PJ's – English Lyrics

• By: Wyclef Jean, Governor, Prolific

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

(upbeat music)

♪ Oooh ♪

♪ Mmmmmmmmh, yeah ♪

♪ PJ's ♪

♪ I was born in the PJ's ♪

♪ So I gotta rep for the PJ's ♪

♪ The elevators with the pissy hallways ♪

♪ Bangin' on the project walls all day ♪

♪ Yo, if it wasn't for the PJ's ♪

♪ Y'all probably never heard of me ♪

♪ Y'all be like who the hell is Wyclef and what's a Fugee ♪

♪ I'd probably be standin' on a corner, watch you approach ♪

♪ Steal ya (censored), sell ya (censored) ♪

♪ Then snatch ya rope ♪

♪ Run for brokes with the cash and the jewels ♪

♪ Bows eye, I hold my breath when I (censored) ♪

♪ The reason you should hold ya breath ♪

♪ 'Cause most thugs when they breathe and (censored) ♪

♪ They (censored) right but (censored) left ♪

♪ Now they flesh being swept off the surface ♪

♪ If you ain't B.I.G, you ain't Notorious ♪

♪ So why ya man reckless ♪

♪ Side-ballin' like he holdin' (censored) ♪

♪ Someone bring him a bed for (censored) sleep ♪

♪ Weight beneath Jacob's Latter and the Aftermath ♪

♪ Don't matter if you use a (censored) as your armor ♪

♪ Blood splatter, glass shatter through the project slums ♪

♪ Another one in the obituary column, son ♪

♪ PJ's ♪

♪ I was born in the PJ's ♪

♪ So I gotta rep for the PJ's ♪

♪ The elevators with the pissy hallways ♪

♪ Bangin' on the project walls all day ♪

♪ PJ's ♪ ♪ I gotta make noise ♪

♪ For the PJ's ♪

♪ Wrote my first rhyme in the PJ's ♪

♪ You can hear it in my speech, I'm from the PJ's ♪

♪ The PJ's, PJ's ♪

♪ Before I was signed, I used to move on the block ♪

♪ All I wanted to do was rhyme, rhyme, rhyme ♪

♪ Line for line, I make the blind man walk ♪

♪ In a straight line to prison ♪

♪ And take a message to Shyne ♪

♪ Peace, God from the PJ's to Ground Zero ♪

♪ It's a "Hard knock Life" ♪

♪ But "The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow" ♪

♪ Walk with a shadow through ghettos ♪

♪ Playin' in every borough ♪

♪ You would think rap was rock, the way I carry heavy metal ♪

♪ It such a shame, cocaine in ya veins ♪

♪ Screamin' "Team Spirit" ♪

♪ Grippin' the shottie like Kurt Cobain ♪

♪ In the PJ's God, nuttin' come easy ♪

♪ Gotta deal with the grimy, greasy, the sleazy ♪

♪ Move like a professional, young thug funeral ♪

♪ Wattchu thought this was another Pepsi commercial ♪

♪ Nah, it's the art of war, when you least expected it ♪

♪ Wyclef the president, the PJ's elected him ♪

♪ PJ's ♪

♪ I was born in the PJ's ♪

♪ So I gotta rep for the PJ's ♪

♪ The elevators with the pissy hallways ♪

♪ Bangin' on the project walls all day ♪

♪ PJ's ♪ ♪ I gotta make noise ♪

♪ For the PJ's ♪

♪ Wrote my first rhyme in the PJ's ♪

♪ You can hear it in my speech, I'm from the PJ's ♪

♪ The PJ's, PJ's ♪

♪ Yeah and to the teachers that said I wouldn't live ♪

♪ And my remains would be found under the Verizano Bridge ♪

♪ Well I'm alive teacher, so put ya theory to rest ♪

♪ I ain't Makaveli but I might fake my death ♪

♪ Make no mistake, I'm a hip-hop artist ♪

♪ Before the diamond in the Billboard, the hood charted it ♪

♪ Suburbia bought it, we bootlegged it ♪

♪ We couldn't afford it ♪

♪ 'Cause in the PJ's, we underground like black markets ♪

♪ The 'P' stand for public housing ♪

♪ The 'R's for respect that ya get when ya hold down ya set ♪

♪ The 'O's for (censored) that we flip into (censored) ♪

♪ The 'J's for the judgment handed by the jury ♪

♪ The 'E' is for enter at your own risk ♪

♪ You know the 'C', that's for the cats ♪

♪ That's out to get rich ♪

♪ And the 'T', trust no one ♪

♪ And the 'S' for the snitches, you know the outcome ♪

♪ PJ's ♪

♪ I was born in the PJ's ♪

♪ So I gotta rep for the PJ's ♪

♪ The elevators with the pissy hallways ♪

♪ Bangin' on the project walls all day ♪

♪ PJ's ♪ ♪ I gotta make noise ♪

♪ For the PJ's ♪

♪ Wrote my first rhyme in the PJ's ♪

♪ You can hear it in my speech, I'm from the PJ's ♪

♪ The PJ's ♪

♪ PJ's ♪

♪ Everyone wants to be a cowboy ♪

(indistinct)

♪ On a pissy hallway ♪

♪ By my side, do he live ♪

(indistinct)

♪ Cowboy ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
rep /rɛp/ B1	verb - to represent or stand for something
elevator /ˈɛlɪveɪtər/ A2	noun - a mechanical lift for carrying people or goods
project /ˈprɒdʒɛkt/ A2	noun - a planned piece of work or task noun - public housing development
thug /θʌɡ/ B1	noun - a violent or ruthless person
obituary /oʊˈbɪtʃuˌɛri/ B2	noun - a notice of a death, especially in a newspaper
rhyme /raɪm/ A2	noun - correspondence of sound between words verb - to compose or write in rhyme
ghettos /ˈɡɛtoʊz/ B1	noun - a part of a city where a particular group lives, often in poor conditions
grimy /ˈɡraɪmi/ B2	adjective - dirty and unpleasant
sleazy /ˈsliːzi/ B2	adjective - shabby, cheap, or disreputable
professional /prəˈfɛʃənəl/ A2	adjective - relating to a job that requires special training
underground /ˌʌndərˈɡraʊnd/ A2	adjective - beneath the surface of the ground adjective - secret or unofficial
housing /ˈhaʊzɪŋ/ A1	noun - buildings for people to live in
jury /ˈdʒʊri/ B1	noun - a group of people sworn to deliver a true verdict
snitches /ˈsnɪtʃɪz/ B2	noun - informers, especially against criminals
approach /əˈproʊtʃ/ A2	verb - to come near or nearer to
metal /ˈmɛtl/ A1	noun - a hard material, typically solid, shiny, and a good conductor of electricity
cocaine /ˈkoʊkeɪn/ B1	noun - a powerful stimulant drug
funeral /ˈfjuːnərəl/ A2	noun - a ceremony held after someone dies
commercial /kəˈmɜːrʃəl/ A2	noun - an advertisement on television or radio
elected /ɪˈlɛktɪd/ A2	verb - to choose someone for a position by voting