JAY-Z, Gloria Carter - Smile lyrics

Good morn' or evening, friends
Smile, you recordin'?

Slammin' Bentley doors like we invented doors
20 years ago we drove Bentley Azures
We drinkin' Cristal then
Yeah, kept the tray on me
Like Chris Paul then
Drinkin' Ace of Spades like it's codeine now
Tryna put a million on the whole team now
Push through the pain so we can see new life
So all the ladies havin' babies
See ya sacrifice
Mama had four kids, but she's a lesbian
Had to pretend so long that she's a thespian
Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate
Society shame and the pain was
Too much to take
Cried tears of joy when you fell in love
Don't matter to me if it's a him or her
I just wanna see you smile
Through all the hate
Marie Antoinette, baby, let 'em eat cake

Bad times turn to good memories, smile
Even when I'm gone and you remember me, smile
Good times never fade away, smile
Even if I'm not with you here today, smile
Good morn' or evening, friends smile
Here's your friendly announcer smile

Far as draft picks
My name did not get called
Bet before I go I put a billion on the board
Hall of Fame Hov, I did it all without a pen
Y'all knew that was comin', I
Had to remind y'all again, huh?
Flyin' paper planes through the projects
Now the whole projects on my jet
Now you see the real in the front row
In every one of y'all televised shows
Super facts
Niggas switched sides, traded pride
We don't do all that
A loss ain't a loss, it's a lesson
Appreciate the pain, it’s a blessin'

Bad times turn to good memories, smile
Even when I'm gone and you remember me, smile
Good times never fade away, smile
Even if I'm not with you here today, smile
Good morn' or evening, friends

I mastered my aesthetics
I know you often heard me wax poetic
'Bout bein' back in the Lexus
But trust me, that was nothin', a nigga up in
The hundreds of millions, I have no ceilings
Ah, this that feelin', I'm that boy
Anita Baker's "You Bring Me Joy"
Slappin' out of the toy
The separation is clear in
My rear-view mirror
Objects is further than they appear
Oh yeah, I was born with a pair
Playin' for high stakes norman's Cay
He looked up and out of the Lear
How niggas can't relate?
Fuck a slice of the apple pie
Want my own cake in charge of my own fate
Respect Jimmy Iovine
But he gotta respect the Elohim
As a whole new regime
And niggas playin' for power, huh
So our music is ours
Niggas own their own houses
Ours was, "Fuck you, pay me"
Now it's, "Fuck payin' me, I pay you
Put the rest away for Blue"
That blood money I giggle at it
Can't even support my miss' habit
Jewelry shoppin' in Pa- all ya
Jewelers should be embarrassed
Huh, blood diamonds drippin' with guilt
I still ain't trippin'
That's life, winners and losers
Drug dealers and abusers
America like me ruthless
My therapist said I relapsed i said
"Pre haps I Freudian slipped
In European whips"
God sent me to break the chain
I'm the true and livin' god in the flesh
The rest of these niggas is vain
A stain on the white suit, inferior IQ
Niggas'll rip your shit off TIDAL
Just to spite you
Ahh, what did I do? 'Cept try to free you
Niggas'll love you but hate you
'cause they can't be you
Dump 'em all in the bayou, uh
Everybody wave bye to the guy you
Thought you could lie to
This was meant to be a haiku, huh
But my story's too wide to fit
Inside the line or two
Oh, these that drugs, heron flow
I spaz on the stove
This is Hov, no flex zone, nigga
Who lied to you? Look, you a pedestrian
Don't ever question the security
I provided you
Oh y'all thought I was washed?
I'm at the cleaners
Launderin' dirty money like the Teamsters
Huh shout out to Hoffa back home
He in the church
When I heard you got booked, that shit hurt
Feel for you bro
We know the system don't work
Take a young nigga freedom over some dirt
Yet it's legal in Colorado, yet, we deny
Black entrepreneurs, free enterprise
That's why it's a black market
That's why it's called the trap
That's why it's called the projects
'cause it's exactly that
All these people was gon' kill me, heh
'Cause the more I reveal me
The more they 'fraid of the real me
Welcome back Carter, smile
Living in the shadow
Can you imagine what kind of
Life it is to live?
In the shadows people see you
As happy and free
Because that's what you want them to see
Living two lives, happy, but not free
You live in the shadows for fear of someone
Hurting your family or the person you love
The world is changing and they say
It's time to be free
But you live with the fear of just being me
Living in the shadow feels like
The safe place to be
No harm for them, no harm for me
But life is short, and it's time to be free
Love who you love
Because life isn't guaranteed smile