged
- The Dynasty: Roc La Familia