With the love and hustle of the Crescent City running through his veins, Au… Read Full Bio ↴With the love and hustle of the Crescent City running through his veins, August is eager to follow in the footsteps of the NOLA music legends that paved his way. His recently inked deal Def Jam Recordings looks to be a great step in the right direction, but music wasn’t always in his future.

August learned at an early age that drugs and money could make you, or break you. With both his father and stepfather battling crack addiction, August’s mother moved their family to Houston, Texas in search of a fresh start. But Houston provided no happy ending. For years, a young August endured a home life plagued by drugs and violence. At just 14, he got word from New Orleans that is father, August Sr., lost his battle with drugs and alcohol.

In an attempt to escape his reality, August took to Youtube, where he posted dozens of homemade performance videos. His clips covering the likes of Musiq Soulchild and Lyfe Jennings went viral, generating millions of views in just over a month. It seemed that he was finally taking his first steps toward a bright future in music, but just a year later, reality hit home when his best friend was shot and killed in the streets of Houston. As quickly as August appeared, he vanished form Youtube, back to the real world. With tensions mounting, 16-year-old August was kicked out of his mother’s home. Alone, he returned to New Orleans. He bounced around between family and friends houses, but on some nights, only the corner store provided him shelter. Eventually, he took to the streets, selling drugs as a means of survival.

With his older brother also in the streets hustling, it wouldn’t be long before August learned that the addiction to money could be just as deadly as the addiction to drugs. Just days before August’s 18th birthday, his older brother was gunned down in New Orleans East, another unsolved murder in one of the nations most dangerous cities. “I never expected them [the police] to find his killer”, August explains. “People die everyday in the streets of New Orleans. Unfortunately, death has become a way of life,” but not for August. His brother’s death became his motivation to not become a statistic, but to pursue his musical aspirations on an entirely new level.

Under the guidance of NNTME MuCo, AKA Noontime, (management/production company), August relocated to Atlanta in 2011 to begin carving his own musical path, creating music in a lane that would separate him from his R&B counterparts. His experiences in life are what shaped him, so those experiences, no matter how brutally honest, positive or negative, would serve as the focal point of his artistry. In April of 2012 August teamed up with Hoodrich/MMG’s own DJ Scream for the release of his debut mixtape, ‘The Product’, which garnered him an internet and radio buzz, and spawned the Sound Mob produced single, “Sucka” featuring fellow New Orleans native, R&B crooner Lloyd. The anti-love track offers the opinion that “love is for suckas”, providing an alternative to the sappy love songs associated with today’s R&B.

This past May, Alsina returned with his second installment of ‘The Product‘ series, this time teaming up with DJ Drama and his Gangsta Grillz brand. The debut single “I Luv This Shit” finds August paired with fellow Def Jam label mate, Trinidad Jame$. The top 10 hit, produced by Knucklehead, speaks to the rebellious and, sometimes, reckless lifestyle that finds August singing words that many can relate to, “I’m way too drunk to be talking like this, I’m way too high to be trippin like this, I’m way too young to be livin like this, ask me why I do it I’ma put it like this... God Damn it, I luv it”. It’s that honest and rebellious tone that caught the ear of Cash Money CEO/Rich Gang boss, Birdman, who jumped on the remix to stamp the fellow New Orleans native.

With his buzz building, August’s next stamp would come from media giant MTV, as he was named one of 2013’s Fab 5, their annual list of hip-hop artist to watch. Exposure on the network helped to make his independent video “Downtown” ft. Kidd Kidd, a viral hit, generating nearly 1 million views in less than 2 months. The autobiographical song/visual would become the title track for Alsina’s first official NNTME/Radio Killa/Def Jam release, an 8-song EP titled, ‘Downtown: Life Under the Gun’, which offers collaborations between Alsina and the previously mentioned Jame$ & Kidd Kidd, along with NOLA veteran Curren$y, and Atlanta newcomer Rich Homie Quan. Of the EP, Alsina says, “It allows you to walk through my hood with me and see where I’m from. Don’t get it confused, this isn’t my album, just a few songs to let people know what I’m about and why I do this”.

While just 21 years old, and already a lifetime of experiences behind him, August Alsina is living proof that your past doesn’t have to dictate your future, and that life’s hardships can be the motivation required for success.

American Dream
August Alsina Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ever since day one
Somebody probably say you wouldn't be nothin'
I bet they told you this over and over again on repeat like a re-run
Nobody ever told you you could live up
To anything you want, don't give up
They rather tell you, you're destined for failure
That's what they tell you
But you just say

What about Martin?
What about Garvey?
What about Rosa?
What about Malcolm?
What if somebody told them they would never be nothin'
And they believed this, think about the outcome
Would we even be the way we are today?
Even if it weren't, could have been a harder way
Even though we lost a lot of people on the way
Had to sacrifice to get us in a better place

I hope you listen to these wizzords
All they want us thinking about is sipping on some sizzurp
And they got us thinking something better we don't deserve
And that you shouldn't try, it's no use
But that couldn't be further from the truth
Don't believe it, that's what they told me too
When I was growing up (They told me)
They told me (That I wouldn't make it too far)
And when I battle it'll hold up
(They told me) They told me, yeah
(That I wouldn't be anything)

That's what they tell, what they tell, what they tell
When we were little ones
That's what they tell, what they tell, what they tell
They supposed to be kings and queens
That's what they tell, what they tell, what they tell
When we don't believe them
That's what they tell, what they tell, what they tell
Trying to live the American Dream

They say the ballers is celebrities
As a reminder of the people they would never be
Jealousy got 'em sick without a remedy
Thinking when I die nobody's gonna remember me
I was told that nobody care
So the dreams that I had turned to nightmares
Is this thing called life really fair
Need help but it ain't there
So you know it's really hard to stay dedicated
When the ballers screaming they was never educated
On the corner getting high just to medicate it
'Cause the teachers just told him he would never make it
Now he feeling like he made it 'cause he stackin' paper
But probably won't let him spend the money later
Nobody ever told us we could be greater
To everybody on the grind and the paper chasers

I hope you listen to these wizzords
All they want us thinking about is sipping on some sizzurp
And they got us thinking something better we don't deserve
And that you shouldn't try, it's no use
But that couldn't be further from the truth
Don't believe it, that's what they told me too
When I was growing up (They told me)
They told me (That I wouldn't make it too far)
And when I battle it'll hold up
(They told me) They told me, yeah
(That I wouldn't be anything)

That's what they tell, what they tell, what they tell
When we were little ones
That's what they tell, what they tell, what they tell
We're supposed to be kings and queens
That's what they tell, what they tell, what they tell
When we don't believe them
That's what they tell, what they tell, what they tell
Trying to live the American Dream

(That's what they told me, they told me, they told me)
They'd rather see me dead, never gone make it
(That's what they told me, they told me, they told me)
They'd rather see me fail, never gonna be anything
(That's what they told me, they told me, they told me)
They'd rather see me in jail, you're never gonna be shit
(That's what they told me, they told me, they told me)
Everybody die, you ain't shit
(That's what they told me, they told me, they told me)
But not everybody lives (I told you)
But I know that somehow
We can make it out of this

You just gotta tell yourself
That somehow, I'mma make it

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to August Alsina's song American Dream highlight the struggle of individuals who have been constantly told by the society that they would never be successful or that they do not deserve success. These individuals are asked to give up on their dreams and accept their fate as failures. The song urges these individuals to not give up and to believe in themselves. The artist draws parallels between himself and other great leaders of the past such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X. He questions what would have happened if these leaders had been told that they would never be anything and if they had believed in this negativity. The lyrics suggest that despite the loss of many individuals who were working towards a better future, their sacrifices have led to the betterment of society today. The song highlights the impact of the American dream that serves as a motivation for individuals to strive hard and achieve success.

The chorus of the song emphasizes the major theme of the lyrics by repeating the phrase "That's what they tell when we were little ones," which suggests that the negativity individuals face began in their childhood. August Alsina highlights the role of society, especially the media, in influencing individuals to give up on their dreams and live mediocre lives. The artist draws on his personal experience of being told that he would not make it far and how this negatively affected him. The lyrics suggest that people’s perception can have an enduring impact on an individual's psyche. The song highlights the struggle of the American dream and how individuals can strive to make it a reality if they believe in themselves.

Line by Line Meaning

Ever since day one
From the beginning

Somebody probably say you wouldn't be nothin'
People probably told you that you would fail

I bet they told you this over and over again on repeat like a re-run
They kept repeating this same message to you

Nobody ever told you you could live up
Nobody ever told you that you can achieve great things

To anything you want, don't give up
You can achieve anything you set your mind to, don't give up

They rather tell you, you're destined for failure
They prefer to tell you that you are destined to fail

That's what they tell you
This is what people tell you

But you just say
But instead, you say

What about Martin?
What about Martin Luther King Jr.?

What about Garvey?
What about Marcus Garvey?

What about Rosa?
What about Rosa Parks?

What about Malcolm?
What about Malcolm X?

What if somebody told them they would never be nothin'
What if someone had told them that they were destined to fail

And they believed this, think about the outcome
And if they had believed this, think about what could have happened

Would we even be the way we are today?
Would our world even be the same today?

Even if it weren't, could have been a harder way
Even if it wasn't the same, it could have been much harder for them

Even though we lost a lot of people on the way
Even though we lost many people along the way

Had to sacrifice to get us in a better place
They had to give up a lot in order to put us in a better place

I hope you listen to these wizzords
I hope you listen to these words of wisdom

All they want us thinking about is sipping on some sizzurp
All they want us to think about is drinking codeine syrup

And they got us thinking something better we don't deserve
And they make us believe that we don't deserve something better

And that you shouldn't try, it's no use
And they tell us not to bother trying, it's useless

But that couldn't be further from the truth
But that's really far from the truth

Don't believe it, that's what they told me too
Don't believe it, I was told the same thing

When I was growing up (They told me)
When I was growing up, people told me

They told me (That I wouldn't make it too far)
They told me that I wouldn't be successful

And when I battle it'll hold up
And when I struggled, I persevered

(They told me) They told me, yeah
(They told me) They told me the same thing

(That I wouldn't be anything)
(That I wouldn't amount to anything)

That's what they tell, what they tell, what they tell
That's what they tell us

When we were little ones
When we were young

They supposed to be kings and queens
We were supposed to be successful

When we don't believe them
When we don't believe their lies

Trying to live the American Dream
Trying to achieve success in America

They say the ballers is celebrities
They say that athletes are celebrities

As a reminder of the people they would never be
As a reminder of the people we can't be

Jealousy got 'em sick without a remedy
Jealousy makes them feel sick, and there's no cure for it

Thinking when I die nobody's gonna remember me
Thinking that when I die, nobody will remember me

I was told that nobody care
I was told that nobody cares for me

So the dreams that I had turned to nightmares
So the dreams that I had became nightmares

Is this thing called life really fair
Is life really fair?

Need help but it ain't there
I need help but it's not here

So you know it's really hard to stay dedicated
So it's really hard to stay committed

When the ballers screaming they was never educated
When athletes are proud that they were never educated

On the corner getting high just to medicate it
Getting high on the street to cope with it

'Cause the teachers just told him he would never make it
Because the teachers told him that he wouldn't make it

Now he feeling like he made it 'cause he stackin' paper
Now he feels like he made it because he has money

But probably won't let him spend the money later
But he probably won't be able to spend the money later on

Nobody ever told us we could be greater
Nobody ever told us that we could be greater than we are

To everybody on the grind and the paper chasers
To everybody who is working hard and chasing success