On Top Of The World
T.I. Ft. Ludacris and B.O.B. Lyrics

I used to dream, I used to dream, oh whoa
I had aspirations to attain wealth and material possessions

About the money and the cars and girls and the girls
Specifically, I dreamed of money, cars, and women

But now I sing, now I sing, oh whoa
Now, instead of just dreaming of these things, I actually have and enjoy them

Because I'm sitting on top of the world, the whole world
I have achieved great success and feel like I am on top of the world

And now I sing, sing, sing, sing
I am grateful for my success and am celebrating it through music

'Cause I'm sitting on top of the world
My position as a successful artist and businessman puts me on top of the world

Man, I remember before I say that wait, let me issue this statement
Before I reflect on my past, I want to make it clear that I am not glorifying it

No way should reflection be mistaking for glorification
I do not want to create the impression that my past struggles were glamorous or desirable

Now I remember so vivid me and my niggas was living
I have clear memories of the difficult living conditions I and my friends endured

Sub standard condition still handling business
Despite these conditions, we were still able to conduct business

Still laughing and tripping, still having the bitches
Despite our hardships, we found joy in life and had relationships with women

I'm rapping now reminiscing and goddammit we did it
Through my music, I am reflecting on my past and celebrating the fact that we overcame adversity

From trapping standing and pitching with rich we stand in the kitchen
We started out selling drugs on the street, but now we own businesses and cook in the kitchen

Splitting it eight ways flipping it 8 days
We split the money equally amongst ourselves and quickly reinvested it

Thought that wild and unruly was just the way to behave
At the time, we believed that being wild and reckless was acceptable behavior

Kept the weight and the yey for most the paper
We held on to the drugs and only sold them when we needed cash

We made in all dimes, I ain't lying, the pleasure was all mine
We sold drugs in small amounts, but it was still profitable and enjoyable for me

Have big work to move but we served the small time
We had access to larger quantities of drugs, but we chose to sell in smaller amounts to minimize risk

I always out shined the niggas with small minds
I excelled and surpassed others who had limited perspectives

Who would of thought we would be arguably the greatest of all time
We never imagined we would achieve such success

Around here we developed such a sound down here
In our hometown, we created a unique and distinctive sound

But duplicate it off the steel it can only be found here
Our sound is so unique that it cannot be replicated by others

Only listen to G's that other shit I don't hear
I only listen to other successful people, and ignore everything else

Shit they so far in the rear how would I even care
People who do not share my level of success are irrelevant to me

I'm too busy being a player staring at nigga's careers
I am more focused on my own success than on other people's careers

But talk about it for years and now we finally here
I have talked about achieving success for years, and I have finally done it

They say what goes up must come down
People believe that success is temporary and will eventually fade

But I ain't reached my cruising altitude
I believe my success will continue to grow and thrive

Take a look at what I did but can you imagine what I'm about to do
I have achieved a lot already, but my future success has even greater potential

The places I'm 'bout to go and the money I'm bout to see
I am expecting to travel to many places and earn even more money

Gave Bill Gates some binoculars and said, look out for me
I am so confident in my future success that I asked Bill Gates to keep an eye on me

Exceeded expectations even at def jam
I surpassed the expectations of others even at the record label Def Jam

'Cause I married the streets and Atlanta has been my best man
My connection to the streets and to Atlanta has been instrumental in my success

My momma quit her job and now she works for six figures
My financial success has enabled my mother to leave her job and earn a six-figure salary

'Cause I'm a self made nappy headed rich nigga
I have become rich and successful on my own, without the help of others

Private planes help me travel in peace
I am financially successful enough to travel by private plane, which gives me privacy

To four cities in one day and four countries in one week
My success has allowed me to travel to many different destinations in a short period of time

'Cause I work for myself and no one else
I am my own boss and do not have anyone else to answer to

cause I'm too smart too
My success is due in part to my intelligence and shrewd business sense

Put one of my partners right through culinary art school
I have paid for one of my partners to attend culinary arts school

Now he my personal chef so that bread he get it
He has become my personal chef, and he earns a lot of money doing it

Put 'em all in houses cleaned up all of my friends credit
I have helped my friends buy houses and improve their credit scores

And now they witness all the glitz and the glamor
My friends are now able to enjoy the luxurious lifestyle that comes with my success

Catch us eating at straits Atlanta with women with table manners
I frequently dine at expensive Atlanta restaurants with well-mannered women

Order in Singapore and lobster
I am able to order expensive food, such as lobster, when traveling to Singapore

Celebrating coming from nothing to winning Grammy's
I am celebrating the fact that I have come from a difficult past to winning Grammy Awards

And rappers winning Oscars
Other rappers have won Academy Awards, signaling that rap music is being taken more seriously

And they say rappers shouldn't act, nah suckers
Some people believe that rappers should not be acting, but I disagree

We see Samuel Jackson like what's up motherfucker
As a successful rapper and actor, I have the opportunity to meet other successful people

I know them haters don't stop plotting and wish you would fall
I am aware that there are people who want to see me fail, but I do not let it bother me

'Cause I'm standing on top looking down at it all
I have achieved so much success that I am now looking down at those who doubted me

Know from down there to ya'll it seem like I got it all
To others, it may seem like I have everything and my life is perfect

Homie I ain't get enough, I'm still trying to triple up
Despite my success, I am still ambitious and want to earn even more money

So all we got is street cred and akoo building up
My reputation in the streets and my fashion line, AKOO, are still important to me

Say I'm doing too much shit, I say I ain't did enough
Some people criticize me for doing too much, but I feel like I could still do more

Remember saying damn if I could just get to a million plus
I used to dream about earning a million dollars

And now I'm like shit what the fuck is a million bucks
Now that I have achieved financial success, a million dollars does not seem like that much money

Triple that on my bond thanks to Bigs and Ron
I have used my financial success to invest in bonds, which have performed very well

But never mind what I've been through, just look at what I become
I do not dwell on my past struggles, but instead focus on my current success

All the shit I've avoided, what I done for my sons
I am proud of the things I have done for my children and the negative things I have avoided

And daughters and momma just call her
I have also been able to provide for my daughters and mother

I sold dope and dropped out of school seems its all they can see
People often only see the negative aspects of my past, such as selling drugs and dropping out of school

They don't notice none of my family did that since me
However, they fail to notice that no one in my family has followed that path since me

I broke that cycle now my family live a life of
I have broken the cycle of poverty and struggle in my family

Mandatory minimals but not when the judge sentence them
My family members are no longer subject to mandatory minimum sentences when convicted of crimes

Cousins in college where you think they get tuition from
I have been able to support my cousins' college education financially

Just from standing around wishing, huh
My cousins were able to afford college simply because I wished for their success and made it happen

And while you standing around looking dumb
While others are waiting around for success to find them, I am taking action to make it happen

I make it happen taking action over time got damn good at it
Through consistent effort and hard work, I have become very skilled at making things happen and achieving success