The Joy
Jay-Z & Kanye West Lyrics

Add a little sugar, honeysuckle and
Sprinkle a little sweetness and happiness

A great big expression of happiness
Show your happiness with grand gestures

Boy, you couldn't miss with a dozen roses
Sending roses is always a hit

Such would astound you
They'll be shocked by your kind gesture

The joy of children laughing around you
The sound of kids' laughter is pure joy

These are the makings of you
These simple things make you who you are

I do it for the fore-fathers and the street authors
I make music for those who came before me

That are not A&R's in the cheap office
Real artists don't work in cheap office jobs

Rappers that never got signed but they keep offers
Talented rappers still get offers even if they're not signed

Girls that's way too fine for us to keep off us
We can't resist beautiful women

Gave her a handshake only for my man's sake
I greeted her as a friend of my friend

She in her birthday suit cause of the damn cake
She's naked because of what we did for her birthday

Now there's crumbs all over the damn place
We made a mess with the cake

And she want me to cum all over her damn face
She wants sexual favors

I never understood planned parenthood
I don't understand the concept of family planning

'Cause I never met nobody planned to be a parent in the hood
People in my community don't plan to have children

Taking refills of that plan B pill
Women in my community use emergency contraception often

Another shorty that won't make it to the family will
Another child won't have a stable family environment

If I don't make it, can't take it, hope the family will
If I die, I hope my family will be okay

They ain't crazy they don't know how insanity feel
My family is mentally stable

Don C just had a shorty so it's not that bad
Don C's recent child gives me hope

But I still hear the ghosts of the kids I never had
I still think about the children I never had

No Electro, no metro, a little retro, ahh perfecto
I like old-school music, not electronic or modern

You know the demo, ya boy act wild
You know my style, I act crazy

You ain't get the memo? Yeezy's back in style
Didn't you get the news? My style is back in fashion

Now one room got Gidget, the other got Bridget
I have two women in separate rooms

What's more tripped out dawg is they sisters
The crazy thing is, they're sisters

Nah, you ain't listen, they black, they sisters
You didn't hear me, they're black and they're sisters

They momma, named them after white bitches
Their mother named them after white women

So next time you see me on your fallopian
Next time you see me, I'll be everywhere

Though the jewelry's Egyptian, know the hunger's Ethiopian
I might have flashy jewelry, but I still come from poverty

Stupid questions like, "Is he gon' be dope again?
I don't like it when people ask if I'll be successful again

Have you seen him? Has anybody spoke to him?"
People are curious about me but don't reach out

This beat deserves Hennessy, a bad bitch and a bag of weed, the Holy Trinity
This beat is so good, it deserves the three best things in life

In the mirror where I see my only enemy
I am my own worst enemy

Your life's cursed, well mine's an obscenity
My life is vulgar, while yours is unlucky

This is my momma shit
This is the music my mother used to listen to

I used to hear this through the walls in the hood
I heard this music from the neighboring apartments

When I was back in my pajama shit
When I was still living with my family

Afro's and marijuana sticks, seeds and the ganja had
We used to smoke weed and listen to music with afros

It popping like the sample that I'm rhyming with
The music was heavy and exciting

Pete Rock, let the needle drop
Let the music play, Pete Rock

I seen so much as a kid they surprised I don't needle pop
I saw a lot of drug use but never tried it myself

Taking sips of pop's six-pack of Miller nips
I used to drink my father's beer

Pink Champale, Ballantine Ale
I enjoyed drinking these beers

Ballys on my feet help me balance out well
My expensive shoes make me feel balanced

That and the shit I used to balance on the scale
I used to sell drugs and balance the weight

I got it honest from the parties from my momma's
I learned my music taste from my mother's parties

Virgin Mary's try to judge her, I'm like, "Where the Madonna's now?"
Religious people judge my mother, but where are their own role models?

Give all glory to Gloria, they said, "You raised that boy too fast"
My mother deserves all the credit, even though people criticize her parenting

But you was raising a warrior
She was raising a strong fighter

We victorious, they'll never take the joy from us, uh
We are winning, and they can't take our happiness away

Keep you hands up, get 'em high now
Raise your hands and celebrate

Don't let them take your fire
Don't let anyone extinguish your passion

It's Pete Rock, Kanye, one, two, okay
This is a collaboration between Pete Rock and Kanye