t h e . c l i m b . b a c k - J. Cole

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Are you doin' this work to facilitate growth or to become famous?
Which is more important?
Getting or letting go?
You can do anything, anything you can do (You can do anything)
You can do anything, anything you can do (You can do anything)

Everything come back around full circle
Why do lies sound pleasant, but the truth hurtful?
Everybody gotta cry once in a while
But how long will it take 'fore you smile?
This is that come-back-to-life shit
My niggas pick me up and we gon' light the city up as if the Sun had the night shift
And paint the town red for my nigga found dead too soon (Bitch, I'm back out)

Yeah
To the left of that decimal, I need seven figures to play the joint
Turn up your decibels, peep how I decimate a joint
Check out my projects like them workers that Section 8 appoints
And you'll see how I flipped like exclamation points
My niggas shoot first as if they never played the point, more two guards
Enough straps to fill four U-Hauls
More death than World War II caused
Around these parts we pour the brown just to drown these thoughts
Of black corpses in county morgues, Lord, those images hauntin'
I ain't been asleep yet, it's ten in the mornin'
I'm sendin' a warnin', a problem with me is like the BET Hip-Hop Awards
I'm startin' to see you niggas don't want it
I'm sick of this flauntin', from niggas I know for sure ain't got mo' dough than Cole
Trash rappers, ass backwards, tryna go toe-to-toe
We laugh at ya, staff strapped up on top the totem pole to blast at ya
Bassmasters, look how they tote a pole
Gotta know the ropes and the protocol
Or they gon' for sure blow your clothes half off like a promo code
Made a lil' tune called "Foldin Clothes," and a nigga still ain't known to fold under pressure
Well, you know what Cole do
Make a diamond, they just rhymin', me, I'm quotin' gold
One phone call get you canceled like a homophobe in this PC culture
Address me as the G.O.A.T. like they call Chief Keef Sosa
In my sectional like a fuckin' three-piece sofa
I'm known as the chosen one
Another dead body lay frozen, that's how it go sometimes
When niggas weighin' coke and not the pros and cons
Well, I ain't with that sleepin' underground like a gopher, so I go for mines

Everything come back around full circle (Nigga, gotta go for mines)
Why do lies sound pleasant, but the truth hurtful? (Yeah)
Everybody gotta cry once in a while
But how long will it take 'fore you smile?
This is that come-back-to-life shit
My niggas pick me up and we gon' light the city up as if the Sun had the night shift
And paint the town red for my nigga found dead too soon
Now I know why they call it blue Moon (Yeah)

Survival at all costs, every day, niggas get logged off
Bodies get hauled off
Passin' a funeral procession while holdin' my breath in the car, I thought
At times, it be feelin' the devil be winnin' but do that mean God lost?
Just got off the phone with my nigga, he back in the kennel, my dog lost
I brought him 'round close to me before but he
Became addicted to clout and all the hoes we'd meet
I slowly peeped jealousy on his breath whenever he spoke to me
Like on the low, he feelin' that in my shoes is where he supposed to be
I tried to ignore the signs, but they're in the back of my mind
It felt like lettin' a nigga come sleep on your couch and he eatin' up all yo' groceries
My nigga repeated this quote to me, I felt its potency
Said, "Most of these niggas gon' hang themselves, just give 'em the rope and see"
Shit, I heeded that, and what got showed to me
Was screamin' that, some niggas, you gotta leave 'em back
Unfortunately we seen the trap
Niggas be on that demon clock resultantly
They fiend to clap as often as the Genius app misquotin' me, uh
Meanwhile, I see that yo' diamonds is glistenin'
I'm glad that you shinin', but need I remind you my niggas is dimin' and nickelin'?
Scrapin' up whatever coin they can find, the pettiest crime, they committin' it
Just to get by for a limited time, the steepest of mountains, they tryin' to climb
I'm here tryna find the derivative, you niggas don't feel me
You see the clout, you don't see the real me
If I was sick, you niggas wouldn't heal me
Therefore I'm healin' myself, gettin' in tune with my God
Slowly revealin' myself, buildin' my wealth
A nigga touch mine, I'ma kill 'em myself, trust me

Bitch, I'm back outside, nigga
I'm back outside
I'm back outside
I'm back outside
Everybody mentions suicide prevention
Man, they even made a hotline
To call up when there's tension, but I got a question
What about a fuckin' homicide?
Need a number for my niggas to call
Whenever there's a urge to get triggers involved
Need a number for my niggas to call
Whenever there's a urge to get triggers involved

J. Cole - t h e . c l i m b . b a c k