Cover art for Keys 2 the City by Nipsey Hussle

Keys 2 the City

Dec. 21, 20101 viewer46.7K views

Keys 2 the City Lyrics

[Chorus]
455, I drive by doing a hundred
And I stay blunted 'cause I do what I need
And that's the reason that they love me
'Cause I've been making money
I got the key to the city
It feels good to be on top, I got the key to the city
This is how it is to be a big shot

[Verse 1]
Listen, black on black Mercedes-Benz
Tattoo all my lady friends, "Nipsey" on they titties
More game than ESPN
I turn these hoes to lesbians, make her fuck her best of friends
Get head for one hour, smoke a blunt and catch my second wind
Hopping off that tour bus, she probably just had sex with him
She's out of your possession, you cannot protect her then
South Central that's my residence
Deadly like those seven sins
And if I'm not the king of this
I must be the president
Omg, I'm ill as shit, money is my medicine
Shoutout to my niggas in the pen text messaging
Shoutout to them bitches getting it in in their crevices
Conjugal visits make sex seem so irrelevant
Forget about the risk we took, I never can
Rebel in this white-man-world until they bury him
Being broke is so un-American
That's why I'm screaming, "All Money In," 'til the end, nigga
[Chorus]
455, I drive by doing a hundred
And I stay blunted 'cause I do what I need
And that's the reason that they love me
'Cause I've been making money
I got the key to the city
It feels good to be on top, I got the key to the city
This is how it is to be a big shot

[Verse 2]
Pull up in that old school, me and Lil' Shady Blue
Fresh up out the county jail, they held us both without no bail
10 stacks to my lawyer, said a prayer that we prevailed
Jealous niggas hated that, love to see a nigga fail
Miss me with that, "Bro, I love you"
Sucker nigga be for real
Fake as four dollar bills
Hit the gas, we're out of here
On our way to Fox Hills, spending like we got a mill'
Smoking so much kush it got us feeling like we're off a pill
They know we got dollars still
And bitches know they got the bill
Eatin' Benihana daily, drive my baby mama crazy
Name a nigga that could fade me
Pussy, that does not persuade me
Got a swag that make 'em hate me
Plus we never shop at Macy’s
Louis V and Gucci, maybe
Neiman Marcus, blue Mercedes
We was both familiar faces
Spending thousands, dodging cases
"Fuck a bottle, bring the cases," is what we told the waitress
Then pop Clicquot for all of y'all that tried to play us, Hussle
[Chorus]
455, I drive by doing a hundred
And I stay blunted 'cause I do what I need
And that's the reason that they love me
'Cause I've been making money
I got the key to the city
It feels good to be on top, I got the key to the city
This is how it is to be a big shot

[Verse 3]
Hussle, Hussle, Dre past, Def Jam, Capital Atlantic too
Thought that I'll be dead or doing life, 'cause what I rap is true
Just another you know who
Sam had some time to do
And yeah, Steve is cool, but I heard Big U's an animal
Fuck what they was talking about
We just did what we had to do
Became the most valuable, after I dropped Volume 2
From the West Coast at least, now for the West Coast I speak
'Cause on a level four with Gilbon is where I'm 'posed to be
I be on some business shit
Y'all bring out the loc in me
Like a broke weed head, my pistol will smoke for free
Emani ain't gonna know the streets
Got to keep her close to me
Put that on the man that's on the cross on my rosary
Wasn’t always banging but I speak about it openly
No shame in my game
I did my thing, on the coldest streets
Who's the hottest on the West
All you niggas know it's me
So tell whoever got it lock that Nipsey Hussle stole the key, nigga
[Chorus]
455, I drive by doing a hundred
And I stay blunted 'cause I do what I need
And that's the reason that they love me
'Cause I've been making money
I got the key to the city
It feels good to be on top, I got the key to the city
This is how it is to be a big shot

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

This song bio is unreviewed
Genius Annotation

A classic braggadocios track from the late great Nipsey Hussle. Here Nip talks about the life he lives and how his grind helped him get there and how the success he’s lived has made him the man and he has the “key to the city”

The song samples Roy Ayers “Everybody Loves the Sunshine”

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Comments