All My Life – English Lyrics

• By: Lil Durk

Lyrics & Translation

Explore themes of resilience and personal transformation with Lil Durk's "All My Life," featuring J. Cole. This track offers an opportunity to delve into the artists' experiences with adversity and their commitment to positive change, providing a message of hope and perseverance .

[English]

Durkio told me he been on some positive shit, yeah, yeah

Lately, I just wanna show up and body some shit, yeah, yeah

Always been a lil’ mathematician, lately it’s cash I’m gettin’

Got me losin’ count of these bags, I’ve been movin’ too fast

Hard times don’t last, ‘member when cops harrassed

Talkin’ out my ass, boy, you ain’t shit but a bitch with a badge

All my life (All my life)

They been tryin’ to keep me down (They been tryin’ to keep me down)

All this time (All this time)

Never thought I would make it out (Never thought I’d make it out)

They couldn’t break me, they couldn’t break me (No, no)

They couldn’t take me, they couldn’t take me (No)

All my life (All my life)

They been tryin’ to keep me down (They been tryin’ to keep me down)

I decided I had to finish, but the media called me a menace

I done sat with the mayor and politicians, I’m tryna change the image

You can’t blame my past no more, I come from the trenches

Some said I’d never be a superstar, but I know I’m different (No, no, no)

I’m The Voice, but the system ain’t give me a choice

Know some people that’s still undeployed

I know a felon who tryna get FOID

Child support your only support

For a visit, I’m goin’ through courts

Went to jail, they was chainin’ me up

And you know that I’m famous as fuck

See how you gon’ joke about stimulus?

But they really had came in the clutch

I know some kids wanna hurt theyself

Stop tryna take drugs, I refer to myself

Tryna better myself, tryna better my health but

All my life (All my life)

They been tryin’ to keep me down (They been tryin’ to keep me down)

All this time (All this time)

Never thought I would make it out (Never thought I’d make it out)

They couldn’t break me, they couldn’t break me (No, no)

They couldn’t take me, they couldn’t take me (No)

All my life (All my life)

They been tryin’ to keep me down (They been tryin’ to keep me down, yeah)

First generation ghetto nigga

Cold world, hello niggas

Made it out the city with my head on straight

niggas keep shootin’ up the lead out

Young Jordan Peele, gotta get out

But the shit that I spit out

Is a cheat code like I’m facin’ a RICO and how a nigga put a hit out

And another one, and, and another one

I got like a hundred of ’em

‘Bout to lap niggas so they think they ahead of me, but I’m really in front of them

Now some of them fumblin’ they bags

fuckin’ up the little crumbs that they had

A reminder to humble yourself, this shit could be gone in an instant

Me, I’m runnin’ long distance

All pistons firin’

I be stuck between maybe retirin’ and feelin’ like I’m just not hittin’ my prime

These days seein’ rappers be dyin’, way before they even gettin’ they shine

I never even heard of lil’ buddy

‘Til somebody murdered lil’ buddy

Now I’m on the phone, searchin’ lil’ buddy name

Got ’em playin’ his tunes, all day in my room

Thinkin’, “Damn, this shit is wicked, to get they name buzzin’ some niggas just gotta go lay in a tomb”

And media thirsty for clicks

I got a new rule If you ain’t never posted a rapper when he was alive

You can’t post about him after he get hit

It’s simple, it’s the principle

On any tempo, I’m invincible

Don’t even rap, I just vent to you

I rather that than an interview most days

fuck ’em all like I’m goin’ through a ho phase

Young nigga shoot out the whip like road rage

I pray all of my dawgs stay so paid

And the only thing that kill ’em is old age

All my life (All my life)

They been tryin’ to keep me down (They been tryin’ to keep me down)

All this time (All this time)

Never thought I would make it out (Never thought I’d make it out)

They couldn’t break me, they couldn’t break me (No, no)

They couldn’t take me, they couldn’t take me (No)

All my life (All my life)

They been tryin’ to keep me down (They been tryin’ to keep me down)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.
cash /kæʃ/ A2	noun - money in the form of coins or banknotes.
bags /bæɡz/ A2	noun - a flexible container with an opening at the top, used for carrying things.
cops /kɒps/ A2	noun - a police officer.
menace /ˈmenəs/ B2	noun - a person or thing that is likely to cause harm; a threat or danger.
image /ˈɪmɪdʒ/ B1	noun - a representation of the external form of a person or thing in art.
past /pæst/ A1	noun - the time before the present.
trenches /ˈtrentʃɪz/ B2	noun - long, narrow ditches.
voice /vɔɪs/ A1	noun - the sound produced in a person's larynx and uttered through the mouth, as speech or song.
system /ˈsɪstəm/ B1	noun - a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network.
jail /dʒeɪl/ A2	noun - a place for the confinement of people accused or convicted of a crime.
health /helθ/ A2	noun - the state of being free from illness or injury.
world /wɜːrld/ A1	noun - the earth, together with all of its countries, peoples, and natural forces.
city /ˈsɪti/ A1	noun - a large town.
principle /ˈprɪnsəpəl/ B2	noun - a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.
age /eɪdʒ/ A1	noun - the length of time that a person has lived or a thing has existed.

Key Grammar Structures

• Durkio told me he been on some positive shit, yeah, yeah

  ➔ Informal past tense usage of 'been'

  ➔ The phrase 'he been on some positive shit' uses 'been' as an auxiliary verb in a non-standard way. Standard English would be 'he has been on'. It's common in informal speech and hip-hop to drop the 'has'.

• Lately, I just wanna show up and body some shit, yeah, yeah

  ➔ Use of 'wanna' (want to) and slang 'body'

  ➔ 'Wanna' is a colloquial contraction of 'want to'. 'Body' here is slang, meaning to dominate or defeat someone completely.

• Hard times don’t last, ‘member when cops harrassed

  ➔ Contraction of 'remember' to ''member' and double negative

  ➔ ''Member' is a shortened, informal version of 'remember'. The line itself doesn't contain a double negative, but it's a common feature in AAVE which Durk often uses.

• boy, you ain’t shit but a bitch with a badge

  ➔ AAVE - 'ain't' and informal derogatory language

  ➔ 'Ain't' is a common contraction in AAVE (African American Vernacular English) used in place of 'am not', 'is not', 'are not', 'has not', and 'have not'. The rest of the line is aggressive slang.

• I decided I had to finish, but the media called me a menace

  ➔ Simple past tense and conjunction 'but'

  ➔ Uses the simple past tense 'decided' and 'called' to describe past actions. 'But' shows a contrast between the speaker's decision and the media's perception.

• Some said I’d never be a superstar, but I know I’m different

  ➔ Conditional 'would' and contrast with 'but'

  ➔ 'I’d never be' uses the conditional 'would' to describe a hypothetical situation. The 'but' introduces a contrast between what others said and what the speaker believes.

• Now some of them fumblin’ they bags, fuckin’ up the little crumbs that they had

  ➔ Present continuous 'fumblin'' with possessive 'they'

  ➔ 'Fumblin'' is a non-standard, shortened version of 'fumbling', used in the present continuous tense. 'They bags' is a shortened, non-standard form of 'their bags'.

• I got a new rule If you ain’t never posted a rapper when he was alive

  ➔ AAVE - 'ain't never' (double negative) and conditional clause

  ➔ 'Ain't never' is a double negative construction common in AAVE, essentially meaning 'have not ever'. The sentence introduces a condition ('If you ain't never posted...') followed by a consequence.