This past weekend, JAY Z took over Terminal 5 in NYC for two unbelievable shows. From reaching deep into his massive catalog to perform cuts like “Dead Presidents Pt.1” and “It’s Like That,” Hov reunited with Beanie Sigel (and State Property as a whole), and even rattled off a few thoughts in what is being dubbed a “Stream of Consciousness.”
From acknowledging Freddie Gray and Mike Brown’s recent deaths to taking not-so-subtle jabs at Spotify/YouTube, JAY Z runs through his current events with a few bars a capella.
Looking to push the TIDAL wave even further, subscribers are given a behind-the-scenes look from the rehearsal to showtime – with cameos from Beyoncé, Jay Electronica, Jeezy and Vic Mensa.
If you have an account you can watch the video here. If now, we’ve got you covered below (for now).
“I don’t need no middlemen to talk to my ni**as / I understand if you don’t understand I figure my ni**a / That’s where we differ / I take what’s mine you accept what they give you / I get you / I don’t take no checks / I take my respect / Pharrell even told me ‘Go with the best bet’ / Jimmy Iovine offered the safety net / Google came around with a crazy check / I feel like YouTube is the culp-a-rit /. Ni**as pay you a tenth of what you supposed to get / You know ni**a die for equal pay, right? You know what I’m worth / I ain’t your slave right / You know I ain’t shucking and jivin’ and high fivin’ / You know this ain’t back in the days right / But I can’t tell by the way they kill Freddie Gray right / Shot down / Mike Brown / Like the way they did Tray right? / Y’all gone’ keep choking’ ni**as / We gon’ turn style / I ain’t your token ni**a / You know I came in this game independent right / TIDAL / My own label / same difference / Oh ni**as is skeptical of they own shit / You bought nine iPhones and Steve Jobs is rich / Phil Knight worth trillions you still bought those kicks / Spotify’s nine billion and they ain’t say shit / ‘Lucyyy you got some splainin’ to do’ / The only one they hatin’ on look the same as you / That’s cool / I know they tryin’ to bamboozle you / Spending billions on meryin’ to confusin’ you / I had to tell myself ‘Hov, get used to it’ / It’s politics as usual.”
Lyrics swiped from Miss Info.
