On July 7, 2016, Jay Z released the single “spiritual” in response to two separate successive killings of black men in the days prior. Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were murdered by police officers who claimed both men were armed at the time they were killed.
The single was Jay Z’s first new...
[Intro]
And it says, now the works of the flesh are manifest
Meaning, the things that are in the sinful nature
They always come to the surface
And when they come, when they come to the surface
They come to the surface as demons
[Refrain]
(All this work can pay off)
I just want all this work to pay off
(Just don't calculate us)
Don't calculate us
(Get to know you later)
Spiritual, yes it is spiritual
No I'm not poison, no I'm not poison
(Just don't calculate us)
Alcohol in my room
Spiritual, yes it is spiritual
No I'm not poison, no I'm not poison
(Just don't calculate us)
Spiritual, yes it is spiritual
No I'm not poison, no I'm not poison
(Just don't calculate us)
Yeah, yeah, yeah
[Hook]
Yeah, I am not poison, no I am not poison
Just a boy from the hood that
Got my hands in the air
In despair don't shoot
I just wanna do good, ah
I am not poison, no I am not poison
Just a boy from the hood that
Got my hands in the air
In despair don't shoot
I just wanna do good, uh
[Verse 1]
Pray your father's father wasn't touching his little daughter
Creating trans-generational trauma, that shit'll haunt ya
Pray your little cousin ain't fall from the place that you fall asleep
Of course it's hard for me
Nigga ain't dozed, I ain't washed in a week
I ain't changed clothes 'til the Black Album
Y'all rap about it, I'm wrestlin' in these streets
'Til I tapped out 'em, them niggas is WWE
Y'all can have that, I'm smack dab
In a hurricane of emotions
Can't even raise my little daughter, my little Carter
We call her Blue cause it's sad that
How can I be a dad that, I never had that
Shattered in a million pieces, where the glass at
I need a drink, shrink or something
I need an angelic voice to sing something
Bless my soul, extend your arms, I'm cold
Hold me for a half hour until I am whole, yeah
[Hook]
I am not poison, no I am not poison
Just a boy from the hood that
Got my hands in the air
In despair, don't shoot
I just wanna do good, ah
Alcohol in my room
Spiritual, yes it is spiritual
No I'm not poison, no I'm not poison
(Just don't calculate us)
Spiritual, yes it is spiritual
No I'm not poison, no I'm not poison
(Just don't calculate us)
Yeah, yeah, yeah
[Verse 2]
Sick of hiding in holes and behind hyperbole
This is the real me unfold
Gangster is love, I'm thuggin', I'm huggin'
This is tougher than any gun that I raised
Any crack that I blazed, that was nothin'
Peeling back the layers, uncovering
Scars that never healed, I never kept it this real
I acted out, my life a stage, ten thousand people watchin'
Where's the little boy I knew?
I must have forgot him
Stuntin', of course we never grew
But we're alone now and I'm singing this song for you
Stuntin', of course we never grew
But we're alone now and I'm singing this song...you
[Hook]
I am not poison, no I am not poison
Just a boy from the hood that
Got my hands in the air
In despair don't shoot
I just wanna do good, ah
I am not poison, no I am not poison
Just a boy from the hood that
Got my hands in the air
In despair don't shoot
I just wanna do good, uh
Alcohol in my room
Spiritual, yes it is spiritual
No I'm not poison, no I'm not poison
(Just don't calculate us)
Spiritual, yes it is spiritual
No I'm not poison, no I'm not poison
(Just don't calculate us)
Spiritual, yes it is spiritual
No I'm not poison, no I'm not....
JAY-Z released spiritual on Thu Jul 07 2016.
A producer who helped work on Beyoncé’s Beyoncé and has worked with Mariah Carey.
It has a somber vibe, both because of its content and the minor-key piano melody in the production.
The track is about the killing of black men by white policemen, and the fear and anxiety this breeds among the black community.
It’s Jay’s first solo single since “Tom Ford” in 2013, and Jay says during the song it’s the most honest he’s ever been on wax.
“I made this song a while ago, I never got to finish it. Punch (TDE) told me I should drop it when Mike Brown died, sadly I told him, ‘this issue will always be relevant.’ I’m hurt that I knew his death wouldn’t be the last…… I’m saddened and disappointed in THIS America — we should be further along...
“Minority Report,” “My President Is Black (Remix),” “Made In America,” and “100$ Bill,” despite it being a concept song.
Jay references politics regularly in his lyrics. His entire career is punctuated by bars and verses that mention political issues.