Where I’m From Lyrics

[Intro]
Uh huh, ge-ge ge-ge-geah
Ye-ye-yeah, ye-ye-yeah, (Brooklyn)
How real is, this?
How real is, this? (Brooklyn)
Uh-huh huh (Brooklyn)
Respect this here, check!

[Verse 1]
I'm from where the hammers rung, news cameras never come
You and your mans hung in every verse in your rhyme
Where the grams was slung, niggas vanish every summer
When 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 gave straight bets
So I felt I'm owed something and you nothing, check
I'm from the other side where the other guys don't walk too much
And girls from the projects wouldn't fuck us, said we talked too much
So they ran up to Tompkins and sought them dudes to trust
I don't know what the fuck 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 word was everything, so everything you said you'd do
You did it, couldn't talk about it if you ain't live it
I'm from where niggas pull your card, and argue all day about
Who's the best MCs, Biggie, Jay-Z or Nas?

Where the drugs czars evolve, and thugs are at odds
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, is that all?
I'm from where they ball and breed rhyme stars
I'm from Marcy, son, just thought I'd remind y'all
[Chorus]
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
(Mentally been many places but I'm Brooklyn's own)
Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing nice
(Brooklyn... so where you from?)

[Verse 2]
I'm from the place where the church is the flakiest
And niggas been 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 stray shells
An ounce away from a triple beam
Still using a hand-held weight scale

You're laughing, you know the place well
Where the liquor stores and the base dwell
And government? Fuck government! Niggas politick theyselves
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 eighteens
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 fuck 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 prayed to you and said if I ever blow, I'd let 'em know
The stakes, and exactly what takes place in the ghetto
Promise fulfilled, still I feel my job ain't done

Cough up a lung, where I'm from, Marcy son, ain't nothing nice

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About

Genius Annotation

“Where I’m From” will forever stand as one of Jay’s most evocative songs; providing the listener a detail-rich—and deeply sad—portrait of the Marcy Houses where he grew up.

This track and “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five describe the despair of the ghetto like no other.

Q&A

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

How did producer Amen-Ra create the beat?
Genius Answer

Amen-Ra used the Akai MPC3000 and the Roland JV-2080 to create the beat, while sampling a section from Yvonne Fair’s 1975 “Let Your Hair Down” throughout. He had found the Soul singer’s record while hunting in 1996, and used a sample he found at 0:54 to “give [the beat] a sinister soundtrack feel.” The beat would eventually also sample Run-DMC’s “Rock Box, Biggie’s “Me & My Bitch,” and Puff, Jigga, Biggie, and Kelly Price’s “Young G’s.”

He explains the creation of the beat in-depth in this video he uploaded to YouTube:

How did Jay-Z come to hear the beat?
Genius Answer

In mid-1997 Amen-Ra was a member of Bad Boy’s successful Hitmen production team, who were working on Jay’s second studio album under the supervision of Puff.

When Amen-Ra first brought the beat to Puff on a DAT it was still in rough form—there were no sound effects, no extra percussion—and the Bad Boy founder passed on it.

However, when D-Dot played the beat for Jay and his A&R Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua and the rapper heard the rough, sample-heavy cut he was immediately inspired, and began recording the highly-personal verses four lines at a time.

I came to the studio so we could do the vocals together. He was very cool, smooth, laid-back about it. He would listen to the track and pace back-and-forth in the studio … I saw Jay-Z walk back-and-forth from the booth to the control room. Never once did he pick up a pen to write lyrics. He would memorize four lines in his head at one time, go into the booth, knock out the lyric, and then come back to the control room to listen to it. Before you knew it the record was done.

Credits
Distributor
Phonographic Copyright ℗
Recording Engineer
Mixing Engineer
Scratches
Recorded At
Quad Recording
Release Date
November 4, 1997
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