In addition to the release of Trial & Error, 2003 and 2004 were busy and evolutionary years for Classified. With the continuous support of VideoFACT, he was able to release two additional music videos for the singles "Just the Way It Is" and "Unexpected". Classified also continued to master his production skills and joined forces with some of Canada's most prominent emcees, including Choclair and Maestro Fresh Wes. He also teamed up with Shady Records recording artist, Royce Da 5'9" and opened for Ludacris, Snoop dogg, Busta Rhymes, The Game, Nelly, MC Grizzly, Captain Capota, Nas, The Black Eyed Peas and Black Moon.
Classified's tenth album, Boy-Cott-In the Industry, was a high point in his career. The album includes guest appearances by Choclair, Royce Da 5'9", Jay Bizzy, J-Bru, A-Wall, Spesh K, and Mic Boyd (Classified's younger brother and fellow MC). He has said he enjoys doing music with other people: "It keeps things exciting and there are tons of talented people in Halifax so you make connections 'cause it's not a huge scene." The album reached #46 on SoundScan's Canadian R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart. The singles "The Maritimes", "5th Element", "No Mistakes", and "Find Out", which is the lead single of his 11th studio album, Hitch Hikin' Music, were all Top 20 hits on MuchMusic and MTV Canada that year. The music video for "No Mistakes" won him an MMVA for MuchVibe Best Rap Video. Boy-Cott-In the Industry also earned Classified a Juno Award nomination for Rap Recording of the Year in 2006.
Riding high off of Boy-Cott-In the Industry, Classified released his eleventh album Hitch Hikin' Music. Produced like previous albums by Classified himself, it is arguably some of Classified's finest work. On "Fall From Paradise", Classified reflects on the difficulty of staying fresh and on top. In the hip-hop meets classic rock song "All About U", featuring singer Chad Hatcher, Classified shows the extent of his growth from his early releases. In "Hip Hop Star", he eschews the current bling-bling culture of popular hip hop to remind people that life is not about trying to impress others. The rest of the album includes guest appearances by Jay Bizzy, Mic Boyd, Jordan Croucher, Preacher K, White Mic and more. Four singles have been released off the album: "Find Out" (which won the 2007 East Coast Music Award for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Single), "Feelin' Fine Remix", "All About U", and "Hard to Be Hip Hop". Hitch Hikin' Music also received a Juno Award nomination for Rap Recording of the Year in 2007.
Classified enlisted the help of fellow Nova Scotia native Joel Roy to beatbox during some of his songs. The actual singles that Roy beatboxed for are unknown but it is believed that he can be heard in the single "The Maritimes".
In early 2009, the hit single "Anybody Listening" brought Classified to mainstream success as it peaked at #52 on the Canadian Hot 100 and the music video received heavy rotation on MuchMusic. Classified's thirteenth studio album, Self Explanatory received highly positive reviews from the critics and debuted on the Canadian Albums Chart at #25 making it Classified's first album on that chart. At the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards on May 21, 2009, Classified won the MuchVibe "Best Hip-Hop Video of the Year" award for "Anybody Listening" directed by Harv Glazer and produced by Robert Wilson of TwoThreeFiveFilms. Off Self Explanatory, Classified would enjoy more mainstream success in early 2010 with another hit single, "Oh...Canada" peaking at #14 on the Canadian Hot 100 and was certified platinum in digital downloads by the CRIA. Also in early 2010, Classified received three Juno Award nominations, which was for Rap Recording of the Year, Single of the Year, and Video of the Year. In early 2011, "Oh...Canada" received a Juno nomination for "Single of the Year".
On March 22, 2011, Classified released his fourteenth album, though it was only his second major studio album, Handshakes and Middle Fingers. The first single off the album, "That Ain't Classy" reached #45 on the Canadian Hot 100. The album debuted at #7 on the Canadian Albums Chart, making it his highest charting album to date.
Breaking Up
Classified Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How can I give you, what you're asking for?
Oh baby
When the feeling is gone (when the feeling is gone)
[Verse 1: Classified]
It's been a while since we last conversated, still can't believe we never made it
Lookin back at the way it was, high school love, both of us embraced it
Before we ever had a clue or even knew, how hard relationships are
We was in the same class and I, use to try to make her laugh, then I
Tried to take it farther then a friend, but she just a little hesistant
It took longer then I thought, yeah I'll admit it, but I stayed patient
Was a lot like the music game, never had the skills but I had the motivation
Then in Grade 12, hooked up, became officially involved
I got the lady I've been waitin on, you could say the the mystery is solved
I graduated that year but never left, stayed another one
Told my parents I was upgradin, really I was waitin for you to be done
After that, moved to the big city, got a small place together
Slept, lived, drank, ate together, but it made it hard for us to stay together
Life is oh so unexpected, shouldn't have, the good and bad
Now I'm lookin back at it all, these are problems a man and woman have
[Chorus: Chad Hatcher (Kaleigh Cole) - w/ ad libs]
She says that I should leave, she says I should go
She don't understand, all I've been waitin for is everything {is everything}
For something {for something}, to change {change}
(But I think that I should stay, things could be the same
It's just me and you, with no one to blame
But you don't see {but you don't see}
It's only me {it's only me}, that would change) {changeee}
How can I give you, what you're asking for, ohhhh baby
When that feeling is gone
[Verse 2: Classified]
So after about a year or so, a lot of bickerin and fightin came
Everything we had together, fell apart slow, never seemed worth the pain
More hatin then there was lovin, both arguin about nothin
Neither one of apologize, I guess the two of us were too stubborn
Still lived together though, though decided maybe we should take a break
I never really wanted that, I just wanted change, that was my mistake
I never thought we would break up, never thought I'd find another like her
But I was still thinkin we'd get back together and these loose ends would become tighter
But no way, no luck, threw the towel in, we broke up
I moved out, choked up, depressed every day I woke up
Found out she had another man and this is when it really hit home
Fuck I lost everything I had and I ain't the type who likes to be alone
Now I'm tryin to move along and I felt it difficult to stay strong
But dark days always brighten up, if the fight in ya keeps movin on
A couple months after all of this, I bumped into another girl I knew
Had a couple dates in high school, a type of girl you don't forget, simply beautiful
We talked for a little bit, we took some time out and reminisced
And I forgot about my dark days, she taught me heartbreak can lead to happiness
When I was down and had no faith, she showed me everything is okay
My soul mate, I never would of thought a break up could end so great
[Chorus: w/ ad libs]
[Outro: Sample with Female Singer]
How can I give you, what you're asking for?
Oh, let's go our separate ways, oh baby
In "Breaking Up," Classified reflects on a relationship that didn't work out. He begins by reminiscing about the beginnings of the relationship, when he and his partner were in high school. At that time, he had trouble getting her to reciprocate his feelings, but eventually they became a couple. They lived together for a while, but things fell apart gradually, until they decided to take a break. For Classified, this break was just meant to be a temporary change, but when he found out that his partner had moved on and started seeing someone else, he was devastated. Eventually, he moved on as well and met someone new, who showed him that even though heartbreak is difficult, it can lead to happiness.
Throughout the song, Classified reflects on all the ups and downs of the relationship, including the moments of joy and the moments of pain. He admits his own mistakes and failed attempts to make things work. The chorus is a back-and-forth between Classified and a female singer, who represent the two sides of the argument: one wanting to leave and move on, the other wanting to stay and fix things. In the end, though, they both acknowledge that the relationship is over and it's time to move on.
Overall, "Breaking Up" is a reflective and honest song about the experience of heartbreak and moving on. It explores the complexity of relationships and the importance of learning from our experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
It's been a while since we last conversated, still can't believe we never made it Lookin back at the way it was, high school love, both of us embraced it
It has been some time since our last conversation, and I still cannot believe that we did not make it. We were young and in high school, and we both loved each other deeply.
Let me take it back a bit, to the place where the whole story starts Before we ever had a clue or even knew, how hard relationships are We was in the same class and I, use to try to make her laugh, then I
Let me go back to the beginning of our story, to when we were both in the same class. We were young and naive, and we didn't know just how complicated relationships could be. All I wanted to do was make her laugh and be happy.
Tried to take it farther then a friend, but she just a little hesistant It took longer then I thought, yeah I'll admit it, but I stayed patient
I tried to take our relationship beyond just being friends, but she was hesitant. It took longer than I thought it would, but I was patient and waited for her to come around.
After that, moved to the big city, got a small place together Slept, lived, drank, ate together, but it made it hard for us to stay together
After we graduated, we moved to the big city and got a small place together. We did everything together, but it ended up making it difficult for us to stay together.
More hatin then there was lovin, both arguin about nothin Neither one of apologize, I guess the two of us were too stubborn
Our relationship became more about arguments and hate than love. We both refused to apologize, and we were both too stubborn to try and make things work.
Found out she had another man and this is when it really hit home Fuck I lost everything I had and I ain't the type who likes to be alone
I found out that she had started seeing another man, and that's when it really hit me. I had lost everything that I had, and I didn't want to be alone.
A couple months after all of this, I bumped into another girl I knew Had a couple dates in high school, a type of girl you don't forget, simply beautiful
A few months after our breakup, I ran into another girl that I knew from high school. We had gone on a few dates back then, and she was someone that you never forget. She was simply beautiful.
And I forgot about my dark days, she taught me heartbreak can lead to happiness When I was down and had no faith, she showed me everything is okay
This new girl that I had met helped me to forget about the dark days of my breakup. She showed me that heartbreak can lead to happiness, and even when I was feeling down and alone, she was there to show me that everything was going to be okay.
Contributed by Addison P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Randall Keepergoin
This song got me through some serious shit. Dated a girl all through high school and 4 years after 8 years total. Went through some seriously dark shit. I’m now engaged to a different woman i would have never imagined my self with and couldn’t even imagine being with anybody else. Everything happens for a reason
Miles Rhoades
Man I wish classified would blow up! I never here any of his stuff on the radio.. It sucks. He's an awesome inspiring rapper. By far the best out there, at least your ligit class.
Miles Rhoades
Hear*
CityinFlames
When I came across this song I was in a bad spot after a break up with my fiance. I thought everything in my life was finally coming to a point where I would have that happy ending with a girl of my dreams no matter how bad we had it with the arguments, her abuse, her wrongful views etc I still believed it could get fixed; but then it all came to a end and she moved on with a guy she hardly knew an hour after our break up and I took it hard. She called me worthless, useless, lazy, abusive, with no ambition in life while she dated a guy on welfare and panhandles on the street, and she works at a dollar store wasting her money on Mary Kay. I took her words and how the break up ended to the hurt and I went to find answers at the bottom of bottles, and tried to find myself on the empty streets of nights. Until I came across songs like these, friends who kept my head above water, and now work who promoted me after 5 days on the job. I may not be perfect but I know I am not what she would describe me as and I appreciate that she was in my life good or bad it was a learning experience I'll never forget.
John Snow
Word.
LI1NK
bet now that shit is a distant memory and lesson, good shit brother
Jay
never thought a break up could end so great!
Henni
Forgot how good Classified was. This brings memories back for sure..! #stillgotit
Alyssa B
he's not popular because he has REAL problems and not problems about sex or money 💯
winjose805
this is a great song