This Can't Be Life
JAY Z Lyrics

See I was, born in sewage, born to make bomb music
I come from humble beginnings but I have the talent to make great music.

Flow tight like I was born Jewish
My rapping skills are so natural that it seems like I was born with it.

Used the streets as a conduit, I kept arms 38 longs inside my mom's buick
I used my surroundings to my advantage and was always prepared for danger.

At any given moment shawn could lose it, be on the news Iron cuffs, arms through it, or stuffed with embalming fluid
My friend Shawn is always on the edge and could end up in jail or dead at any moment.

Shit, I'm going through it, mom dukes too Tears streamin down her pretty face, she got her palms to it
My life is stressful and my mother is also feeling the pain.

My life is gettin too wild I need to bring some sort kinda calm to it Bout to lose it voices screaming "don't do it!"
My life is spiraling out of control and I need to find a way to calm down, even though voices in my head are telling me not to.

It's like '93, '94, bout the year That big and mag dropped; and "illmatic" rocked Outta every rag drop, and the west had it locked Everybody doing 'em, I'm still scratchin on the block Like "damn, I'ma be a failure"
The rap scene is booming, but I haven't made it yet and fear that I will never achieve my dreams.

Surrounded by thugs, drugs, and drug paraphernalia Cops courts, and their thoughts is to derail us Three time felons in shorts with jealous thoughts Tryin figure where your mail is, guesstimate the weight you sellin So they can send shots straight to your melon wait!
My surroundings are dangerous and the police are constantly trying to bring down people like me who are involved in illegal activities.

It gets worse, baby momma water burst Baby came out stillborn, still I gotta move on Though my heart still torn, life gone from her womb Don't worry, if it was meant to be, it'll be, soon
My baby was stillborn, but I have to find a way to keep moving forward and trust that everything will work out the way it's supposed to.

This can't be life, this can't be love This can't be right, there's gotta be more, this can't be us
My life is full of pain and struggle, and I refuse to believe that this is all there is.

Second oldest born, from Michelle brown my mother Hell bound, grew with two sisters and one brother Pop wasn't around, so many stories that's another I'm thinking damn, how my older sister gon' make me tougher
I grew up in a dysfunctional family with absent parents and had to rely on my siblings to toughen me up.

When steel sharpens steel, I'ma keep it real I'm tired of trying to hide my pain behind the syrups and pills Dead to the world, stretched out like a corpse for real Y'all niggaz thinking what y'all reading in the source is real What my life like, you looking at the source, it's real What your life like? mine dog, of course it's real
I'm tired of pretending that everything is okay and using drugs to numb my pain. My reality is not just what you read in a magazine, it's my actual life.

Stop that akki, 'fore I send shots though your body Make 'em feel feel hell on earth before allah drop thee I feel the line's drawn here, nuttin more can stop me Till them feds pick me up, or them boys pop me
I won't tolerate anyone disrespecting me or my beliefs, and I will do whatever it takes to protect myself. I am willing to face the consequences if necessary.

There's only three things that make mac not act like beans Amatullah tisha, po aldin, samir amin My seeds dog, gotta teach 'em that before I leave dog Shit I know that I'ma see 'em when I leave dog
There are only three people who can calm me down and bring out my softer side: my children, Amatullah, Tisha, and my friends Po Aldin and Samir Amin. I know I will see my children again after I die.

And when I heard that I just broke into tears And see in the second hand you don't really know how this is But when it hits that close to home you feel the pain at the crib So I called mine, and saddened my wife with the bad news Now we both depressed, countin our blessings cause brad's two Prayin for young souls to laugh at life through the stars Lovin your kids just like you was ours And I'm hurtin for you dog, but ain't nobody pain is like yours I just know that heaven'll open these doors
When my friend lost his child, it hit me hard and I couldn't help but cry. It made me realize that you can't truly understand someone's pain until you've experienced it yourself. I called my own wife to tell her the news, and we both felt grief for our friend. We pray that our children will live long, happy lives and cherish them like they are our own. Despite our pain, we know that heaven will welcome these young souls.

I could've rapped about my hard times on this song But heaven knows I woulda been wrong I wouldn'ta been right, it wouldn'ta been love It wouldn'ta been life, it wouldn'ta been us This can't be life
I could have focused on the negative aspects of my life in this song, but that wouldn't have been authentic to who I am. My life is not just about pain and struggle, it's about love, family, and survival.