Cormega was raised in Long Island City, Queens, forming childhood friendships with future rappers such as Nas, AZ, Nature, and Capone-N-Noreaga.
1980s
He was featured on Hot Day's "Going Straight Up" from his album "It's My Turn". He was also featured on Blaq Poet & DJ Hot Day's track "Set It Off" from their album "Without Warning" in 1991.
1990s
Cormega was sentenced to 5–15 years in prison for armed robbery in 1991. Despite his incarceration, Cormega gained some attention following a shout-out from Nas on his song "One Love", from the critically acclaimed Illmatic album.
Cormega was released from prison on appeal after serving almost 4 years in New York's Mid-State Correctional Facility. Following his release in 1995, Cormega became determined to pursue rapping. Nas included him on a song entitled "Affirmative Action" for his second album It Was Written. The song also featured AZ and Foxy Brown, and became The Firm's first appearance. Based on his performance, he was signed to Def Jam and recorded an album called The Testament. Based on the buzz from "Affirmative Action," Nas, his manager Steve Stoute and producers Dr. Dre and Trackmasters joined to produce The Firm. Cormega was replaced with another artist, Nature, because either he would not sign a contract with Stoute or Stoute felt Nature was a better rapper. This led to an alleged altercation between Cormega and Nature. Cormega's dispute with Stoute also ended his friendship with Nas. Following the end of his membership in The Firm, Alex Trojano contributed in producing his album The Testament. Meanwhile, following a falling-out over creative differences with his manager Chris Lighty and Def-Jam imprint Violator Records, his debut album The Testament was indefinitely shelved. During the recording for The Testament Cormega responded to Nas' "One Love" in the form of a letter also entitled "One Love".
2000s
In 2000, he was released from his contract and he started his own record company, Legal Hustle Records. Cormega vented his disappointment with Nas and The Firm in a mixtape song titled "Never Personal".This song was never directly pointed to Nas, but the media made it look like that. In 2001, he released his new debut album, The Realness, which was acclaimed by critics. Many of the songs share a theme of betrayal. Nas responded to Cormega on his song "Destroy and Rebuild" from his album Stillmatic. Cormega retaliated with more mixtape tracks, "A Slick Response" and "Realmatic". Nas revisited the Cormega beef in his song "The Cross" on the album God's Son. In reference to Cormega, Nas rapped "What I've discovered is my brother's tryin to be/The next me, yeah I support him but he's blinded I see/ Jealousy he love me to death and I'm buggin I love him for life/ We both still mournin on our mother's life" (referencing the fact that Cormega's mother was murdered when he was four).
Cormega's follow-up album, The True Meaning won the Source Magazine's prestigious Underground Album of the Year Award. In 2004, he followed up with Legal Hustle (a compilation album showcasing his label's artists) and other talented hip-hop lyricists such as Ghostface Killah, Large Professor, AZ, Kurupt, Jayo Felony, and several others. This album is considered by some as more of a project than an actual solo album; nonetheless it was well received. In 2005, he was able to release The Testament on his own label, which saw good reviews and sales and featured the original banned version of "Dead Man Walking" as a hidden track.
In early September 2005, Cormega posted a statement on his website that he and Nas had spoken and ended their feud. Cormega explained that their conversation had come about due to the death of Cormega's grandmother. Both rappers have stated the possibility of a collaboration. On December 22, 2006 at the Nokia Theatre Times Square, Cormega appeared on stage at a Nas concert and went on to perform with Nas (and Foxy Brown as well), further evidence that their feud is over.
The feud was settled in Cormega's home in early December 2005, when Cormega and Nas realized that it was destructive for each of them. It is not known who was responsible for their meeting but both artists are now working alone. In the mid-2000s Cormega helped produce a few albums and was featured on several songs with The Jacka and the Mob Figaz.
An album collaboration with Lakey The Kid entitled My Brother's Keeper was released independently on August 22, 2006. On November 20, 2007, Cormega finally released his DVD in-the-making Who am I?. The DVD took over four years of filming of Cormega in all aspects of his life and what others thought of Cormega, unedited. The DVD was released as a soundtrack plus DVD. Cormega intended to release an album which was to be entitled Urban Legend before T.I.'s album of the same name was released (Cormega mentions this on the Who Am I DVD, dated circa 2003); the new title is Born and Raised. The album was released October 20, 2009. The first single is called "Journey."
2010s
Cormega has stated his desire to work with a variety of artists including Scarface, Lauryn Hill, Slick Rick, as well as past collaborators M.O.P., Mobb Deep, and tha Dogg Pound.
Cormega's Album "Raw Forever" was released on 2011.
His latest work is the Album Mega Philosophy. It was produced by Large Professor and released on July 22, 2014.
17Live Ya Life
Cormega Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your son's stressin' you out
When he was home, he showed no respect for ya house
Now he locked up, callin' collect and you about
To put a block on your phone, Til he says you're the only one helpin' him out
He said his friends ain't there for him
He wished he'd listened when you said they don't care for him
Every night, before you sleep you say a pray for him
You raised him the best you could
He respect you more now cause you're his best friend in the hood
He said he love you and he sorry for the trouble he cause you
And it isn't because of you he in there
So Live Ya Life...
Chorus: (Singing)
This Life, Oh this life
I promise to keep on, keep on, keep on, keep on strugglin'
I'm gonn do it right
So there won't have to be no troubles in my life
[Verse Two]
You single and strugglin', sleepin' with dudes
Get no feelings involved, they trickin' on you
You think you gettin ova, as time flies you gettin olda
You waking up with nobody to hold ya
You're like bad dope, nobody want you
Haunted by your past ghosts, they used to run through
Changin' is your last hope, but do you want to?
Are you still sensual prey when dealers come through?
Is your respect worth losin' for the next man's wealth?
Look in the mirror, stare at yourself
Everything you do in darkness will come to the light
Stop fighting your conscience and Live Ya Life...
[Chorus]
[Verse Three]
You had an addiction
It was so clear
Child welfare came into your home and apprehended your children
Now you faced with a decision
What ya love more : simulation or your children?
The Choice is yours, In the presence of evil
you started sniffin', Boy you was scared of them needles
Your man died from sharin' with people
You know that dope good if you said "it's diesel"
Now you staring at your kids room, but it don't seem true
It's sunny outside but it don't seem blue
You got kids who need you
What you gonna do?
The only way you gonna make things right -
Is to get yourself together and Live Ya Life...
[Chorus] - repeat 2X
Keep on, keep on, keep on, keep on strugglin' [4X]
In Cormega's song "Live Ya Life," the lyrics speak to the struggles that different individuals face in their everyday lives. The first verse tells the story of a mother whose son is in prison, and despite feeling helpless, she continues to support him. She prays for him and blames herself for not being able to bail him out. However, her son's experience has caused him to respect his mother more, and they have become closer as a result.
The second verse speaks to the struggles of a single woman who engages in casual relationships but ultimately ends up feeling unfulfilled and alone. The lyrics suggest that she needs to change her ways and look at herself in the mirror to assess her true desires and values.
Finally, in the third verse, the lyrics speak to the struggles of someone with addiction, who has lost custody of their children. The lyrics weigh the decision of continuing with the addiction or choosing to prioritize their love for their children.
In summary, the song's message is to face one's struggles head-on and make the necessary changes in life to live fully and without regrets.
Line by Line Meaning
Your son's stressin' you out
Your son is causing you stress and anxiety
When he was home, he showed no respect for ya house
When your son was living with you, he disrespected your home and its rules
Now he locked up, callin' collect and you about
Now that he's locked up, he's calling collect and you're considering blocking his calls
To put a block on your phone, Til he says you're the only one helpin' him out
You're considering blocking his calls until he acknowledges that you're the only one helping him out
He said his friends ain't there for him
Your son's friends have not been supportive of him while he's incarcerated
He wished he'd listened when you said they don't care for him
Your son regrets not listening to you when you warned him that his friends were not good for him
Every night, before you sleep you say a pray for him
Every night, before you go to bed, you pray for your son
You even blame yourself cause you couldn't pay bail for him
You feel guilty for not being able to pay for your son's bail
He respect you more now cause you're his best friend in the hood
Your son now respects you more because you're his best friend in the neighborhood
He said he love you and he sorry for the trouble he cause you
Your son loves you and apologizes for causing you trouble
And it isn't because of you he in there
Your son acknowledges that he alone is responsible for being incarcerated
So Live Ya Life...
In spite of your son's troubles, you should continue living your life
You single and strugglin', sleepin' with dudes
You're single and struggling, sleeping with men for financial support
Get no feelings involved, they trickin' on you
You keep your emotions out of your relationships because your partners only use you for money
You think you gettin ova, as time flies you gettin olda
You believe you're getting over your struggles, but as time passes by, you're getting older
You waking up with nobody to hold ya
You're waking up alone, with nobody to comfort you
You're like bad dope, nobody want you
You feel worthless, like bad drugs that nobody wants
Haunted by your past ghosts, they used to run through
You're haunted by your past mistakes, and the people who took advantage of you
Changin' is your last hope, but do you want to?
Change is your last hope to get out of this situation, but are you willing to make the necessary changes?
Are you still sensual prey when dealers come through?
Do you still attract drug dealers who prey on vulnerable women?
Is your respect worth losin' for the next man's wealth?
Is it worth losing your self-respect for the sake of a man's wealth?
Look in the mirror, stare at yourself
Take a good look at yourself in the mirror
Everything you do in darkness will come to the light
Your actions will be exposed eventually
Stop fighting your conscience and Live Ya Life...
Stop ignoring your conscience and start living your own life
You had an addiction
You had a drug addiction
It was so clear
It was an obvious problem
Child welfare came into your home and apprehended your children
Child welfare removed your children from your home
Now you faced with a decision
You're faced with a difficult choice
What ya love more : simulation or your children?
What do you love more: drugs or your children?
The Choice is yours, In the presence of evil
It's your decision, even if it's difficult
you started sniffin', Boy you was scared of them needles
You started snorting drugs because you were afraid of needles
Your man died from sharin' with people
Your partner died from sharing drugs with others
You know that dope good if you said "it's diesel"
You know the drugs are high quality if you describe them as "diesel"
Now you staring at your kids room, but it don't seem true
Now you're staring at your empty kids' room, but it doesn't feel real
It's sunny outside but it don't seem blue
It's a nice day outside, but you don't feel happy, you feel hopeless
You got kids who need you
You have children who need you
What you gonna do?
What are you going to do about your situation?
The only way you gonna make things right -
The only way to fix things is to
Is to get yourself together and Live Ya Life...
Get yourself together and start living your own life
Keep on, keep on, keep on, keep on strugglin' [4X]
Keep struggling and persevering no matter what life throws at you
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CORY MCKAY, JULIAN GARFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Bad album