Where I'm From Lyrics

Uh-huh, je-je je-je-jeah
Ye-ye-yeah, ye-ye-yeah
How real is this, how real is this
Uh-huh huh, inspect this here, check

I'm from where the hammer's rung, news cameras never come
You and your man houndin' every verse in your rhyme
Where the grams is slung, niggas vanish every summer
Where the blue vans would come, we throw the work in the can and run

Where the plans was to get funds and skate off the set
To achieve this goal quicker, sold all my weight wet
Faced with immeasurable odds still I get straight bets
So I felt there more something and you nothing check

I from the other side with other guys don't walk to much
And girls in the projects wouldn't f**k us if we talked too much
So they ran up the town and then sought them dudes to trust
I don't know what the f**k they thought those niggas is foul just like us

I'm from where the beef is inevitable, summertime's unforgettable
Boosters in abundance, buy a half-price sweater new
Your world was everything, so everything you said you'd do
You did it, couldn't talk about it if you ain't lived it

I from where niggas pull your car, and argue all day about
Who's the best Mc's, Biggie, Jay-Z, and Nas
Where the drugs czars evolve and thugs always are
At each other's throats for the love of foreign cars

Where cats catch cases, hoping the judge R and R's
But most times find themselves locked up behind bars
I'm from where they ball and breed rhyme stars
I'm from Marcy Son, just thought I'd remind y'all

Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own

Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing nice

I'm from the place where the church is the flakiest
And niggas is praying to God so long that they atheist
Where you can't put your vest away and say you'll wear it tomorrow
'Cause the day after we'll be saying, damn I was just with him yesterday

I'm a block away from hell, not enough shots away from straight shells
An ounce away from a triple beam still using a hand-held weight scale
Your laughing, you know the place well
Where the liquor store's and the base well
And government, f**k government, niggas polotic themselves

Where we call the cops the a-team
'Cause they hop out of vans and spray things
And life expectancy so low we making out wills at eight-teen
Where how you get rid of guys who step out of line, your rep solidifies

So tell me when I rap you think I give a f**k who criticize?
If the shit is lies, God strike me
And I got a question, are you forgiving guys who live just like me?
We'll never know

One day I pray to you and said if I ever blow, let 'em know
Mistakes ain't exactly what takes place in the ghetto
Promise fulfilled, but still I feel my job ain't done
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy Son, ain't nothing nice

Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy Son, ain't nothing nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy Son, ain't nothing nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own

Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing nice

Check, I'm from where they cross-over and clap boards
Lost Jehovah in place of rap Lords, listen
I'm up the block, round the corner and down the street
From where the pimps, prostitutes, and the drug Lords meet

We make the million off of beats, 'cause our stories is deep
And f**k tomorrow, long as the night before was sweet
Niggas get lost for weeks in the streets, twisted off weed
And no matter the weather, niggas know how to draw heat

Whether your four-feet or minute size
It always starts out with three dice and shoot the five
Niggas thought they douce was live, now hit 'em with trips
Then I reached down for their money, pa forget about this

This time around it's platinum, like the shit on my wrist
And this glock on my waist, y'all can't do shit about this
Niggas will show you love, that's how they fool thugs
Before you know it you're lying in a pool of blood

Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy Son, ain't nothing nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy Son, ain't nothing nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own

Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy Son, ain't nothing nice
Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy Son, ain't nothing nice

Jay-Z - In My Lifetime, Vol. 1

Nov 1997

1. Intro/A Million And One Questions/Rhyme No More
2. The City Is Mine
3. I Know What Girls Like
4. Imaginary Player
5. Streets Is Watching
6. Friend Or Foe 98
7. Lucky Me
8. (Always Be My) Sunshine
9. Who You Wit II
10. Face Off
11. Real Niggaz
12. Rap Game/Crack Game
13. Where I'm From
14. You Must Love Me