Tell Me When to Go Lyrics

[Chorus]
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Go dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Go dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb

[Verse 1: E-40]
Ooh. Jesus Christ had dreads, so shake em
I ain't got none, but I'm planning on growing some
Imagine all the Hebrews going dumb
Dancing on top of chariots and turning tight ones
Ooh, tell me when to go (dumb)
Talking on my Ghettro on the way to the store
My second or third trip
Some Henny, some Swishers and some Listerine strips
Dr. Greenthumb lips, just to ease my thoughts
Not just the cops, but the homies you got to watch
The moon is full, look at the dark clouds
Sitting in my scraper, watching Oakland Gone Wild, ta-dow
I don't bump mainstream, I knock underground
All that other shit, sugarcoated and watered down
I'm from the Bay where we hyphy and go dumb
From the soil where them rappers be getting their lingo from
[Chorus]
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb

[Verse 2: Keak Da Sneak]
I'm off that 18 dummy juice
Nigga, Raggaman, labeled the Black Zeus
King of the super duper hyphy (Hyphy, hyphy, hyphy, hyphy)
Pipey in your wifey, you don't like me
(Like me, like me, like me, like me)
From the Bay to the A
Put me in a Backwood, Swisher sweet blunt, orange lace
(Let's go, it's dope) It's just some shit I wrote
My city couldn't be saved by John the Pope (John the Pope)
I slid past on the gas with the bitches at me
It's good, it's good like the granddaddy
Cross game, you get flipped like a burger patty
Or zig-zagged, pass me a big old fatty
I drink white, with a snow bunny
Talking big shit in the scraper, going hella dummy
1800, Jose Cuervo
Yadadamean? Yadada I'm saying though?
[Chorus]
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb

[Interlude: E-40]
Now let me direct traffic for a minute
(Talk to 'em)
Now, let me tell you about this hyphy movement we got going in the Bay
When I say something you say it right back to me, you smell me?
We're gonna do it like this right here

[Bridge: E-40]
Ghostride the whip, ghostride the whip
Ghostride the whip, ghostride the whip
Now scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape
Now scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape

Put your stunna shades on
Put your stunna shades on
Put your stunna shades on
Put your stunna shades on

Now gas, brake, dip, dip
Gas, brake, dip, dip

Shake them dreads, shake them dreads
Shake them dreads, shake them dreads

Let me see you show your grill, let me see you show your grill
Let me see you show your grill, let me see you show your grill
Now thizz face, thizz face
Thizz face, thizz face

Doors open, mayne
Doors open, mayne
Doors open, mayne
Doors open, mayne
Now watch em swang, watch em swang
Now watch em swang, watch em swang
Go stupid, go dumb, dumb
Go stupid, go dumb, dumb
[Chorus]
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Tell me when to go... Tell me when to go
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb

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About

Genius Annotation

The song is the anthem of the Hyphy Movement coming out of the Bay Area, featuring the Ambassador of the Bay himself E-40 and hyphy mainstay Keak da Sneak

Produced by: Lil Jon

E-40: “When I first signed with Lil Jon I said, ‘Man, I’ma be me. I want you to give me some new flavors but I also want to cater to my area, my region. I’m gonna want some uptempos, some midtempos, and some soft shit. We gone mix it up.’ He was like, ‘Okay.’ So first song we did [that day] was ‘Muscle Cars.’ I already knew I wanted to do a song called ‘Muscle Cars.’ So I said, ‘Jon, make me an uptempo slap. I wanna call it ‘Muscle Cars.’’ So he made the beat and killed. I said, ‘Lemme call Keak da Sneak cause I want him on this track.’

“So I called Dame Fame—a good friend of Keak da Sneak—and I say, ‘Fame, what’s your email cause I want to send you this track called ‘Muscle Cars’ that I want Keak to get on.’ He was like, ‘Okay, but me and Keak in Atlanta.’ I said, ‘Y’all niggas in Atlanta? WHAT! Man if y'all don’t get your ass to this studio and come lay this verse to this shit!’ [Laughs.] Keak wasn’t never in Atlanta like that but I was. I would be out there all the time. But just the fact that that particular day he was there, I was like, ‘Whoa! What are the chances of this?’

“They came over there. We had a good time too. We got right. We got perkin’ and whatnot, we got that herbal essence in us, that good broccoli, and what-have-you. The beat was made. Keak da Sneak came in there did the hook, did his verse, I did mine. Turf Talk was in the Bay, so we sent it to him.

“In the meantime and in-between time, that same day that we did ‘Muscle Cars’—me, Keak da Sneak, Lil Jon, and Dame Fame, were all still in the studio. Lil Jon was still on the MPC and that boy just came with that ‘dun dun-tsk, dun dun dun-dun tsk.’ Just came out of nowhere with the beat. Like, ‘Ooh, what the fuck is that!?’

“Then the boy Dame Fame and Keak da Sneak was like [whispering], ‘Tell me when to go. Tell me when to go.’ And I said, ‘Spit that shit to me, boy!’ Like [raises voice], ‘Tell me when to go! Tell me when to go!’ And I was like, ‘That’s hard.’ It was like magic. Next thing you know, the boy Lil Jon got the Run DMC sample from ‘Dumb Girl.’ Then I spit a verse, Keak did his verse. Then Jon said that at the end of the song there needs to be a chant. That we needed to talk about all that shit that we do out there in the Bay and make it a chant. That’s what I did. And the shit became a smash.”

Q&A

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

What did E-40 say about "Tell Me When to Go"?
Genius Answer

E-40 had this to say about the making of “Tell Me When to Go”:
“When I first signed with Lil Jon I said, ‘Man, I’ma be me. I want you to give me some new flavors but I also want to cater to my area, my region. I’m gonna want some uptempos, some midtempos, and some soft shit. We gone mix it up.’ He was like, ‘Okay.’ So first song we did [that day] was ‘Muscle Cars.’ I already knew I wanted to do a song called ‘Muscle Cars.’ So I said, ‘Jon, make me an uptempo slap. I wanna call it ‘Muscle Cars.’’ So he made the beat and killed. I said, ‘Lemme call Keak da Sneak cause I want him on this track.’

“So I called Dame Fame—a good friend of Keak da Sneak—and I say, ‘Fame, what’s your email cause I want to send you this track called ‘Muscle Cars’ that I want Keak to get on.’ He was like, ‘Okay, but me and Keak in Atlanta.’ I said, ‘Y’all niggas in Atlanta? WHAT! Man if y'all don’t get your ass to this studio and come lay this verse to this shit!’ [Laughs.] Keak wasn’t never in Atlanta like that but I was. I would be out there all the time. But just the fact that that particular day he was there, I was like, ‘Whoa! What are the chances of this?’

“They came over there. We had a good time too. We got right. We got perkin’ and whatnot, we got that herbal essence in us, that good broccoli, and what-have-you. The beat was made. Keak da Sneak came in there did the hook, did his verse, I did mine. Turf Talk was in the Bay, so we sent it to him.

“In the meantime and in-between time, that same day that we did ‘Muscle Cars’—me, Keak da Sneak, Lil Jon, and Dame Fame, were all still in the studio. Lil Jon was still on the MPC and that boy just came with that ‘dun dun-tsk, dun dun dun-dun tsk.’ Just came out of nowhere with the beat. Like, ‘Ooh, what the fuck is that!?’

“Then the boy Dame Fame and Keak da Sneak was like [whispering], ‘Tell me when to go. Tell me when to go.’ And I said, ‘Spit that shit to me, boy!’ Like [raises voice], ‘Tell me when to go! Tell me when to go!’ And I was like, ‘That’s hard.’ It was like magic. Next thing you know, the boy Lil Jon got the Run DMC sample from ‘Dumb Girl.’ Then I spit a verse, Keak did his verse. Then Jon said that at the end of the song there needs to be a chant. That we needed to talk about all that shit that we do out there in the Bay and make it a chant. That’s what I did. And the shit became a smash.”

What certifications has this track received?
Genius Answer

On February 2, 2024, “Tell Me When to Go” was certified platinum by the RIAA.

Credits
Featuring
Produced By
Performance Rights
Phonographic Copyright ℗
Recording Engineer
Assistant Recording Engineer
Mixing Engineer
Assistant Mixing Engineer
Mastering Engineer
Recorded At
Stankonia Recording (Atlanta)
Release Date
February 1, 2006
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