Change The Game – English Lyrics

• By: JAY-Z, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the confident and assertive language of early 2000s East Coast hip-hop with "Change The Game." This track is a masterclass in lyrical prowess and boasts, offering insights into the cultural references and slang that defined a pivotal era in rap music. It's an excellent opportunity to explore the intricacies of hip-hop storytelling and the art of asserting one's place in the game.

[English]

(upbeat music)

♪ Uhh, uhh, uhh, let's go ♪

♪ Uhh, bounce, uhh, bounce ♪

♪ Uhh, bounce, uhh ♪

♪ Shit relax your mind, let your conscience free ♪

♪ You're now rollin with them thugs from the R-O-C ♪

♪ Sigel-Sigel in the house ♪ ♪ Uh-huh, sick ♪

♪ Get your wig pushed back by the wig push-backer ♪

♪ uhh, uhh, Memph Bleek in the house ♪

♪ Still here, never left ♪

♪ Still bust, more or less, still (blank) ♪

♪ Young Hova in the house, Jigga Yeah ♪

♪ Crist' sipper, six dipper, wrist splitter ♪

(whistle blow)

♪ Hold up love ♪

♪ Every time you see Jigga Man I'm rollin on dubs ♪

♪ Don't forget about them blades (blank) choppin it up ♪

♪ It's the (blank) Roc (blank), who hotter than us? ♪

♪ Jay-Hov, bout to change my name to Jay Peso ♪

♪ But in the meantime, call me William H. thouhh ♪

♪ On the platinum Yamaha, got the engine gunnin ♪

♪ Throwin' it up like liquor on an empty stomach ♪

(Cycle noise)

♪ Shhh, Y'all don't hear nuttin ♪

♪ Who that, Mac? ♪

♪ Nah dawg, that's M. Bleek comin ♪

♪ Who the (blank), want, what? ♪

♪ Catch Bleek in South Beach out of the reach of the police ♪

♪ (blank) on my lap yeah (blank) on my back holla ♪

♪ (blank) in my pocket, (blank) chocolate OO-WEE ♪

♪ Holla if you want drama with ♪

♪ The Dynasty; Amil, Bleek, Jigga and. Sigel ♪

♪ Desert Eagle dawg, who else but me? ♪

♪ Roc ears, Roc-Wears, bandannas and white tees ♪

♪ Me without a (blank) dawg, unlikely ♪

♪ You know I keep the (blank) right under the wifebeat' ♪

♪ Three-X-T, I'm Lincoln now, you can't see the (blank) ♪

♪ Got a little gut so (blank) sit tucked ♪

♪ I run wild, gun high, L.A. style ♪

♪ Bang the roscoe to the sunrise, plus I stay dumb (blank) ♪

♪ Whether block (blank) or rock (blank) ♪

♪ Club (blank) or drug (blank) I pop (blank) I got (blank) ♪

♪ Get Sig' any track I'ma spit the talk to it ♪

♪ Down South all bounce Crips gon' walk to it ♪

♪ Get a (blank) get a (blank), everybody (blank) to it ♪

♪ Every dawg, every Blood in the hood, bark to it ♪

♪ Get the (blank) get the (blank), everybody (blank) to it ♪

♪ We can (blank) in here, put the (blank) in the air ♪

♪ Don't change the game for these ♪

♪ Who plays the game like we supposed ♪

♪ Sigel Sigel in the house ♪

♪ Uh-huh, sick (blank) ♪

♪ Get your wig pushed back by the wig push-backer ♪

♪ Don't change the game for these ♪

♪ Who plays the game like we supposed ♪

♪ Memph Bleek in the house ♪

♪ Still here, never left ♪

♪ Still bust, more or less, still (blank) ♪

♪ Don't change the game for these ♪

♪ Who plays the game like we supposed ♪

♪ Young Hova in the house. Jigga ♪

♪ Crist' sipper, six dipper, wrist splitter (blank) ♪

♪ I wear more bling to The Source and Soul Train's ♪

♪ More chains than rings, (blank) won't do a thing ♪

♪ I bangs (blank) in plain, daylight I'm deranged ♪

♪ Right at your brain; by the way this is Hov' ♪

♪ One shot Dillinger, one shot (blank) ♪

♪ It's only one Roc La Familia ♪

♪ Sigel lock Philly up, Brooklyn is me ♪

♪ Matter of fact, the East coast (blank) took it from me ♪

♪ Fourth album still Jay still spittin that real (blank) ♪

♪ Volume 3 still sold more records than Will Smith ♪

♪ Can't call this a comeback ♪

♪ I run rap, the (blank) is y'all sayin ♪

♪ Five million I done that ♪

♪ And I come back, to do it again uh-huh ♪

♪ Ex-sinner, Grammy award winner ♪

♪ Ballin repeatedly, highlights on Sportscenter ♪

♪ Please repeat after me, there's only one rule ♪

♪ I will not lose ♪

(Whistle blowing)

♪ Uhh, yeah, guilty until proven innocent, huh? ♪

♪ That's how we work it, huh ♪

♪ Okay, before me there was many ♪

♪ After me, there will be none ♪

♪ I am the one ♪

♪ Uh huh, okay, I see how we playin ♪

♪ Yeah, I get it down ♪

(music ends)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
relax /rɪˈlæks/ B1	verb - to become less tense or anxious
conscience /ˈkɒnʃəns/ C1	noun - an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one's behavior
thugs /θʌɡz/ C2	noun - a violent person, especially a criminal
house /haʊs/ A1	noun - a building for human habitation
sick /sɪk/ A2	adjective - affected by physical or mental illness
wig /wɪɡ/ B2	noun - a covering for the head made of real or artificial hair
platinum /ˈplætɪnəm/ C1	adjective - made of platinum, or having a platinum color
engine /ˈendʒɪn/ B1	noun - a machine with moving parts that converts power into motion
liquor /ˈlɪkər/ B2	noun - alcoholic drink, especially distilled spirits
Dynasty /ˈdɪnəsti/ C2	noun - a line of hereditary rulers of a country
wild /waɪld/ A2	adjective - (of an animal or plant) living or growing in the natural environment; not domesticated or cultivated
sunrise /ˈsʌnraɪz/ B1	noun - the time in the morning when the sun appears or daylight begins
track /træk/ A2	noun - a rough path or minor road, typically one beaten by use rather than constructed
bling /blɪŋ/ C2	noun - flashy, expensive jewelry and clothing, or the wearing of them
chains /tʃeɪnz/ A2	noun - a series of linked metal rings used for fastening or pulling something
brain /breɪn/ A2	noun - an organ of soft nervous tissue contained in the skull of vertebrates
album /ˈælbəm/ B1	noun - a collection of recordings issued as a single item on CD, record, or another medium
rap /ræp/ B2	noun - a type of popular music of US black origin in which words are recited rapidly and rhythmically over a prerecorded, typically electronic instrumental backing
guilty /ˈɡɪlti/ B1	adjective - responsible for a specified wrongdoing
rule /ruːl/ A2	noun - one of a set of explicit or understood regulations or principles governing conduct within a particular activity or sphere

Key Grammar Structures

• Every time you see Jigga, man I'm rollin' on dubs

  ➔ Present Simple vs. Present Continuous

  ➔ The clause "Every time you **see**" uses the present simple to talk about a habitual action, while "I’m **rollin'**" uses the present continuous to describe what is happening **right now**.

• Don't forget about them blades, choppin' it up

  ➔ Imperative with negative form

  ➔ "**Don't** forget" is an imperative sentence that gives a command in a negative form. The subject "you" is implied.

• It's the Roc, who hotter than us?

  ➔ Comparative adjective with "than"

  ➔ "hotter **than** us" compares the Roc's heat to "us" using the comparative form "hotter" plus the conjunction "than".

• I run wild, gun high, L.A. style

  ➔ Simple present for habitual actions

  ➔ "**I run**" uses the simple present to describe a regular or characteristic way of acting.

• Can't call this a comeback

  ➔ Modal verb "can" in negative form

  ➔ "**Can't**" = "cannot"; it expresses inability or impossibility to "call this a comeback".

• I will not lose

  ➔ Future simple with "will"

  ➔ "**will**" + base verb forms a simple future; "I **will** not lose" states a firm prediction or determination.

• I wear more bling to The Source and Soul Train's

  ➔ Comparative with "more" + noun

  ➔ "**more** bling" compares the amount of jewelry to something implied; "more" functions as a comparative determiner before a noun.

• One shot Dillinger, one shot

  ➔ Parallel structure (repetition)

  ➔ "**One shot** Dillinger, **one shot**" repeats the phrase "one shot" to create a rhythmic parallelism, emphasizing equality between the two parts.