Dope Man Lyrics - Vol. 3: The Life & Times Of St. Carter - Jay-z

(feat. Serena Altschul) 

{*Sound of a camera taking a picture*} 

[Jay] Millenium flow 

[MTV] Serena Altschul's here live outside the criminal courthouse 

[Jay] This is {bullshit} y'all 

[MTV] in New York City for the first day in the trial of 

[Jay] I'm gone {*car speeds off*} 

[MTV] the State vs. Shawn Carter, a.k.a. Jay-Z 

[Jay] Uhh, uh-huh-uh, uhh, uh-huh-uh, uhh 

[MTV] Whatever the verdict in this trial may be 

the effects will undoubtedly be felt worldwide 

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[Jay-Z] 

Aiyyo, stand forward, 'fore you take notice 

or witness to me killin the track 

Testify 'til me spillin the smack 

Now they got me for traffickin, racketeerin, audio crack 

{Hook:} They call me Dope Man, Dope Man 

I try to tell em I'm where hope, floats man 

Ghetto spokes-man 

A broke man, approachin the bench with intent 

to bury me under the cell, fingered me as the toast man 

Evidence stemmin from ninety-six 

They say the world ain't recovered from his fix 

While they was usin cut I was on some other shit 

Gave it to you raw and they just discovered it 

Nowaday, the jury got they brow raised 

Listenin to testimony about my foul ways 

Exhibit A: "Reasonable Doubt" 

They say this was the first thing that turned the peoples out 

Photos 

[MTV] You can feel the tension building here 

as an unprecedented number of people have turned out 

for what may be the "Trial of the Century" 

{Hook} 

[Jay-Z] 

How come, you label your brand of dope 

"Volume 1" and spread it through the slums? 

Fed it to the young with total disregard 

Your honor, the State seeks the maximum charge 

And how could you, turn right around 

and release a lethal dosage called "Volume 2" 

And is true you operate the criminal enterprise 

known as Roc-a-Fella in charge of his meteoric rise? 

And do you deny you're responsible for the demise 

of record execs, and do you object? 

Your distribution's Polygram, and through your connects 

Def Jam, you pushed over five million SoundScan 

And not to mention, your co-horts and henchmen 

Dame, Biggs, Lyor, Kev' and Russell Simmons 

And we ain't gon' talk about Murder, Inc. 

That just establishes a darker deeper criminal link 

[MTV] The State is seeking the maximum penalty 

and with the overwhelming amount of evidence 

the D.A.'s presented, things aren't looking good 

{Hook} 

[MTV] Despite the grim outlook at this point 

the rapper has been known to emerge triumphant 

in the face of adversity 

{Hook} 

[MTV] Jay-Z is taking the stand 

[Jay-Z] 

Right hand on the Bible, left hand in the air 

Before I spoke one word, made sure my throat was clear 

A-hem, I'm a prisoner of circumstance 

Frail nigga, I couldn't much work with my hands 

But my mind was strong, I grew where you hold your blacks up 

Trap us, expect us not to pick gats up 

Where you drop your cracks off by the Mack trucks 

Destroy our dreams of lawyers and actors 

Keep us spiralin, goin backwards 

At age nine, saw my first hate crime 

Blindfolded, expected to walk a straight line 

Mind molded, taught to love you and hate mine 

Climbed over it, at a early age, Jay shined 

Fuck the system at Lady Justice I blaze nine 

Your Honor, I no longer kill my people, I raise mine 

The soul of Mumia in this modern day time 

[MTV] While the jury is inside deliberating 

outside the crowd is frozen with anticipation 

{Hook} 

[MTV] Well the verdict has just been announced: NOT GUILTY! 

It is complete pandemonium out here! {Hook; Serena keeps speaking} 

People are cheering and hugging - there he is 

Jay-Z is exiting the courtroom right now 

There is a swarm of cameras surrounding him {*pop bulbs flashing*} 

and people are just rushing up to him 

Let's try and make our way over there, Jay-Z! Jay-Z! 

{*sounds of cameras keep flashing*, *music fades*}