Story of Me - Masta Ace, Pearl Gates, Denez Prigent

Still here

Somehow

Man, it took me 15 years to understand my worth

It was 1988 when Marley planned my birth

Had to get my feet up out of the sand and surf

Never thought that my rap lines would span the earth

But they did, went to every corner of the globe

It’s time to reveal, since y’all really wanna probe

I went from Brownsville kid, gone to King’s County

To Queenstown, sitting in a sauna in a robe

And since then, never took a day off from the pen

I understood hard work would pay off in the end

Yeah for as long as my body is strong

I’mma give it all I got, try to body a song

I’mma give it all I got, try to rip that show

And yo, understand I got to get that dough

And so, cause I know how to spit that flow

Sold out three nights in a row, like Tic-Tac-Toe

In the fast lane, kick back slow, no need to rush

We royalty, bow down at the feet of us

The anticipation, it’s like

Standing on the corner in the cold and you can see the bus

It’s finally here, our arrival

Raised in the ghetto, singing songs called survival

We stand, united by the beat, man

Tight plan, right hand on the Bible

Try to let you know

Just want to let you see

The real is all I know

Real is what I be

Time is now for y’all

Now is now for me

Life is beautiful

This the story of me

Just try to make history

Gotta make history (history)

Ain’t no mystery

Gotta make history (history)

Know my history

Gotta make history (history)

Can’t shake destiny

Just gotta make history, yeah, yeah, yeah

I almost had the nineties by the throat

I was just that close to getting money by the boatload

Instead of hoping what I wrote flowed

I could have said: «Whoop, there it is»

But it would have felt so wrong to do that song

Try to prove I belong in a crew that strong

Listen, understand, this is preordain

This is written by God then we all came

Could have signed with Def Jam but Lyor changed

Changed his mind at the strangest time

He was still destined to sign a dangerous mind

Another cat with the grind the same as mine

Another son born on the fourth would come

He was of course the one with that course to run

And like a ham sandwich on the softest bun

I refuse to eat it, I will not be defeated

Here to stay and get a lot completed

This what I got to offer, what I got is needed

Confident but I’m not conceited and I swear

The same mistakes I made will not be repeated

I choose to keep paying up dues

Life try to beat me up like scuffed shoes

It was hard, doctor called me off guard

Same place I was born, got the rough news

We rise, we fall and pray

For better days

Why shoot we for the stars

And prayed for better aim?

The world, the pain remained

It never change

Long as the sun will show

The cold is still the same

Just try to make history

Gotta make history

Ain’t no mystery

Gotta make history (history)

Know my history

Gotta make history (history)

Can’t shake destiny

Just gotta make history, yeah, yeah, yeah

We rise, we fall and pray

For better days

Why shoot we for the stars

And prayed for better aim?

The world, the pain remained

It never change

Long as the sun will show

The cold is still the same

Just try to make history

Gotta make history (history)

Ain’t no mystery

Gotta make history (history)

Know my history

Gotta make history (history)

Can’t shake destiny

Just gotta make history, yeah, yeah, yeah

The story of me, never would have knew me without it

And they won’t make a movie about it

I mean, I guess they could but truly I doubt it

Mad friends watching Ralph McDaniels, knew me and shout it

Oh snap, that’s Duval, he live in my building

Life in the PJ’s, living and building

Whether you in Seflo or living in Tilden

Trying to escape men, women and children

A product of the same and when I got into the game

Initially my moms was really shocked and ashamed

She was like: «Boy you got a Bachelor’s»

And I was like: «Why they call it a b.

s?»

Bullshit walks as far is what I was taught

Yet I ain’t had one job interview and she stressed

The story of me, born from the story of us

Studio bound, the story of us

My Honda’s in the shop, no warranty

I need a new regulator, no Warren G

But I’mma get by, do or die

And then I left URI

I looked around and then came the yellow tape

I decided to sit on chrome and accelerate

And after that, I knew they wanted me gone and singing a

Swan song but I decided to let 'em wait