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Kanye West & Sampha
Kanye West
Initially titled “Closest Thing To Einstein,” the final track “Saint Pablo” addresses Kanye’s deepest thoughts and insecurities, namely the $53 million dollars of debt he mentioned before the release of The Life Of Pablo, Twitter controversies, and media speculation over his mental health.
The song...
[Intro: Kanye West]
Yeah-yeah, 9:08 L.A. time
Back in the lab and shit
[Verse 1: Kanye West]
My wife said I can't say no to nobody
And at this rate, we gon' both die broke
Got friends that ask me for money knowin' I'm in debt
And like my wife said, I still didn't say no
People tryna say I'm goin' crazy on Twitter
My friends' best advice was to stay low
I guess it's hard to decipher all of the bills
Especially when you got family members on payroll
The media said it was outlandish spendin'
The media said he's way out of control
I just feel like I'm the only one not pretendin'
I'm not out of control, I'm just not in their control
I know I'm the most influential
That TIME cover was just confirmation
This generation's closest thing to Einstein
So don't worry about me, I'm fine
I can see a thousand years from now in real life
Skate on the paradigm and shift it when I feel like
Troll conventional thought, don't need to question
I know it's antiquated so sometimes I get aggressive
Thank God for Jay Electra, he down with the mission
Did it with no permission, on our own conditions
Most blacks with money have been beaten to submission
Yeezy with the big house, did it way different
Never listen to Hollywood producers
Don't stare at money too long, it's Medusa
The ultimate Gemini has survived
I wasn't supposed to make it past 25
[Chorus: Sampha]
Yeah, you're lookin' at the church in the night sky
Wonderin' whether God's gonna say hi
Oh, you're lookin' at the church in the night sky
And you wonder where is God in your nightlife
Yeah, you're lookin' at the church in the night sky
(Father, Father, Father in the night sky)
Wonderin' whether God's gonna say hi
Yeah, I feel like I'm home, yeah, yeah
[Verse 2: Kanye West]
I've been wakin' the spirits of millions more to come
A million illegally downloaded my truth over the drums
I believe in the children, listen to the kids, bro
If the phone ringin', go and get your kids, ho
Brother Don Muhammad told the minister about the presentation
He sat back and smiled
Black on black lies is worse than black on black crime
The Jews share their truth on how to make a dime
Most black men couldn't balance a checkbook
But buy a new car, talkin' 'bout, "How my neck look?"
Well, it all looks great
Four hundred years later, we buyin' our own chains
The light is before us brothers, so the devil workin' hard
Real family stick together and see through the mirage
The smokescreens, perceptions of false reality
Who the real owner if your boss gets a salary?
I am one with the people
I am one with the people (Real!)
I've been woken from enlightened man's dream
Checkin' Instagram comments to crowdsource my self-esteem
Let me not say too much or do too much
'Cause if I'm up way too much, I'm out of touch
I'm prayin' a out-of-body experience will happen
So the people can see my light, now it's not just rappin'
God, I have humbled myself before the court
Drop my ego when confidence was my last resort
I know, I know He got a plan, I know I'm on Your beams
One set of footsteps, You was carryin' me
When I turned on the news and they was buryin' me
One set of footsteps, You was carryin' me
When I was negotiatin' with Apple, it was Larry and me
Told Tim Cook to call me, I was scary to see
I would've took a hundred million and gave twenty to Hov
I heard it's the way they did it when we only had a stove
But it's better that I stayed at home with my folks
'Cause if Jay a billionaire then I'ma never go broke
Only thing I ask is next time I'm on stage we all go
We all go
Not just by myself, lookin' for niggas like where's Waldo
She got the same shoes as my wife but she copped 'em at Aldo
Modern-day MJ, with a off-the-wall flow
[Bridge: Sampha]
Nightlife, walk all over me
Walk all over me
I'm deliverin' everything I've ever sent that you'll bring
Fly, fly, fly overseas
Fly overseas
Oh, anywhere, everything but in between
Oh, yeah
[Chorus: Sampha]
Yeah, you're lookin' at the church in the night sky
Wonderin' whether God's gonna say hi
Oh, you're lookin' at the church in the night sky
And you wonder where is God in your nightlife
Yeah, you're lookin' at the church in the night sky
Wonderin' whether God's gonna say hi
(Father, Father, Father in the night sky)
Oh, you're lookin' at the church in the night sky
And you wonder where is God in your nightlife
(Father, Father, Father in the night sky)
[Verse 3: Sampha]
Please face me when I speak
Please say to me somethin' before you leave
You've been treatin' me like I'm invisible, now I'm visible to you
Oh, the invisible truth stay sober
I can't quite understand the games you play
Understand, understand, understand I'm standin' under oath
And I promised I, I wouldn't fall anymore
But I'm cryin' at the bar
I'm wishin' that you saw my scars, man
I'm wishin' that you came down here and stood by me
And looked at me like you knew me
But I feel so alone
Like I don't know anyone except the night sky above
[Chorus: Sampha]
Yeah, you're lookin' at the church in the night sky
Wonderin' whether God's gonna say hi
Oh, you're lookin' at the church in the night sky
And you wonder where is God in your nightlife
Yeah, you're lookin' at the church in the night sky
(Father, Father, Father in the night sky)
Wonderin' whether God's gonna say hi
Oh, you're lookin' at the church in the night sky
And you wonder where is God in your nightlife
(Father, Father, Father in the night sky)
Saint Pablo was written by Kanye West & Sampha & MIKE DEAN & Allen Ritter & JAY-Z & Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie & Ron “Amen-Ra” Lawrence & Norman Whitfield.
Saint Pablo was produced by Kanye West & MIKE DEAN & Noah Goldstein & Allen Ritter.
Kanye West released Saint Pablo on Tue Jun 14 2016.
In Sampha’s hook, he makes reference to looking at “church in the sky”:
And you’re lookin' at the church in the night sky
Wonderin' whether God’s gonna say hi
Acts 9 tells the story of Saint Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, when he actually did see the church in the night sky.
And as he...
Production includes a sample from Jay-Z’s “Where I’m From,” which Puff Daddy also sampled on his single “Angels” featuring The Notorious B.I.G. The sample can be heard throughout the whole song:
Yes. “Saint Pablo” was certified gold by the RIAA on September 23, 2020.