U Don’t Know Lyrics
[Intro]
Turn my music high, high, high, higher
(You don't know what you're doin'— doin'— doin'—)
Sure, I do
[Verse 1]
I'm from the streets where the hood could swallow 'em and
Bullets'd follow 'em and
There's so much coke that you could run the slalom
And cops comb the shit top to bottom
And say that we are prone to violence, but it's home sweet home
Where personalities clash and chrome meets chrome
The coke prices up and down like it's Wall Street, holmes
But this is worse than the Dow Jones, your brains are now blown
All over that brown Brougham, one slip, you are now gone
Welcome to Hell, where you are welcome to sell
But when them shells come, you better return 'em
All scars, we earn 'em
All cars, we learn 'em like the back of our hand
We watch for cops hoppin' out the back of vans
Wear a G on my chest, I don't need Dapper Dan
This ain't a sewn outfit, holmes, holmes is about it
Was clappin' them flamers before I became famous
For playin' me, y'all shall forever remain nameless
I am Hov (You don't know what you're doin'— doin'— doin'—)
Sure I do
[Verse 2]
I tell you the difference between me and them
They tryin' to get they ones, I'm tryin' to get them M's
One million, two million, three million, four
In just five years, forty million more
You are now lookin' at the forty million boy
I'm rapin' Def Jam 'til I'm the hundred million man
[Interlude]
R-O-C (You don't know what you're doin'— doin'— doin'—)
That's where you're wrong
[Verse 3]
I came into this motherfucker hundred grand strong
Nine to be exact, from grindin' G-packs
Put this shit in motion, ain't no rewindin' me back
Could make forty off a brick, but one rhyme could beat that
And if somebody woulda told 'em that Hov would sell clothin'
Not in this lifetime, wasn't in my right mind
That's another difference that's between me and them
I smarten up, open the market up
One million, two million, three million, four
In eighteen months, eighty million more
Now add that number up with the one I said before
You are now lookin' at one smart Black boy
Mama ain't raise no fool
Put me anywhere on God's green earth, I'll triple my worth, motherfucker
I will not lose (You don't know what you're doin'— doin'— doin'—)
Put somethin' on it
[Verse 4]
I sell ice in the winter, I sell fire in Hell
I am a hustler, baby, I'll sell water to a whale
I was born to get cake, move on and switch states
Cop the coupe with the roof gone and switch plates
Was born to dictate, never follow orders, dick face
Get your shit straight, fucker, this is Big Jay
[Outro]
I— hahahaha (You don't know what you're doin'— doin'— doin'—)
Will not lose, ever
Fucker
About
In “U Don’t Know” Jay-Z explains his monetary success in both the drug and rap games. Providing the blueprint for the marriage of soul-sampling and heavy bass, it is recognized as one of his best tracks.
Produced by Just Blaze, the track samples “I’m Not to Blame” by Bobby Byrd. Just has said that he was never fully satisfied with the beat, hence his 2002 remix:
We did The Blueprint in such a short period of time that we knew we had to get it out right away. Not that I rushed through ‘U Don’t Know.’ We knew it was hot, but I wanted to do more with it … the remix [is] the same beat but it’s smashing you in your face so much harder that it really brings the whole thing home. So, its the same dynamic of starting something, but then really revisiting it later on and luckily I was able to.
According to Jay, the track came about as the result of a beat-making battle between Just and Kanye:
During that time, I had two rooms in Baseline. It was a big room that I was in, that I’d record in. Then it was a small room that Just would be in doing beats. What happened was, Just would peep his head in and hear what me and Kanye was doing and would just go back mad … It was like this every day. It was like a heavyweight slugfest. For three days they was just knocking each other out. And I remember him playing that joint, and I was like, ‘Oh my God!’
Jadakiss stated that he originally had the instrumental to this song before Jay-Z but he didn’t know what to do with it and expressed regret that he was not able to make a song out of it. This most likely has to do with him being impressed with what Jay did to it.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
No, but an alternate version was. Just Blaze told Complex:
Originally, that was a Nas diss record. The version that came out was not the one that was originally done. If I’m not mistaken, he recorded the Nas diss version, sent it to [Funkmaster] Flex, and then it went away. I want to say Flex played in one time, and that was it. Then, we changed it around. There were still subtle shots at Nas, but it wasn’t a Nas diss record anymore.
- 2.Takeover
- 6.U Don’t Know
- 7.Hola’ Hovito
- 9.Never Change
- 10.Song Cry
- 11.All I Need
- 12.Renegade