Jean moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was nine, then to Northern New Jersey, where he began playing the guitar and studying jazz in his high school. In 1987, Jean, his friend (so close they told people they were cousins growing up) Prakazrel Michel (Pras) and his classmate, Lauryn Hill, formed a group called the Tranzlator Crew before becoming The Fugees. Wyclef worked as a cabdriver.
Recently he has been finding success as a collaborator - with his turn on Shakira's 2006 track 'Hips Don't Lie' hitting number one in many countries around the world.
In August of 2010, Jean announced his intent to seek the presidency of Haiti. This move came after his increasingly-high profile humanitarian work in the wake of the earthquake that devastated that nation.
Pullin Me In
Wyclef Jean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Y'all know y'all done messed up now right?
Mmmm mmmm, fo' real
[opera singing]
You know, you messed up, I'm not laughing
All y'all beats is soundin the same, y'all rhymin the same
Some of y'all even wearing the same jewelry
And y'all doin the same videos
That's why they brought me back in this game
To bring it right back to the essence, mmm hmmm
Oh yeah, and all this kill this, kill that, kill this
Lemme tell you somethin, (what, what)
The real killers, they're standin right over there
Waitin for you to act like a killer, so they can kill you
Yo Sedeck, do me a favor yo
Yo tell everybody on this side of the stage
To just move back a little cuz it's about to get real rowdy
in the front yo, they comin yo
I could never forget the underground hip hop
I'ma dedicate this to everybody that knew me when I was broke
Workin at Burger King, hustlin dime bags on a twelve speed bicycle
All the projects man, youknowwhatimsayin?
Yo
[HOOK:]
Every time I keep pullin out, y'all keep pullin me in, sin
Kick a little somethin for the New Jerusalem
Let people know you aint forget where you came from, where you came from
Every time I keep pullin out, y'all keep pullin me in, sin
Kick a little somethin for the street DJs
Let people know you aint forget where you came from, where you came from
[Verse 1]
Yo, yo this probably the hardest verse that I ever recite
I'm in the studio with a gun in my neck it's all right
Surrounded by gangsters, I don't know how they got here
But I feel like the Haitian Frank Sinatra, in his young years
New York, on my way to Kennedy airport
L.A., I was told wear colors wherever you walk
Dirt, dirty south, I heard they run up in your house
Shakespeare, no time to jive blast your girl through the blouse
What? MCs, y'all aint nothing but assassins
Every two lines is killin, or incarceration
Murderation, closed casket cremation
Closest you got to prison was seein barson television
But I'ma go long as this thug phenomenon
Pass me a bandanna, two shots from my Mag-num
All of that, to get your attention
Here's a few things I been dyin to mention
Anyone talk about guns, I'ma buy the cartel
Any more beats soundin the same, I'ma put your MPC to cell
Listen, reminiscing on Nas, *It Aint Hard To Tell*
Still feel like somebody's watching me like Rockwell
Talk about diamonds, I'ma kidnap Jacob
Talk about the Fugees, I'ma break up the make up
Put your stake up, I'm about to work my way back to the streets
And y'all wanna bootleg cuz y'all will get Jay-Z
[HOOK (variations)]
Kick a little something for the projects Clef
Kick a little something for the hip hop fans
[Verse 2]
Hip hop fans, y'all like the woman in my house
No matter how faithful I am, y'all still have your doubts
Talkin bout, is he real in this relationship
Or did he go pop, and on the side get a mistress
My mistress is a guitar, classical like Mozart
Paint murder on the wall just to show y'all some art
And y'all wanna start, and lose body parts
I suggest you start walkin, tell your man stop talking
You know the scenario, the innocent is always the first to go
And Dorothy sings somewhere over the rainbow
Kum Ba Ya, got you trapped in barbed wire
Dope delivery, but I'm the ghost writer
Tall tribes of Juda, deeper than books
Watch what you cook cuz you might get hooked
Man... I miss real MCs
Like Kool G Rap, written in graffiti
Before the plane, I used to take the train
Watch fiends puttin up they vein, moms raisin caine
Able's on the roof, cook like a goose
To calm my nerve, I drink Vodka 180 proof
I'm back in the shack, lay flat on my back
Two choices, sell rap or sell crack
Chose sell rap, but watch my back like I'm sellin crack
Cuz the music industry is the same street format
I sold y'all Nappy Heads, to The Score, to The Carnival
But yet y'all still wanted more
Since Sedeck went back, came off wit a break
I blend so perfect, that you would want it for your mixtape
[beatbox]
[HOOK (variations)]
Kick a little something for the brothers up north
In Wyclef Jean's song "Pullin Me In," he criticizes the state of hip hop at the time, pointing out how every beat sounds the same, and every rapper is rhyming and wearing the same things. He speaks to the realness of the danger certain rappers claim to have faced and how there are some actual killers in the space. He reminisces about his past, working at Burger King and hustling dime bags on a twelve-speed bicycle. In the first verse, he talks about the areas he has traveled to, including New York, LA, and the dirty south, where he heard they would run up in your house. He then goes on to talk about the state of rap lyrics, saying that every two lines are about killing or incarceration. He calls on the bootleggers to stop copying beats and mentions wanting to bring it back to the essence of underground hip hop. In the second verse, he speaks to the criticisms of him from his fans that wonder if he has gone pop and has a mistress on the side. He dismisses this by saying his mistress is his guitar and goes on to talk about his life before he made it big in the industry, where he saw fiends putting up their veins and his mom raising cain.
Line by Line Meaning
Y'all know y'all done messed up now right?
You are aware of your mistake, right?
All y'all beats is soundin the same, y'all rhymin the same
All of your music and lyrics are becoming the same and repetitive.
Shut up, you know you messed up right?
Stop talking, you know you have made a mistake.
To bring it right back to the essence
To bring back the true roots and origin of the music.
The real killers, they're standin right over there
Waitin for you to act like a killer, so they can kill you
The actual dangerous people are nearby waiting for someone to provoke them so they can react with violence.
I'ma dedicate this to everybody that knew me when I was broke
Workin at Burger King, hustlin dime bags on a twelve speed bicycle
This verse is dedicated to the people who knew him when he had nothing and was struggling to make ends meet.
Every time I keep pullin out, y'all keep pullin me in, sin
Kick a little somethin for the New Jerusalem
Let people know you aint forget where you came from, where you came from
Kick a little somethin for the street DJs
The cycle of sin and temptation keeps taking him back to his roots, where he reminds himself where he came from and dedicates his music to the street DJs.
Surrounded by gangsters, I don't know how they got here
But I feel like the Haitian Frank Sinatra, in his young years
He is surrounded by dangerous people but feels like a successful musician like Frank Sinatra, from a similar background.
Dirt, dirty south, I heard they run up in your house
In the South, people are known to be robbed in their own home.
MCs, y'all aint nothing but assassins
Every two lines is killin, or incarceration
Rappers only talk about violence and crime in their lyrics.
Put your stake up, I'm about to work my way back to the streets
And y'all wanna bootleg cuz y'all will get Jay-Z
He is going to return to his roots and make music for the streets. Bootleggers will try to sell his music illegally, but it won't be as successful as Jay-Z.
Hip hop fans, y'all like the woman in my house
No matter how faithful I am, y'all still have your doubts
Hip hop fans don't trust him and always have doubts about his loyalty to the genre.
And y'all wanna start, and lose body parts
I suggest you start walkin, tell your man stop talking
If you provoke dangerous people, you could get hurt or even die. It's better to stay away.
Able's on the roof, cook like a goose
To calm my nerve, I drink Vodka 180 proof
He feels stressed and nervous, so he drinks a lot of strong alcohol to cope.
Cuz the music industry is the same street format
I sold y'all Nappy Heads, to The Score, to The Carnival
But yet y'all still wanted more
The music industry is the same as the streets, full of violence and competition. He has released successful albums in the past, but the fans still want more.
I blend so perfect, that you would want it for your mixtape
His music blends so well together that people would want to include it in their mixes.
Kick a little something for the brothers up north
Dedicate a verse to the people in the northern part of the country.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DUPLESSIS, JEAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind