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On this album-teasing track Jay Z took the gloves off and addressed multiple issues making headlines at the time; such as his controversial wedding anniversary trip with Beyoncé to Cuba, the standing of his ownership stakes in the Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center arena, his new deal with Univer...
[Intro: Swizz Beatz]
Ladies and gentlemen
Goddammit
Let this shit knock
[Verse 1]
I done turned Havana to Atlanta
Guayabera shirts and bandanas
Every time you think they got me I switch the planner
Bulletproof this, radio scanners
(You got scanners, we got scanners)
Balling 'til they ban us
You getting too much bread, they try to jam you
Boy from the hood but got White House clearance
Sorry y'all, I don't agree with y'all parents
Politicians never did shit for me
Except lie to me, distort history
Wanna give me jail time and a fine
Fine, let me commit a real crime
I might buy a kilo for Chief Keef
Out of spite, I just might flood these streets
Hear the freedom in my speech
Got an onion from Universal, read it and weep
Would've brought the Nets to Brooklyn for free
Except I made millions off it, you fuckin' dweeb
I still own the building, I'm still keeping my seat
Y'all buy that bullshit, you'd better keep y'all receipt
Obama said "Chill, you gonna get me impeached"
But you don't need this shit anyway, chill with me on the beach
[Hook: Swizz Beatz]
Y'all gon' learn today
[Verse 2]
Uh, y'all must want to start a revolution
You know whenever I'm threatened, I start shooting (Bang!)
Catch a body, head to Houston
I'm in Cuba, I love Cubans
This communist talk is so confusing
When it's from China, the very mic that I'm using
Idiot wind, the Bob Dylan of rap music
You're an idiot, baby, you should become a student
Oh, you gonna learn today
Where the fuck have you been
The world's under new management
The new role model, fuck this Zoolander shit
[Hook: Swizz Beatz]
Y'all gon' learn today
Open Letter was written by JAY-Z & Swizz Beatz & Timbaland & J-Roc & Homer Steinweiss & Leon Michels & Dave Guy & Thomas Brenneck & Charles Bradley.
Open Letter was produced by Swizz Beatz & Timbaland.
JAY-Z released Open Letter on Thu Apr 11 2013.
That goes on the vinyl. Jack White he makes these uh, aside from being a brilliant musician, he makes, he has this vinyl store. So he makes this special edition, so we gonna put that on the vinyl, and it’s in a letter, and you can play the letter, it’s amazing. You open the letter and you can actual...
These lyrics address Jay’s controversial trip to Cuba in 2013, which at the time was believed to be illegal under U.S. law. They were cleared of any wrongdoing, but not until December 2014.
His lines at the end of the first verse also attracted controversy, with a press conference hastily conjured...
I started the beat in Jay’s office, and then we moved onto the 40/40, and I had the portable drum machine and everything. And then Tim came in, ‘that joint is crazy’… Next thing I know, Jay call me in the morning with verses… When we get to the studio, we just start vibing like back in the days, it...
The track is available to stream exclusively on TIDAL, and is included as a bonus track on the Third Man Records-produced vinyl edition of Magna Carta… Holy Grail.