Smile (feat. Gloria Carter)

[Jay-Z & Stevie Wonder]

Good morn' or evening, friends

Smile, you recordin'?

[Jay-Z]

Slammin' Bentley doors like we invented doors

20 years ago we drove Bentley Azures

We drinkin' Cristal in, yeah

Kept the trey on me like Chris Paulin'

Drinkin' Ace of Spade like it's codeine now

Tryna put a million on the whole team now

Push through the pain so we can see new life

So all the ladies havin' babies, see a sacrifice

Mama had four kids, but she's a lesbian

Had to pretend so long that she's a thespian

Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate

Society shame and the pain was too much to take

Cried tears of joy when you fell in love

Don't matter to me if it's a him or her

I just wanna see you smile through all the hate

Marie Antoinette, baby, let 'em eat cake

[Jay-Z & Stevie Wonder]

Bad times turn to good memories, smile

Even when I'm gone and you remember me, smile

Good times never fade away, smile

Even if I'm not with you here today, smile

Good morn' or evening, friends

Smile

Here's your friendly announcer

Smile

[Jay-Z]

Far as draft picks, my name did not get called

Bet before I go I put a billion on the board

Hall of Fame Hov, I did it all without a pen

Y'all knew that was comin', I had to remind y'all again, huh?

Flyin' paper planes through the projects

Now the whole projects on my jet

Now you see the real in the front row

In every one of y'all televised shows

Super facts

Niggas switched sides, traded pride, we don't do all that

A loss ain’t a loss, it’s a lesson

Appreciate the pain, it’s a blessin'

[Jay-Z & Stevie Wonder]

Bad times turn to good memories, smile

Even when I'm gone and you remember me, smile

Good times never fade away, smile

Even if I'm not with you here today, smile

Good morn' or evening, friends

[Jay-Z]

I mastered my aesthetics

I know you often heard me wax poetic

'Bout bein' back in the Lexus

But trust me, that was nothin'

A nigga up in the hundreds of millions

I have no ceilings, ah, this that feelin', I'm that boy

Anita Baker's "You Bring Me Joy"

Slappin' out of the toy, the separation is clear

In my rear-view mirror, objects is further than they appear

Oh yeah, I was born with a pair

Playin' for high stakes

Norman Cake, he looked up and out of the Lear

How niggas can't relate?

Fuck a slice of the apple pie, want my own cake

Chargin' my own fate

Respect Jimmy Iovine

But he gotta respect the Elohim as a whole new regime

And niggas playin' for power, huh

So our music is ours

Niggas only own houses

Ours was, "Fuck you, pay me"

Now it's, "Fuck payin' me, I pay you

Put the rest away for Blue"

That blood money, I giggle at it

Can't even support my Mrs. habit

Jewelry shoppin' in Paris

All y'all jewelers should be embarrassed, huh

Blood diamonds drippin', we cute

I still ain't trippin', that's life, winners and losers

Drug dealers and abusers, America likes me ruthless

My therapist said I relapsed

I said, "Prehaps I Freudian slipped in European whips"

God sent me to break the chain

I'm the true and livin'

God in the flesh, the rest of these niggas is vain

A stain on the white suit, inferior IQ

Niggas'll rip your shit off TIDAL just to spite you

Ahhhh, what did I do?

'Cept try to free you

Niggas'll love you but hate you 'cause they can't be you

Dump 'em all in the bayou, uh

Everybody wave bye to the guy you thought you could lie to

This was meant to be a haiku, huh

But my story's too wide to fit inside the line

And too old, these that drugs

Heroin flow, I spaz on the stove

This is Hov, no Flex zone, nigga, who lied to you?

Look, you a pedestrian

Don't ever question the security I provided you

Oh y'all thought I was washed?

I'm at the cleaners

Launderin' dirty money like the Teamsters, huh

Shout out to Hoffa back home, he in the church

When I heard you got booked, that shit hurt

Feared for you, bro, we know the system don't work

Take a young niggas freedom over some dirt

Yet it's legal in Colorado

Yeah, we deny

Black entrepreneurs, free enterprise

That's why it's a black market, that's why it's called "the trap"

That's why it's called "the projects" 'cause it's exactly that!

All these people was gon' kill me, heh

'Cause the more I reveal me, the more they 'fraid of the real me

Welcome back Carter, smile

[Gloria Carter]

Living in the shadow

Can you imagine what kind of life it is to live?

In the shadows people see you as happy and free

Because that's what you want them to see

Living two lives, happy, but not free

You live in the shadows for fear of someone hurting your family or the person you love

The world is changing and they say it's time to be free

But you live with the fear of just being me

Living in the shadow feels like the safe place to be

No harm for them, no harm for me

But life is short, and it's time to be free

Love who you love, because life isn't guaranteed

Smile