Kanye West: Get by

[Mos Def]HistoryIt's happening every day y'all (right now)Everyday (right now)Right now (good mornin', Vietnam!)ListenBrooklyn wins againIt's the Stuy, it's the Bush, dem niggaz againTa' Kweli, Mighty Def, and S Dot on the guest slotKanye, you're the dope man in hip hop, now let's rockNow roll out niggaz, my hometown niggazI get it good in your hood so slow down niggazWatch the speed though, mind the pedal and ease offA street talk into a collision course with these walls - bam!They don't move, don't brake, don't lose, don't sleepLight passin', light fashion, life happens that fast, party doneBlack hands up and prayerBlack guns up in fearDyin' wish is to touch the airSeekin' heaven that wasn't hereEyes will not see another yearIt's another dayIt's the same fightDifferent round, sound the bellMix it up as if you're where you live it up the beatAnd get risen up you're knocked down get back and get it upGet off of queer street and get with usAnd get clear where we did itFrom the heart, from the peopleFrom the top, from the jeepFrom the gutter, from the streetFrom my soul to the mic to the essenceSo in my absence you feel the presence, exactlyI make contact for sure the emceeMe and mine we don't just get byWe get free and that's ready [Mos -- nigga][Jay-Z]Just to get byNigga I sold coke, nigga I pushed lahCarried a fo'fiveClaimed I was ready to diePromised never to cryHeld it all insideReality was too much to take so IKept my mind friedSlept for most of mineSoon as I closed my eyesThen I woke up behindThinking either I load up these ninesOr blow up with rhymescause this flow of mine is like blow up but lines of cocaAnd your folks think Hov' just wrote stuff to rhymeNah, I'm a poster for what happened seein your momsDoin five dollars worth to work just to get a dimeSo pardon my dispositionWhy should I listen to a system that never listened to me?Picture me working McDonald'sI'd rather pull a mac on youSorry Ms. Jackson but I'm packin[Kanye West]It's on I'm packin weight like nina simonePiano flowIt's like a Michaelangelo painted a portrait of Maya AngelouAnd gave it to a sick poet for they antidoteIf music gets you choked up this is the tree and the ropeThis is shy nigga I mista all of thatFuck a map, let's put this bitch on the almanacDice what they hittin' for, 'lax what you sittin' onTracks who you spittin on, rap till we get it onAnd don't let nobody with the power to signEver tell you you ain't got the power to rhymeThey used to tell me toughen upPut some bass in your voiceThey used to tell me lighten upPut some mase in your voiceLord willin' I ain't killt nobodyBut I have a feelin' this albumThat I'm gonna make a killin'Or not a shillin'This is love it or hate it musicBut, at least we made it musicAnd we didn't make it industryThis is gon' be interestingThis'll be the end of me or I'm finna be an entityKanye, Jay-Z, Mos Def, and KweliWe are not makin' songs no moreWe're makin' history[background singers]This morning I woke upFeelin brand new, I jumped upFeelin my highs and my lowsIn my soul, and my goalsJust to stop smoking and stop drinkinBut I been thinkin I got my reasonsJust to get (by), just to get (by)Just to get (by), just to get (by)[background singers repeat in the background]bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah dahbah dah bah dah, bah dah bah daaah[Talib Kweli]Just to get by, just to get byJust to get by, just to get by[background singers]bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah dahBah dah bah dah, bah dah bah daaah[Talib Kweli]Just to get by, just to get byJust to get byWe keep it gangsta, saying 'fo shizzle', 'fo sheezy'Desensitized to the violence on TV during the warKillin each other is easy as whore and liquor for fallen niggaz Believeme, it's ghetto libations seen it all befo'Just to get by, my people we get flyMy people we get high, fillin cigars with the lahNigga come on, even Jesus was stoned before receivin' the throneI send a rest in peace to Nina Simone[Busta Rhymes]Back in the days we was used to doin the shitI can't call it all in the streetsWe would hustle and fiends would ask for itI guess I was used to just standin on cornersWaitin for paper bags with bundles of crackHopin the week was good so I could get money backTo get by, just to get by, just to get by, just to get byWhen I was stressed I possessed a side of my strengthThat made me angry and bleedWith the frustration havin me smokin Newports and weedTo get by, just to get by, just to get by, just to get byThose be the times when I try to relyOn my niggaz and street motherfuckersAnd reach out to wifey and then I place a call on my motherTo get by, just to get by, just to get by, just to get by(Hey yo mom pick up the phone, I g- I gotta to talk to you ma)If you was five percent instead of actin stupid and guessinYou had to go and study your lessonsAnd know your math in the building recession to get by[Hook: Talib Kweli + background singers]This morning I woke upFeelin brand new, I jumped upFeelin my highs and my lowsIn my soul, and my goalsJust to stop smoking and stop drinkinBut I been thinkin I got my reasonsJust to get (by), just to get (by)Just to get (by), just to get (get buh buh buh bye bye)[background singers repeat in the background]bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah dahbah dah bah dah, bah dah bah daaah[Talib Kweli]Some people crySome people try just to get byFor a piece of the pieYou love to eat and be highWe deceive and we lieAnd we keepin' it fly - yo yo yo yo yoWhen people decideKeep a disguiseCan't see your eyesSee the evil insideThe best people you findStrong or feeble in mindI stay readin' the signsyo-yo-yo-yo yo[repeat]