Renegade (Original Version) Lyrics

[Verse 1: Royce]
It's several different levels to picking up shovels
And dumping you in ditches under sea level

Front and you can witness
Let me refreshen you niggas, tell you my position in this
(Ch-chk!) Beef! Leave you under Venice, opposition finished
Here it is, we invaded, created a pyramid
Of a Haven of names, so blame Dre, and that ear of his
So (ah-ha, ah-ha) breathe, I'd rather reach for your neck
And I never heat you for respect, unless you greet me with less

I got a skunk in my trunk, I'm lying, I got a pump in my trunk
You dying, how many lumps niggas want?
Who's ready for y'all? We ready for y'all
We too incredibly raw for any artist that said he would draw
I stand firm, and it hurts to live it
You open up that can of worms
I hope you ready for the dirt that's with it
Slap a hoe, snatch a mic
Being brought to y'all in black and in white
(It's the new!) Joe Jackson and Ike
We renegades

[Verse 2: Eminem]
Since I'm in a position to talk to these kids and they listen
I ain't no politician, but I'll kick it with 'em a minute
‘Cause see, they call me a menace
And if the shoe fits I'll wear it
But if it don't, then y'all'll swallow the truth, grin and bear it
Now who's the king of these rude, ludicrous, lucrative lyrics?
Who could inherit the title, put the youth in hysterics
Usin' his music to steer it, sharin' his views and his merits?
But there's a huge interference
They're sayin' you shouldn't hear it
Maybe it's hatred I spew, maybe it's food for the spirit
Maybe it's beautiful music I made for you to just cherish
But I'm debated, disputed, hated and viewed in America
As a motherfuckin' drug addict, like you didn't experiment?
Nah, nah, that's when you start to stare at who's in the mirror
And see yourself as a kid again, and you get embarrassed
And I got nothin' to do but make you look stupid as parents
You fuckin' do-gooders, too bad you couldn't do good at marriage
And do you have any clue what I had to do to get here?
I don't think you do, so stay tuned
And keep your ears glued to the stereo
'Cause, here we go: He's Royce, he's the King of Detroit
And I'm the sinister, Mr. Kiss-My-Ass is just a—
[Hook: Eminem & Royce]
—renegade!
Never been afraid to say what's on my mind
At any given time of day
'Cause I'm a renegade!
Never been afraid to talk about anything
(Anything?) Anything
'Cause I'm a renegade!
Never been afraid to say what's on my mind
At any given time of day
'Cause I'm a renegade!
Never been afraid to talk about anything
(Anything?) Anything (Anything)

[Verse 3: Royce]
I determine what time it's on, I call my nigga Proof
Hand him a pint of Limon and turn him loose
I'm tired of you new jacks, I'm tired of niggas that's like (I'm 'bout to blow)
'less you a bitch, we don't care if you 'bout to do that
Move back, youngster, the Glock gon' speak
Chew up your vest and turn your chest hair to taco meat
The street, continuous to pit, quick to smash ya
Or flash the clip, or give you the picture, develop the
Click clock, six shots blows through another door
And it gets hot, Hip-hop Quotable tug of war
Who did you niggas' beats, you bitches, who made it work?
That shit was *pfft* — I got harder two-way alerts

Just when I thought my dog couldn't get any meaner
You talk about his daughter, he probably go get you the nina
You talk about his momma, he won't even give you the finger

(He's crazy) Deranged, not media eaters, we renegades
Renegade!
Never been afraid to say what's on my mind
At any given time of day
'Cause I'm a renegade!
Never been afraid to talk about anything
(Anything?) Anything
'Cause I'm a renegade!
Never been afraid to say what's on my mind
At any given time of day
'Cause I'm a renegade!
Never been afraid to talk about anything
(Anything?) Anything (Anything) Thing

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About

Genius Annotation

The original version. Eminem had a beat for Jay-Z but at the time he was recording with 2 inch reels and the reel with the beat on it was in L.A., and Em was in Detroit and Jay was on a deadline. Em removed Royce from this track and sent it to Jay who laid his part and sent it back to Em to mix and finish the standout track from the Blueprint album. 4 years later the DAT for this original leaked.

Q&A

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

What did Royce da 5'9" say about "Renegade (Original Version)"?
Genius Answer

Royce da 5'9" spoke to Complex about Eminem giving this track to Jay Z and the making of this track in general:

We needed something for the album for both of us to be on. We had ‘Rock City’ done already, but I didn’t have an Em verse and he was executive producing the project. So he went to his house—that’s when he was recording at his crib, in his home studio. When I got there he was already making the beat.

As soon as he was done making the beat, I took it home. I wrote some stuff to it, then took it back to his house the next day. When I got there he already had his first verse and the first half of the hook done. I went in and did the second half of the hook, laid my verse, and then we finished it from there. I did that after Em did ‘Dead Wrong,’ so I [used the same flow he used] because I was on a song with him. It was a pretty easy breezy session.

Jay-Z was at a deadline and he had been asking Em to get on something. Em didn’t want to miss Jay’s deadline because obviously he respects him. I don’t think he had time to go in and do a whole new joint, so he called me and asked if I was cool with just giving Jay that one and we’ll just do something else. I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s cool.’

Why would I feel regret if that’s one of Em’s signature songs? That’s a great thing for him, and I don’t think the song would’ve reached the potential it reached with him and Jay-Z if it was me and him because Interscope wouldn’t even clear him for that song anyways.

I think it was something where they were willing to give us video rights for ‘Rock City,’ but if they cleared ‘Renegade’ we wouldn’t get single rights. It was a long time ago so I can’t really remember, but I do remember there was a little bit of politics involved to where I’m glad that he gave it to Jay because the song would never have reached the potential it was supposed to reach. It’s a good thing.

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