Joe Budden-Who (Full)

Can anybody pin point the day it went wrong/
I used to blame Reggaeton/
Can't front..I thought all that was corny/
Was I Ja's fault?..Lil Mo said she didn't get paid for 'Put It On Me'/
Bring it up, and dudes get on som coy shit/
Was it T-Pain with that funny voice shit?/
Or was it Lil Wayne with that funny voice shit?/
The whole game dickrode that funny voice shit/
I can't tell when it happened/
Was it when Lil Jon showed dudes you could sell without rappin'/
Was it 'Laffy Taffy', I thought they was kiddin'/
Shawty Lo said 'Dey Know', I really didn't/
Dancin' became cool again, then came 'Walk It Out'/
But I ain't know what the fuck niggas was talkin' 'bout/
Unit kicked Game out, they ain't give a fuck/
Then we see the same shit happen to Buck/
It was a few years ago, but I remember the summer/
50 made fans start lookin' at the numbers/
A&Rs won't take risks, they won't sign niggas/
The word 'swag' came out, started to blind niggas/
Rap dudes want reality shows/
And my dumb ass thought thinkin' that reality sold/
Did it start with the Ipod/
Or where rappers had to pay DJs for them to do they job/
I mean, all the content was the same, it won't differ/
Everybody sold some drugs and pulled triggers/
When you think about it, you gon' just get sicker/
And why the fuck would Nas wanna call his shit 'Nigger'...nigga/
Was it when the Wu broke/
Pac, Big, Pun went to sleep, never woke up/
Lupe was doin a tribute, and choked up/
Some of these stupid ass fans like "so what?"/
Some of them, they ain't educated/
And fuck blaming the south, we ain't segregated/
I mean, it was good around the Kiss and Beans shit/
Took a left turn around the Kiss and Green shit/
Maybe it all started,/
when Roc-A-Fella parted../
..ways, it's natural to shift towards fame/
I watched every last one of (them) dudes shit on Dame../
..kinda got that in common, I can dig that pain/
When they gave Jay a desk and suit/
it finally gave a rapper a chance to come execute/
But somethin' told me that the suits at the tables was hurtin'/
They fired everybody, labels started mergin'/
As far as sales, the decline is strong/
Ask the experts, they'll say the climates wrong/
I mean, some niggas pride is gone/
I peeped it when niggas start puttin' fake diamonds on/
You could tell a dude,"I spit better than you"
But then he'll say,"I'm richer for whatever I do"/
I seen all this comin', I knew what we was in for/
Back when Eric Sermon jumped outta the window/
Was it when Mase retired, he couldn't hack it/
...Tip could, he just needed some more ratchets/
DJs, prducers wanted to get us the farthest/
..said fuck rappers, and they became the artist/
I gotta talk candid/
Did we start havin' issues around same time Jimmy & Cam did/
Was it when Chingy thought he ain't need Ludacris/
next album, found out that was ludicrous/
Papoose and Clipse survived/
inkin' with Jive, then gettin' jived/
ya man, J-Hood repped that D-Block gang/
then I seen dude draggin' his D-Block chain/
Or did One-Hit wonders change it all along/
they made labels only wanna sign a dudes song/
And you really don't know shit/
if you think the fans pick the videos at 106/
I'm just statin' the truth/
Did it start when Fox stayed in the news, more than she did the booth/
Or was it when Lil Kim stopped exploitin' sex/
And what the fuck is up with DMX/
..I hope dudes straight/
Have an opinion, and they gon' say you hate/
I can't front, Im missin' the old Clue tapes/
the underground sunk further/
the feds was on Irv, so the Inc dropped Murder/
I never blamed F.A.B., Jeezy, Rick Ross/
This shit get lost when Shyne went up north/
Ill never understand the Hip Hop Police/
when Hip Hop is what Hip Hop needs to police/
these blatant ass radio attempts sound so bland/
Twista kept tryin to recreate 'Slow Jams'/
Did we send the wrong message with our slang/
Cuz broke niggas blowin' their rent to make it rain/
Til you walk in give a bitch a few twenties/
And she'll smirk her face up, lookin at you funny/
This chick told me only take new money/
Man, I snatched my shit back so fast/
Or did it start when rappers said fuck it/
Sacrifice the music, started rapin' they budget/
Nothin wrong with dudes being candy or pop/
Something was wrong when Joc hit the Candy Shop/
We buyin our own records, maybe no ones to blame/
Or we a business we can't afford to maintain/
The second week show that boy numbers ain't hot/
I hate to break it to you, numbers always lied/
Or when Ortiz signed to Aftermath/
And now he feelin the aftermath/
Was it Fight Klub, fuckin' with those battle raps/
But not too many of em gettin' signed after that/
I mean, some can't stay afloat/
A million Busta records, he still not mentioned with the GOAT/
Fuck lookin for answers, time will tell/
Was it when Def Jam didn't wanna resign L/
A fifteen year old told me cash was ass/
Rather than spazz, all dude could do was laugh/
Or was when the East coast fell off/
Or got comfortable, maybe dudes were too well off/
The more niggas said they write down lyrics/
The more started to sound like they didn't/
But, do whatever you can to keep the lights on/
But dumbin down just became the new Dylan/
Honestly, I ain't know what to think/
A few years ago, we had the young kids wearin pink/
I can't blame the fans for not knowin' a damn thing/
When we trained them to be this way/
I mean, showed them whatever to sell with no limits/
Since the early 90s sold em a false image/
So when some shit come that don't fit the mold/
Its like a mole, nigga you won't even do gold/
They watch the videos, see you on the corner with a whole bunch of people and think that you good/
They turn on the TV, see these video bitches, and they think niggas girls really look that good/
I mean, they get so many free verses, when the album drops the shit more like a bonus/
Why pay for it why take onus/
With one click of mouse, they can own it/
I mean some of them are fooled so easily/
by whatever we say or what we show 'em on TV/
But that was all part of the plan/
Or was it when Eminem made Stan/
I swear some of these fans, they put they whole life on the line/
Its like they can't like more than one rapper at a time/
Less about the product, more about the digits/
Its a business, we got less fans and more critics/
Maybe we at a cross/
Canibus made one of the dopest diss records, but some still say that he lost/
I didn't wanna believe my ears when niggas tried to tell me/
that KRS-One had a rap beef with Nelly/
If rap was alive/
we would try to be the "best rapper ever", not the "best rapper alive"/
But you won't get excepted at all if you ain't street tough/
Onyx was the hardest, 'til Sticky got beat up/
Now "I'm a Thug" is how I gotta behave/
If I wanna be paid/
If I wanna see praise/
You know somethings wrong, when niggas is gettin shot/
And you gotta sit and wonder if the whole things staged/
It ain't real no more/
Or did we just expand on our audience/
Maybe we appeal to more/
Or, do we just think ya'll just gettin' dumber/
We tried to make gettin' older, gettin' younger/
did we lose our hunger, something gotta give/
did we outgrow ourselves, is hip-hop for kids/
if it is, they turn on MTV Cribs/
and think thats where these motherfuckers really live/
or, was it when Lauryn Hill dropped a classic/
so did the Fugees, til Wyclef tapped it/
songs don't do it no more, the shits shocking/
Seen it Lean Back had the whole world rocking/
Now its fuck ya bars, if the hook is fly/
So we look at Crooked I wit a crooked eye/
Dope ass rappers ain't seein' no dough/
If everythings commercial, where the fuck is the show/
But anybody makin a dime, see I'mma wish well/
still we took a big 'l' losin' Big L/
or was it when YouTube came in the game/
now nobodys from their living room can make a name/
or, when indies like Koch came and blew up/
Niggas at the majors, they literally threw up/
The Summit ain't fun no more/
you know its fucked when DMC don't talk to Run no more/
to many egos, like we ain't one no more/
shits predictable, niggas ain't stunned no more/
we startin' to see shit we never seen before/
at one point, we even had the magazines at war/
or, was it street DVDs, like SMACK/
showed you just how stupid your favorite rapper would act/
the shit gets lifeless/
when MTV made a list of the hottest, and ignored the nicest/
changed the whole stee-lo/
I mean an average fan never heard of a Goodie Mob or a Cee-Lo/
but they heard of Gnarls Barkley/
and Dr. Carter still say we got a heartbeat/
I ain't gonna lie, I was scared to death straight up/
Started hearin rumors of an Outkast breakup/
I was like that ain't true, it sounds desperate/
And started to see Big Boi & 3K seperate/
At periods, we were dryer than a desert/
Are we all killin' this shit, is it a group effort/
are we alive and well, or barely survivin'/
is it R&Bs fault, them niggas is thrivin'/
And then a lot of people go and blame Limewire/
I don't think its downloadin', dawg, the lines tired/
Did the fans just get tired of the outcome/
One dope single, and a bullshit album/
so they shared albums with each other/
was it Master P with them ugly ass album covers/
or when we started appearin' in the news/
Timberland said they ain't want black niggas wearin they boots/
I mean, I know it foggy, at least blurry/
when the label dude got knocked out by Keith Murray/
or was it when we became obsessed with the brand names/
we had the kids tryna buy shit they can't name/
some think the evidence is ample/
did it start when Puff took advantage of the sample/
is it all watered down with no fire/
if you had enough money, you could buy a ghostwriter/
or the diamond district, Jacob the Jeweler/
had to buy his watch, to be looked at as cooler/
and fuckin' with them trends/
our stupid asses wasted a hundred grand on shit that ain't even "in"/
Is the game now, just as bad as its ever been/
Not ringtones, just the songs that they represent/
I heard all 'em/
Sad part, I wouldn't recognize most of these niggas if I saw em/
I can't explain it, I don't know what to tell ya/
Now goin' gold is looked at as a failure/
Maybe old heads in charge just werent able/
DJs are spinnin' with no turn table/
Maybe the fans are just bored of us/
Or maybe theyre aint enough room for all of us/
its like, even a friendship will stop at a point/
Mike Jones went platinum off of Slim Thug's joint/
but it so many ways to get fuckin' rich/
Superhead caked off by just suckin' dick/
did we sell out, just to get in demand more/
or did we go against everything we used to stand for/
both are likely/
there's two sides to the coin, who you rollin with Soulja Boy or Ice T/
some niggas wanna sit around and complain about/
I'd rather analyze, see how it came about/
if we could rewind the world/
we wouldn't have to watch Flavor Flav try to find his girl/
look..today, its all about marketing and promo/
I remember when VH-1 was just for old folks/
with no man.../
if I ain't know better I would think Nick's show was now programmed/
we let the power of the dollar anihlate us/
how the size of our chain gonna validate us/
it's too simple, they can't think we really deep/
I just heard Chris Brown on the 'A Milli' beat/
seen a video, it's called "Lookin' Ass Nigga"/
grabbed the remote, I'm tired lookin at niggas/
but that let a nigga know that if we ain't dead/
we just half alive, maybe brain dead/
did it start when Capone left Nore/
naw he went to jail that's whole 'nother story/
or maybe somethings really wrong with our ears/
Obie got dropped, so much for Cheers/
female emcees they don't never hit the target/
somebody said they seen Amil workin at a Target/
Sad part is we already lost Remy/
Or did we go wrong when E-V-E got skinny/
What's up wit Jackie O, Rah Digga..that I can't figure/
Trina ain't been the same since 'Naan Nigga'/
I know it had to do somethin' to it's heartbeat/
When Lady Of Rage started doin Steve Harvey/
I know we caught a little trauma/
Somewhere between Yo-Yo Boss and Lil Mama/
A lot of females found another way to extort/
Most our video models have turned escort/
Do anything to see dough/
So they'll exchange sex with a artist or director for a lead role/
Or should we get back to basics/
where's the Rakims or the Masta Aces/
The Big Daddy Kanes, or did we never recover/
From Dre not being on the side of Ed Lover/
Or when rap dudes started signin' their friends/
instead of goin' out tryin' find niggas with skill/
Seen it when D-12 put out Purple Pill/
And while the whole hood laughed, them niggas sold a mil'/
Some of us wasn't prepared for something so lucrative/
I just heard Yung Berg say some stupid shit/
Like we almost caught one in the torso/
When each Bone Thugs member took their own crossroad/
Some disagree, some gotta see to say/
Maybe hip-hop died on Aliyah's plane/
If it re-located where did it move too/
I still love her, the way Common used too/
Or did Bill O'Rielly come fuckin' the spirit/
With negative remarks about everybody's lyrics/
Then all out start dissin' us/
Nigga you 95 years old, motherfucker shouldn't be a listener/
Lost Jam Master, we was tougher than leather/
Or did it start when Treach was fuckin' Peppa/
As our jeans got tighter, and our tees got longer/
Tryin' figure out what age group do we belong too/
Or did we all go astray/
Back Dr. Dre left NWA/
I mean, in my opinion, we was on Easy St./
but he was beefin' with Easy E/
Or did we get fucked up when producers found a way to cheat/
signin' unknown niggas to start makin they're beats/
if you sell your own shit, it gotta go for cheap/
just put my name so the price increase/
Or, is it cuz everybody so self-centered/
Is that the reason hip-hop, itself ain't centered/
Or if we already seen the shit with our own eyes/
with Rico Suave, Cyama, and Vanilla Ice/
Everybody want in the game, so in return/
Got label execs fuckin' they interns/
And anybody lookin' at that new 5 bracket/
Should see that they don't know a thing about this rap shit/
Or maybe we should have stopped bein' wild/
When there was no more Rawkus, and no more Loud/
Tried to get concious around Vote Or Die/
But they made it look like all our votes was lies/
As the years go on, it seems like we keep gettin more void/
We got lost when we lost one of the Lost Boys/
I knew we was impersonating a fraud/
When KaySlay smacked my man at the awards/
Regardless, it hard for these artists/
running with entourages who act like they never left the projects/
who do we wanna target/
will they put a Uncle Murder cd in a Wal-Mart or a Target/
We got the nerve to not wanna hear Ras Kass/
But fuck wit V.I.C. Get Silly and that trash/
I felt ashamed/
When J-Kwon told me he ain't like Raekwon, cuz he stole his name/
Was back, whe everybody in the was gettin' tipsy/
Now every contract gotta be 360/
So fuck eatin', you better scrape the plate/
Now every beat gotta at least have a 808/
Did the lights get dim, when we first heard Mims/
and said, another New York rapper on his south tip/
is it overcroweded/
they say if it's so fucked up, then do somethin' about it/
I doubt, it just one thing that they don't understand/
The job is way bigger than one man/
Or maybe all these pleas that its deceased/
is false, and the shits right where it needs to be/
maybe we built on somethin' that'll last forever/
you see, Face and Geto Boys just got back together/
Maybe no one can stop us/
Even other genres now jock us/
We even doin' songs with the rockers/
Hows that the feelin'/
Kanye's amazin', Wayne just sold a million/
We closer to the ceilin'/
How are we in a coma/
When we the only business, where you can excel with no diploma/
Technology change made everything simple/
Myspace is now a dudes bio slash demo/
Asides from the fact we generatin' more money/
We took it global and penetrated other countries/
So let's celebrate, sip some Cris'/
Some more shit we embraced, just to end up dipped/
Go on and buy the bar out so we can all get bent/
Go and cop a bunch of cars, just to still pay rent/
Or here's another bright idea to entertain/
Let's put our face on a bottom of a chain/
Or some of us is just nigga rich, with nigga money/
While Jews keep laughin', look at these niggas dummies/
Or maybe hip-hop is just a stepping stool/
'til we find another role we can step into/
Some of us doin movies as a matter of fact/
And some never stopped to plan life after rap/
I mean, as whole did we stop movin' further/
around the time Snoop Dogg went on trail for murder/
Or was it Scarface creatin' these clonies/
30 years later, everybody's still Tony/
Maybe everybody's complainin' is deranged/
Can you expect somethin' to grow and not change/
We're socially excepted, deviated our old route/
Simplify the term, we all sold out/
I think I figured out who's to blame/
started out Obama, ended up McCain/
yo, we Kurt Cobain'd ourselves if we defeated/
So next time they ask who killed it, tell em we did/

Lyrical Breakdown

Salut
Fly Ty