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JAY-Z & Bilal
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Each track on American Gangster matches to a theme or emotion that Frank Lucas was experiencing during the movie American Gangster.
Frank attends a boxing match in a floor length Chinchilla fur coat. It’s here that the lead investigator recognises him, and begins to tear apart his criminal enterpri...
[Chorus: Bilal]
I know I shouldn’t of did that
I know it's gon' come right back
I know it's gon' destroy everything I made
It's probably gon' get ya boy sent away
But this game I play, ain't no way to fix it
It's inevitable that I'm... (fallin')
[Verse 1: Jay-Z]
Uhh, said where I would stop before I even started
When I get to one brick, then the game I would depart with
Got to one brick then I looked to the sky like:
"Sorry, God, I lied, but give me one more try" (try)
Got to two bricks, new cars, new whips
But niggas never learn until they end up in the news clip
The irony of selling drugs is sort of like you using it
Guess it's two sides to what substance abuse is
Can't stop, won't stop, addicted to this new shit
Brand new convertibles, I'm so ruthless
Front row fight night, see how big my tube is
Fuck HD, nigga, see how clear my view is?
But there's a price for overdoing it
Doing it this big'll put you on the map, stick-up kids is out to tax
Plus the FBI boys with the cameras in the back
Damn...
[Chorus: Bilal (Jay-Z)]
I know I shouldn’t of did that
I know it's gon' come right back
I know it's gon' destroy everything I made
It's probably gon' get ya boy sent away
But this game I play, ain't no way to fix it
It's inevitable (now ya) fallin'
[Verse 2: Jay-Z]
When you should've fell back
Now you (fallin'), right into they lap
Fallin', they applauding, they screaming at the screen
Damn, you fucked up like your favorite movie scene
Godfather, Goodfellas, Scarface, Casino
You seen what that last run did to De Niro in Heat
Can't beat the odds, can't cheat the Gods
Can't blow too hard, life's a deck of cards
Now your tumbling is humbling, you're falling, you're mumbling
Under your breath like you knew this day was coming (fallin')
Now let's pray that arm candy
That you left your ex for stay down and come in handy
'Cause come January it gets cold, when the letters start to slow
And your commissary's low and lawyers screams appeal
Only thinking about a bill and your chances are nil
Damn, gravity's ill...
[Chorus: Bilal (Jay-Z)]
I know I shouldn’t of did that
I know it's gon' come right back
I know it's gon' destroy everything I made
It's probably gon' get ya boy sent away
But this game I play, ain't no way to fix it
It's inevitable (but ya) fallin'
[Verse 3: Jay-Z]
And you can't get up
All you do is push-up, pull-up, sit-up
Locked down the town now belongs to the squares
Who said they won't make the same mistake that got you there
And your arm candy sweet on 'em
And the women that you left for this heifer
Got a college degree coming
Bad news keeps coming, hard to keep something on your stomach
You're sick about what your life is becoming (fallin')
But your use-to's, has-beens, ragging bad about all the new dudes
Talking tough on the YouTube 'bout what you used to do
But that's old school to the new crew
They doing numbers like Sudoku
They're the new you, and it's damn near inevitable
They'll experience déja vu too
Fight and you'll never survive
Run and you'll never escape, so just fall from grace
Damn...
[Chorus: Bilal]
I know I shouldn’t of did that
I know it's gon' come right back
I know it's gon' destroy everything I made
It's probably gon' get ya boy sent away
But this game I play, ain't no way to fix it
It's inevitable that I'm
[Outro: Bilal]
Fallin', seems like I'm fallin'
Fallin', seems like I'm fallin'
Fallin', seems like I'm fallin'
Fallin', seems like I'm fallin'
Fallin', seems like I'm fallin'
Fallin', seems like I'm fallin'
Fallin', seems like I'm fallin'
Fallin’ was written by JAY-Z & Jermaine Dupri & Tony Hester.
Fallin’ was produced by Jermaine Dupri.
During his VH1 Storytellers session Hov explained the meaning behind the track:
The album is a journey. It starts with a song called ‘Pray,’ and ends with a song called ‘Fallin’.‘ Because that’s what happens, after you obtain the success and it’s no longer something that you’ll wish for if you stay...
In one scene towards the end section of the film, Frank Lucas is confronted by his mother as things begin to fall apart. She tells him that his five brothers would have followed him in anything, and he now must face the consequences of his choice to become a drug dealer.
That’s real guilt. He broug...
So ‘Fallin’ was another record I did with Jermaine [Dupri]. The chops were real choppy on that, and I was somewhat known for sample beats. It was also something we’re not used to hearing from Jermaine and his whole So So Def sound. It was a hardcore hip-hop record, not something to dance to.
via Co...
[On American Gangster Jay-Z] went back to the creative mode of the beginning. I thought that was brilliant, because people say, ‘He needs to go back to [his 1996 debut] Reasonable Doubt,’ just like how people say, ‘Nas needs to go back to Illmatic.’ Even in R&B, [eople say, ‘If Michael Jackson c...
[I was listening to the album] and it just hit me: He needs a record talking about when he knows he did something wrong [and] he knows it’s gonna tear his life down. Every movie we seen, the gangster always does one thing [wrong]. It’s not a series of things, it’s the one thing.
We sat down and tal...
I sat there and listened to his album before I even made that beat. I was in New York and listened to everything else that was on his record. That’s what inspired me to make that beat.
It was a real creative flow in the studio. I’m a producer, I’m not just a beatmaker. I don’t like just sending bea...