Hey Ma – English Lyrics

• By: Chance The Rapper, Lili K, Peter CottonTale
• Album: 10Day

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

I said, "Hey Ma," don't go stretching your wallet

These niggas gotta pay me for taking a year from college

Go on, get ya nails polished, stylist for your eyelids

And a pilot for your mileage for them frequent flights to your island

Ms. Brown and Ms. Pollock, little boy done grown up

Little voice done blown up, middle-class that bonus

Hey Ma, hey mama Jann; God just gave me another chance

Rod just gave me another line, probably gave me another fan

7-7-3, oh, since Kanye was a 3-old

Down the street from D. Rose, was practicing his free-throws

Shout out to that Gulf Shrimp, shout out to King Gyro

Shout out that Ms. Moody, auntie Toni, them my heroes

We gon' get this paper (put that on my mama)

You gon' see us laid up (put that on my mama)

Monica and Ava, thanks for all the favors

Got my money saved up (put that on my mama)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
wallet /ˈwɒlɪt/ B1	noun - a small case for holding money and cards
pay /peɪ/ A1	verb - to give money for goods or services noun - payment; the amount of money given
college /ˈkɒlɪdʒ/ B1	noun - an educational institution for higher learning
nails /neɪlz/ A2	noun - hard keratin coverings at the tips of fingers and toes
stylist /ˈstaɪlɪst/ B2	noun - a person who designs clothing or hairstyles
eyelids /ˈaɪlɪdz/ B2	noun - the skin that covers and protects the eye
pilot /ˈpaɪlət/ B1	noun - a person who operates an aircraft
mileage /ˈmaɪlɪdʒ/ B2	noun - the distance traveled measured in miles
frequent /ˈfriːkwənt/ B2	adjective - occurring often or many times
flights /flaɪts/ B1	noun - journeys made by aircraft
island /ˈaɪlənd/ A2	noun - a piece of land surrounded by water
middle-class /ˈmɪdl ˈklæs/ C1	adjective - belonging to the social class between the working class and the upper class
bonus /ˈbəʊnəs/ B2	noun - an extra payment or reward
chance /tʃɑːns/ A2	noun - a possibility of something happening
heroes /ˈhɪərəʊz/ B1	noun - people admired for courage or achievements
paper /ˈpeɪpər/ B2	noun - slang for money; also a material made from pulp
saved /seɪvd/ A2	verb - kept for future use; stored
favors /ˈfeɪvəz/ B1	noun - acts of kindness; help given to someone
money /ˈmʌni/ A1	noun - a medium of exchange, typically in the form of coins or banknotes
shout /ʃaʊt/ B1	verb - to speak or call out loudly noun - a loud cry or call

Key Grammar Structures

• I said, "Hey Ma," don't go stretching your wallet

  ➔ Imperative negative + gerund

  ➔ The word "don't" makes the command negative, and "stretching" is a gerund acting as the complement of "go".

• These niggas gotta pay me for taking a year from college

  ➔ Modal verb "have to" (gotta) + gerund

  ➔ "gotta" is the colloquial contraction of "have to", expressing obligation, and "taking" is a gerund indicating the activity required.

• Go on, get ya nails polished, stylist for your eyelids

  ➔ Causative construction with "get" + past participle

  ➔ "get" is used to indicate that someone causes the nails to be "polished" (past participle).

• Hey Ma, hey mama Jann; God just gave me another chance

  ➔ Simple past with adverb "just"

  ➔ "just" modifies the verb "gave", indicating that the action happened a short time ago.

• Rod just gave me another line, probably gave me another fan

  ➔ Simple past + adverb "just" + coordination with comma

  ➔ "just" again limits the timing of "gave", and the comma links two related past actions.

• 7-7-3, oh, since Kanye was a 3‑old

  ➔ Temporal clause with "since" + past simple

  ➔ "since" introduces a reason or point in time, here linking to the past event "was".

• Down the street from D. Rose, was practicing his free‑throws

  ➔ Past continuous (was practicing)

  ➔ "was practicing" shows an ongoing action in the past at a specific moment.

• We gon' get this paper (put that on my mama)

  ➔ Colloquial future with "gon'" (going to) + parenthetical comment

  ➔ "gon'" is a slang contraction of "going to", expressing a future intention; the parenthetical adds an emphatic statement.