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.
STEP IT UP
Classified Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rolled out of bed
Then i rolled up
Thought about the night before
How the whole show was
Oh, you know what?
No, what?
Afterwards was so nuts
I thought you went to subway,
Got a cold cut
Nah, went to Tim's
For a donut and a mocha
Then hit the after party
With some hoes
Who said they know us
Oh those two chicks
From the sticks
Who were coked up?
Yeah,
Bitch flipped,
Her and her boyfriend just broke up
Said she would do anything
Oh, one of them girls
No respect for themselves,
Yeah you know,
One of them girls
Wanna get fixed up
Stomach all nipped up
Tryin' to get love
But all i wanted
Was my dick sucked
Man i stayed at the club
Way after the show finished
Had to listen to this fan
Tryin to battle me
For twenty minutes
Said he respected me
But kept disrespectin'
Stupid MC's
Will you ever learn your lesson?
Now when you're stuck in a van
With seven of your man
And you only got a gram
Live it up! Live it up!
And when you go to other places,
Get paid to get wasted
You know you're gonna take it
Live it up! Live it up!
And when you ran out of liquor,
The bartender stiffed ya
What ya gonna do?
Live it up! Live it up!
And when you at the after party
Never met no body
What ya gonna do?
Live it up! Live it up!
So after the battle ended
With my number one fan
I packed up my CDs
And merchandise into the van
Got paid, cash in hand
Damn, short again?
Man, that again?
Fuck promoters and their scams.
I had a great time at the party though
Yeah free liquor and weed
Like trick or treat
Gather round, give it to me
Oh shit,
That must be nice
How you get the perks and all
Get the payoffs
But never had to do the work at all
Yeah, i can't complain
I hate dealin' with the crap in life
Even faked i was Classified for like half the night
Yeah, they thought i was you
It was quite funny
You should stop making cartoons videos
To save money
Well damn
Can you blame me?
Promoters don't pay me
Said fuck it,
Hit the hotel
Almost doin' 80
Cops pull me over
Shit,
Yeah man
I was gettin' high
But they were from the Maritimes
And the heard the song
So they let it slide
Now when you're stuck in a van
With seven of your man
And you only got a gram
Live it up! Live it up!
And when you go to other places,
Get paid to get wasted
You know you're gonna take it
Live it up! Live it up!
Night after night
We live this life
Oh one of them nights?
Yeah one of them nights.
You know, one of them nights
Another one of them nights.
Night after night
We live this life
Oh one of them nights?
Yeah one of them nights.
You know, one of them nights
Another one of them nights.
So bro last night was a little too much
It's 11 am and i just threw up
Plus i'm runnin' on three hours sleep
And driftin out
Man we gotta do this for another week
Stick it out
Go get somethin' to eat
We gotta leave
Do it quickly
And put it on the promoter's credit card
They try to stiff me
Got a long drive
So put it on his plastic
Yeah
I'll grab some pillows and a TV
While i'm at it
So where we goin' today?
Same shit, different town
Another day, another show
On the road, different crowd
Sound check is at six
The doors open at ten
Then we'll start this whole night
All over again...
Now when you're stuck in a van
With seven of your man
And you only got a gram
Live it up! Live it up!
And when you go to other places,
Get paid to get wasted
You know you're gonna take it
Live it up! Live it up!
And when you ran out of liquor,
The bartender stiffed ya
What ya gonna do?
Live it up! Live it up!
And when you at the after party
Never met no body
What ya gonna do?
Live it up! Live it up!
In the song "Live It Up" by Classified, the lyrics describe the life of a musician on tour. The song details the experiences of the artist and his band as they travel from city to city, perform in shows, and hang out with fans. The lyrics also touch on various aspects of the musician's lifestyle, including partying, drinking, indulging in drugs, and dealing with the challenges of touring. The chorus repeatedly emphasizes the idea of living life to the fullest, even when faced with difficult or uncomfortable circumstances.
Throughout the song, the artist speaks candidly about his experiences on tour, including the good and bad moments. He describes the feelings of elation and excitement that come with performing on stage, as well as the exhaustion and frustrations that come from being on the road for extended periods of time. The lyrics also delve into the dangers and risks that can come with a musician's lifestyle, such as getting pulled over by the police while under the influence.
Overall, "Live It Up" offers a glimpse into the often-gritty reality of life as a touring musician, while emphasizing the importance of making the most of every opportunity and living in the present moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo woke up
I woke up
Rolled out of bed
I got out of bed
Then I rolled up
I smoked weed
Thought about the night before
Recalled the events of the previous night
How the whole show was
I reminisced about the show
Oh, you know what?
I asked for the other person's opinion
No, what?
The other person responded by asking me what I was talking about
Afterwards was so nuts
The parties after the show were crazy
Oh, wha?
I asked for clarification about what happened after the show
I thought you went to subway,
I assumed the other person went to Subway
Got a cold cut
I thought they got a sandwich
Nah, went to Tim's
The other person corrected me and said they went to Tim Hortons
For a donut and a mocha
They got a donut and a mocha from Tim Hortons
Then hit the after party
They went to the after party
With some hoes
They went to the after party with some women
Who said they know us
The women claimed to know us
Oh those two chicks
I asked for clarification about which women they were talking about
From the sticks
The women were from a rural area
Who were coked up?
I asked if the women were high on cocaine
Yeah, bitch flipped,
One of the women got angry
Her and her boyfriend just broke up
She had just broken up with her boyfriend
Said she would do anything
She told us that she would do anything sexually
Oh, one of them girls
I understood what woman they were talking about
No respect for themselves,
I expressed my negative opinion of her
Yeah you know,
I know what kind of person she is
Wanna get fixed up
She's trying to find love and affection
Stomach all nipped up
She's had plastic surgery on her stomach
Tryin' to get love
She's seeking love in the wrong ways
But all I wanted
What I really wanted
Was my dick sucked
Was to receive oral sex
Man I stayed at the club
I stayed at the club for a long time
Way after the show finished
Long after the show had ended
Had to listen to this fan
I had to listen to a fan of mine
Tryin to battle me
Who wanted to compete with me
For twenty minutes
We talked for twenty minutes
Said he respected me
He claimed to have respect for me
But kept disrespectin'
But didn't show it by being disrespectful
Stupid mc's
I expressed my frustration with untalented rappers
Will you ever learn your lesson?
I was asking whether they would ever improve
It's 11 am and I just threw up
I was vomiting because of a hangover the next morning
Plus I'm runnin' on three hours sleep
I had only slept for a few hours
And driftin out
I was feeling drowsy
Man we gotta do this for another week
We had a week of shows ahead of us
Stick it out
We had to persevere
Do it quickly
We had to move fast
And put it on the promoter's credit card
We would charge our expenses to the promoter's card
They try to stiff me
Promoters sometimes try to avoid paying me
Got a long drive
We had a long drive ahead of us
So put it on his plastic
We would charge even more expenses to the promoter's card
I'll grab some pillows and a tv
I would steal some hotel amenities
Same shit, different town
Our routine was the same in every town we visited
Another day, another show
We had another show to perform that day
On the road, different crowd
We traveled to different cities and performed for different audiences
Sound check is at six
We had a sound check scheduled for 6 pm
The doors open at ten
The show doors would open at 10 pm
Then we'll start this whole night all over again...
We would repeat the cycle of performing and partying every night
Night after night We live this life
We live a life of performing every night
Oh one of them nights?
I asked if the previous night was a typical night
Another one of them nights.
The other person confirmed that it was another typical night
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind