Hip-Hop Saved My Life – English Lyrics

• By: Lupe Fiasco, Nikki Jean
• Album: Lupe Fiasco's The Cool

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the lyrical depth of Lupe Fiasco's "Hip-Hop Saved My Life," featuring Nikki Jean, a compelling narrative that vividly portrays the struggles and triumphs of an aspiring artist. This song offers an authentic glimpse into the language of resilience and hope within hip-hop culture, making it a powerful and engaging piece for anyone looking to learn English through music. Its rich storytelling and emotional resonance provide an excellent opportunity to explore nuanced vocabulary and expressions used to describe personal journeys and aspirations.

[English]

Dedicate

Dedicate

Uh

This one right here goes out

To my homie with the dream

Nah mean

He said, I write what I see

Write to make it right, don't like what I be

I'd like to make it like the sights on TV

Quite the great life, so nice and easy

See, now you can still die from that

But it's better than not being alive from straps

Agree, a Mead Notebook and a Bic that clip

When it's pushed and a whack beat

That's a track that's weak that he got last week

Cause everybody in the stu is like "That's that heat"

A bass heavy melody with a sample from the seventies

With a screwed up hook that went

Stack that cheese

Something, Something, Something...

Stack that cheese

Mother, Sister, Cousin...

Stack that cheese

He couldn't think of nothing...

Stack that cheese

He turns down the beat, writer's block and peace

Crying from the next room a baby in need

Of some pampers and some food and a place to sleep

That plus a black Cadillac on D's

Is what keep him on track to be a great MC

One you never heard of, I...

Push it hard to further the...

Grind, I feel like murder but...

Hip Hop you saved me

One you never heard of, I...

Push it hard to further the...

Grind, I feel like murder but...

Hip Hop you saved my life

Raps north side so he rocks them braids

Eleven hundred friends on his myspace page

'Stack that cheese' got seven hundred plays

Producer made him take it down, said he had to pay

Open Mic champ two weeks in a row

XD boy with a B-boy flow

Glow like Leroy you should see boy go

Got a daddy serving life and a brother on the road

Best homie in a grave, tatted up while in the cage

Minute maid got his momma working like a slave

Down baby momma who he really had to honor

Cause she was his biggest fan, even let him use her Honda to

Drive up to Dallas with a open up for amateurs

Let him keep her debit card so he could put gas in it

Told her when he get on he gon' take her to the galleria

Buy her everything but the mannequins, ya dig

One you never heard of, I...

Push it hard to further the...

Grind, I feel like murder but...

Hip Hop you saved me

One you never heard of, I...

Push it hard to further the...

Grind, I feel like murder but...

Hip Hop you saved my life

His man called, said "Ya time might be now.

They played ya freestyle over Wipe Me Down.

They played it two times, said it might be crowned

As the best thing out the H-Town in a while."

He picked up his son with a great, big smile

Rapped every single word to the newborn child

Then he put him down and went back to the kitchen

And put on another beat and got back to the mission, to

Get his momma out the hood, put her somewhere in the woods

Keep his lady looking good, have her rolling like she should

Show us home is this'a way, other than that flipping yay

Bail his homie outta jail, put a lawyer on his case

Throw a concert for the school, show the shoulders that it's cool

Throw some candy on the caddy, chucked a duece, and act a fool

Man it feels good when it happens like that

Two days from going back to selling crack, yessir

One you never heard of, I...

Push it hard to further the...

Grind, I feel like murder but...

Hip Hop you saved me

One you never heard of, I...

Push it hard to further the...

Grind, I feel like murder but...

Hip Hop you saved my life

One you never heard of, I...

Push it hard to further the...

Grind, I feel like murder but...

Hip Hop you saved me

One you never heard of, I...

Push it hard to further the...

Grind, I feel like murder but...

Hip Hop you saved my life

Hip Hop you saved my life

Hip Hop has saved my life

Hip Hop you saved my life

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
hiphop /ˈhɪp ˌhɒp/ B2	noun - a musical genre that combines rhythmic speech (rap) with beats
dream /driːm/ A2	noun - a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep; an aspiration verb - to experience dreams; to imagine or aspire
write /raɪt/ A1	verb - to mark letters or symbols on a surface with a pen, pencil, etc.; to compose text
beat /biːt/ B1	noun - the rhythmic unit in music; a regular pulse verb - to strike repeatedly; to defeat
track /træk/ B1	noun - a recorded piece of music; a path or route verb - to follow the course of something; to record
grind /ɡraɪnd/ B2	verb - to crush into small particles; to work hard persistently noun - the act of grinding; a tedious routine
murder /ˈmɜːdər/ B2	noun - the unlawful killing of a person verb - to kill unlawfully
cheese /tʃiːz/ B2	noun - a dairy product made from curdled milk; (slang) money
homie /ˈhoʊmi/ C1	noun - a close friend, especially from the same neighbourhood
MC /ˌɛm ˈsiː/ B2	noun - master of ceremonies; a rapper who performs lyrical verses
freestyle /ˈfriː staɪl/ B2	noun - an improvised rap performance without pre‑written lyrics verb - to rap spontaneously without pre‑written lyrics
producer /prəˈdjuːsər/ B2	noun - a person who oversees and manages the creation of a music recording
B‑boy /ˈbiː ˌbɔɪ/ C1	noun - a male break‑dancer; a participant in hip‑hop culture
Cadillac /ˈkædəlæk/ B2	noun - a brand of luxury automobiles
crack /kræk/ B2	noun - a hard, brittle form of cocaine; also a sharp remark verb - to break or split apart; to make a sharp comment
jail /dʒeɪl/ B1	noun - a place of confinement for people convicted of crimes
lawyer /ˈlɔːjər/ B1	noun - a professional who practices law and advises clients
concert /ˈkɒnsət/ B1	noun - a public musical performance
school /skuːl/ A1	noun - an institution for educating children or students
momma /ˈmɒmə/ B1	noun - informal term for mother

Key Grammar Structures

• He said, I write what I see

  ➔ Reported speech with a declarative clause

  ➔ The clause "what I see" is a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb "write".

• He couldn't think of nothing...

  ➔ Double negative (couldn't + nothing)

  ➔ The combination "couldn't" (could not) with "nothing" creates a double negative, which in informal English often means "could think of something".

• Push it hard to further the...

  ➔ Infinitive of purpose (to + verb)

  ➔ The infinitive "to further" expresses purpose: push it hard in order to further ...

• Grind, I feel like murder but...

  ➔ Simile using "like"

  ➔ "like" introduces a comparison, here comparing the feeling to "murder".

• He picked up his son with a great, big smile

  ➔ Prepositional phrase (with + noun phrase)

  ➔ "with a great, big smile" is a prepositional phrase describing how he picked up his son.

• They played it two times, said it might be crowned

  ➔ Modal "might" + passive voice

  ➔ "might be crowned" uses the modal "might" followed by the passive form "be crowned" to express a possible future result.

• One you never heard of, I...

  ➔ Reduced relative clause modifying a noun

  ➔ "you never heard of" is a reduced relative clause that describes "One".

• Let him keep her debit card so he could put gas in it

  ➔ Purpose clause with "so" + modal "could"

  ➔ "so he could" introduces a purpose clause, indicating the reason for letting him keep the card.