They first appeared on the rap scene with their 1993 album Comin’ Out Hard. The album was successful commercially as well as critically and established the group as a prominent act in the then emerging Southern Rap scene. Their subsequent albums in the 1990s including 1994’s On the Outside Looking In, and 1995’s On Top of the World cemented their status as some of the South’s best rappers. On Top of the World was particularly succeessful, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 200 and being certified Gold. After those albums both 8Ball & MJG released solo albums, first MJG’s No More Glory in 1997 and then 8Ball’s Lost in 1998. They reunited in 1999 to release their fourth album as a group, titled In Our Lifetime, Vol. 1
For their later releases they signed with Bad Boy Records. Their first album for Bad Boy Records, Living Legends, was certified Gold by the RIAA. Their second album on Bad Boy Records was titled Ridin High and was released in March 2007.
Commercially one of the high points of 8Ball & MJG’s career was their being featured on Three 6 Mafia’s hit song “Stay Fly” in 2005. That song peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100, which is the biggest hit of Three 6 Mafia’s career and the biggest hit for 8Ball & MJG. The song was a collaboration between two of the most successful rap groups from the state of Tennessee, where Three 6 Mafia also hail from.
Today 8Ball and MJG also head their own record labels. 8Ball heads 8 Ways Entertainment (distributed by Koch Entertainment), while MJG heads MJG Muzik. On their label are the young, up and coming Memphis duo, Da Volunteers, who are widely known throughout the Southern United States for their 2006 single, “What’s Yo Favorite Color?”, which glorifies their neighborhood of Orange Mound.
In September 2007, 8Ball and MJG signed deals in Sacramento, CA with Real Talk Entertainment 8Ball released a group album with E.D.I of the Outlawz entitled Doin’ It Big on April 1, 2008 and MJG released a solo album entitled Pimp Tight on April 29, 2008.
In June 2008 the group announced that they have officially signed onto T.I.’s record label Grand Hustle.
Tell Me Why
Eightball & MJG Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[8 Ball]
Yeah..
What'chu talkin 'bout, what'chu think you doin?
Why you walkin out, where you think you goin?
You actin like you didn't, you knew what I was doin
3 o'clock in the mornin, you knew where I was goin
Stopped and picked up somethin pretty on the freeway suckin titties
You in the bed sleepin, I said that I was workin
You smile when you see me but inside you was hurtin
The cars and the clothes, whatever that you asked me
I was takin care of you, I thought that you was happy
Out of town, fuckin 'round, all-star, Superbowl
A-T-L, Magic City, tippin big dick hoes
Panties on the back seat, I don't know whose shit that is
Condoms and phone numbers, I don't know whose shit that is
F'real, you know when I realized that I was wrong
When I wrote the words to this song
[Chorus: unnamed singer]
Just tell me why baby, did I ever did I ever did I ever let you go baby
Cause I love you cause I love you cause I really love you so baby
Baby, woo - it's the very last time that I'll let you down
I won't make the same mistakes again
[MJG]
Yeah, since way back I was a mag-a-net for pretty women
And brought up in the city where they exercise their pimpin
I fight temptation daily, I could be in Paris chillin
With somethin young, eager talent, they ready and willin
I get a lot of phone numbers but don't really call 'em
Unless I hit 'em just to let 'em know I'm out here ballin
I know you picture me, laid up with these other women
Most of the time I'm not, occasionally I get 'em
Who was that woman lookin at me up in Wal*Mart
Lock in the sexual fantasy, her drawers hot
But back to the subject, the chemistry I really loved it
Mental, emotional, couldn't put nothin above it
But every unturned stone you had to touch it
Rolled 'em over, look what you found, now you disgusted
But before I leave, look me in my eye
Don't cry, never lie..
[Chorus]
[8 Ball]
You and me, full of that, sticky weed and cog-nac
You like how I lick it then, put the dick up in your back
There you go, talkin 'bout, what you know, who done said
That they saw me trickin some-where with one of yo' friends
Did you see me do it NO, do you know that shit fo' sho'
Who you gon' believe me, or them ol' meddlin hoes
Daaaamn, I think of all the shit I put you through
This a lonely game and, sometimes I be missin you
[MJG]
I got a tank of gas to burn up, turn up the radio
Baby hit your girls, go tell 'em c'mon get ready to go
We headed fo', somewhere, tucked in and very low key
No interruptions, no cell phones, no tee-vee
Just you and me, sippin up on some Hennessy
Makin sure that we finish the whole, cup to the end it be
Meant to be chemistry between us and even though
You saw the bitches in my Beamer..
[Chorus - to fade]
The song “Tell Me Why” by Eightball and MJG is a story about two men who are cheating on their significant others. They explain why they cheat and try to justify their actions, but at the end of the day, they realize that they were wrong and hurting their partners. The lyrics are filled with references to the materialistic and superficial aspects of their lifestyles. MJG talks about how he fights temptation every day and has many women around him, but he truly loves the chemistry he has with his partner. Meanwhile, Eightball talks about how he takes care of his partner financially, but still cheats on her.
The song is about the struggle between wanting what they have and wanting more. They are not satisfied with what they have and are chasing after something else. However, they eventually realize that they need to appreciate what they have and not take their partners for granted. This is shown in the chorus, where an unnamed singer asks why they let their partner go, and the two rappers promise not to make the same mistakes again.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah..
Introduction to the song
What'chu talkin 'bout, what'chu think you doin?
Why are you questioning me and my actions?
Why you walkin out, where you think you goin?
Why are you leaving and where do you plan to go?
You actin like you didn't, you knew what I was doin
You're pretending you didn't know what I was up to
3 o'clock in the mornin, you knew where I was goin
You knew I was out late at 3 am
Straight to my spot, a loft in the city
I went straight to my apartment in the city
Stopped and picked up somethin pretty on the freeway suckin titties
I picked up a girl who was attractive and who gave me oral sex on the freeway
You in the bed sleepin, I said that I was workin
You were asleep in bed while I told you I was working
You smile when you see me but inside you was hurtin
You forced a smile when you saw me but you were hurting inside
The cars and the clothes, whatever that you asked me
I got you nice cars and clothes like you asked
I was takin care of you, I thought that you was happy
I thought I was taking good care of you and making you happy
Out of town, fuckin 'round, all-star, Superbowl
When I was out of town, I cheated on you during All-Star weekend and the Super Bowl
A-T-L, Magic City, tippin big dick hoes
I went to Magic City strip club in Atlanta and tipped the dancers a lot of money
Panties on the back seat, I don't know whose shit that is
There were panties on the back seat of my car, but I don't know whose they were
Condoms and phone numbers, I don't know whose shit that is
I found condoms and phone numbers in my possession but I don't know who they belong to
F'real, you know when I realized that I was wrong
Honestly, I knew I was wrong when I wrote this song
Just tell me why baby, did I ever did I ever did I ever let you go baby
Please tell me why I let you go, baby, why did I let you leave?
Cause I love you cause I love you cause I really love you so baby
I love you so much, that's why I am asking
Baby, woo - it's the very last time that I'll let you down
This is my promise that I won't disappoint you again
I won't make the same mistakes again
I won't repeat the same mistakes again
Yeah, since way back I was a mag-a-net for pretty women
I've always been a magnet for attractive women
And brought up in the city where they exercise their pimpin
I grew up in a city where people were accustomed to pimping
I fight temptation daily, I could be in Paris chillin
I struggle with temptation every day, I could be relaxing with women in Paris
With somethin young, eager talent, they ready and willin
There are always younger, eager women who are willing to be with me
I get a lot of phone numbers but don't really call 'em
I collect a lot of phone numbers but rarely call the women
Unless I hit 'em just to let 'em know I'm out here ballin
Unless I call them to let them know how successful I am
I know you picture me, laid up with these other women
You imagine me with other women, in compromising positions
Most of the time I'm not, occasionally I get 'em
Most of the time I don't cheat, but I do give in to temptation occasionally
Who was that woman lookin at me up in Wal*Mart
I caught a woman looking at me at Wal*Mart
Lock in the sexual fantasy, her drawers hot
In my mind, I had a sexual fantasy with her and she was aroused
But back to the subject, the chemistry I really loved it
Back to our relationship, I really loved our chemistry
Mental, emotional, couldn't put nothin above it
Our connection was strong on a mental and emotional level, nothing could surpass it
But every unturned stone you had to touch it
You had to investigate every possibility, every clue
Rolled 'em over, look what you found, now you disgusted
You discovered the truth and now you're disgusted with me
But before I leave, look me in my eye
Before I leave, confront me and look me in the eye
Don't cry, never lie..
Don't cry, just be honest with me
You and me, full of that, sticky weed and cog-nac
We smoked weed and drank cognac together
You like how I lick it then, put the dick up in your back
You enjoyed how I performed oral sex on you, then had sex with you from behind
There you go, talkin 'bout, what you know, who done said
You're talking about rumors you heard about me, without proof
That they saw me trickin some-where with one of yo' friends
They saw me cheating somewhere with one of your friends
Did you see me do it NO, do you know that shit fo' sho'
You never actually caught me cheating, do you have actual proof?
Who you gon' believe me, or them ol' meddlin hoes
Why believe them over me? They're just old gossipy women
Daaaamn, I think of all the shit I put you through
I realize how much I've put you through and it upsets me
This a lonely game and, sometimes I be missin you
Being successful can be lonely and sometimes I miss you
I got a tank of gas to burn up, turn up the radio
I have a full tank of gas and I'm going to turn up the radio
Baby hit your girls, go tell 'em c'mon get ready to go
Tell your friends to come with us, let's have a good time
We headed fo', somewhere, tucked in and very low key
We're going somewhere discreet and low key
No interruptions, no cell phones, no tee-vee
No distractions, just us and no technology
Just you and me, sippin up on some Hennessy
Just us, drinking Hennessy together
Makin sure that we finish the whole, cup to the end it be
Drinking our whole cups to the end
Meant to be chemistry between us and even though
We were meant to be together, and even though
You saw the bitches in my Beamer..
You saw women in my car, but I wasn't doing anything with them
This is the chorus repeated
Just the chorus repeated again
Contributed by Jayden E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Eric Chapel
Still bumbin 2020 who with me?
Keith Ruffin
ANOTHER BANGER THESE CATS COLDER THAN THE MORGUE
fherna201
Such an underrated song! No phonies or fakes listening to this song.
Flight Productions
man ive been looking for this song this is some real shit ive meet ball and g sevral times smoke with them boys and all!!! they they real deal!!! thanks for posting this track!!!!
Monnique Arnold
2021 - still bangin'!!! 🎶🎵🎙
Ronnie Jones / R2J
Had this soundtrack and it was slamming.
DeeJay1773
Love this song gives feeling and makes me think of my dad we used to listen to it together :/
MrTerry010
Damn I love this chorus.
justin case
been waitin for this song to hit tha tube for a couple years......THANK YOU SOO MUCH!!!
jadujen
love this chorus ;) beautiful