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Long Live the Chief Lyrics
Niggas fighting over rings
Niggas wanna be the King, but
Long Live the Chief
For a li' ol' thang lil' boys bang bang
Long Live the Chief
Niggas fighting over rings
Niggas wanna be the king, but
Long Live the Chief
Now watch pretty mama while I slang my cane
Long Live the Chief
Uh
Cockroaches and the rat shit
Hand me downs with the patches
Mama put a little money in the mattress
Taught me how to make a silver spoon out of plastic
You can either sink, swim or be the captain
Get the last word Ima get the last laugh in
Now they say "Jidenna why you dressing so classic?"
I don't want my best dressed day in a casket
You can either lead, follow or get out the way
Make a fuckin' move it would make my fuckin' day
Got a 100 year plan you jus' think about today
Always been about time more than been about pay
Can't rump with me
Usain couldn't run with me
Chief come to find you
You don't come for me
At best you can run a lil' company
Nigga at worst, I could run the whole country
Thats right - pimp game like a brothel
Thats why - I don't judge a niggas hustle
I AirBnB the crib like a hostel
Summer rate cheaper because the streets get hostile
Shaka boy, this fire from Mojave boy
So no I won't record for your homie boy
I turn the party out like a naughty toy
Then I go and hide in plain sight like a lobby boy
Yessuh, that's Jidenna on the banner
Ridin' for my niggas gettin' locked up in the slammer
Elders saying everything's a nail to a hammer
And niggas can't spell but we know our Instagrammar
Well done's better than well said
I read niggas well, a nigga well read
Really I ain't met nobody smarter
Thats why I got admitted but I still rejected Harvard
I'm the fresh prince, in a school where they couldn't read
Mama put me in a school with the Kennedys
When I met Bill Clinton I was seventeen
But dead presidents is all my niggas need
Dining with the governor's daughter
And her father say I remind him of Obama
I'm the chief diplomat...every day
And I'm black and white...Janelle Monae
Wanna be the King, but
Long Live the Chief
For a li' ol' thang lil' boys bang bang
Long Live the Chief
Niggas fighting over rings
Niggas wanna be the king, but
Long Live the Chief
Now watch pretty mama while I slang my cane
Long Live the Chief
Niggas wanna be the King, but
Long Live the Chief
For a li' ol' thang lil' boys bang bang
Long Live the Chief
Niggas fighting over rings
Niggas wanna be the king, but
Long Live the Chief
Now watch pretty mama while I slang my cane
Long Live the Chief
Uh
Hand me downs with the patches
Mama put a little money in the mattress
Taught me how to make a silver spoon out of plastic
You can either sink, swim or be the captain
Get the last word Ima get the last laugh in
Now they say "Jidenna why you dressing so classic?"
I don't want my best dressed day in a casket
You can either lead, follow or get out the way
Make a fuckin' move it would make my fuckin' day
Got a 100 year plan you jus' think about today
Always been about time more than been about pay
Usain couldn't run with me
Chief come to find you
You don't come for me
At best you can run a lil' company
Nigga at worst, I could run the whole country
Thats right - pimp game like a brothel
Thats why - I don't judge a niggas hustle
I AirBnB the crib like a hostel
Summer rate cheaper because the streets get hostile
Shaka boy, this fire from Mojave boy
So no I won't record for your homie boy
I turn the party out like a naughty toy
Then I go and hide in plain sight like a lobby boy
Yessuh, that's Jidenna on the banner
Ridin' for my niggas gettin' locked up in the slammer
Elders saying everything's a nail to a hammer
And niggas can't spell but we know our Instagrammar
I read niggas well, a nigga well read
Really I ain't met nobody smarter
Thats why I got admitted but I still rejected Harvard
I'm the fresh prince, in a school where they couldn't read
Mama put me in a school with the Kennedys
When I met Bill Clinton I was seventeen
But dead presidents is all my niggas need
Dining with the governor's daughter
And her father say I remind him of Obama
I'm the chief diplomat...every day
And I'm black and white...Janelle Monae
Long Live the Chief
For a li' ol' thang lil' boys bang bang
Long Live the Chief
Niggas fighting over rings
Niggas wanna be the king, but
Long Live the Chief
Now watch pretty mama while I slang my cane
Long Live the Chief
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
I interpret this song as a bit of don't "play the black card". That is, if you want to be someone, rise above (societies low expectations?), be better than don't use your skin colour as an excuse. Accept who you are and own it (be the "chief").
It seems to follow a similar theme of many hip hop songs in that he seems to be singing largely about his own personal life, but instead of glamorising the life of a gangsta, he is saying I could have gone that (easy) path but he chose to follow his own path. Find himself and decide where he belongs in society ... didn't let others pigeon hole him.
The song's audience appears to be other black Americans (although could be applied to many minorities around the world). It is saying if I can do it, then so can you ... but you need to make the right choices and own it (be the chief).
@sokorny~ I definately agree w/ u!
@sokorny~ I definately agree w/ u!
Now they say "Jidenna why you dressing so classic?" I don’t want my best dressed day in a casket
I love these lines, so many of us (irrelevant of our race / creed / skin colour) go through life and only truly get dressed for success when we die!
Props to the Netflix series Luke Cage for getting me onto this song (and artist). Think it is the first song (used in the opening scenes) for Episode 5 in Season 1.