Joyner Lucas - I Wish I Knew (ADHD 2)

I'm standin' outside in the rain

Passin' out demo tapes, tryna get a name

I was like eleven back then with the braids

It was 1999, I was tryna catch a wave

I heard Jay-Z was in town, 'bout to hit the Summer Jam stage

And I gotta see his face

If I give him a demo, then I wonder what he'll say

Maybe he'll sign me and I'll finally get a break

So now he on stage (Stage)

And everybody singin' all the words to his shit and I'm amazed

I'm holdin' up my demo with a sign sayin'

"Please, I just need a couple minutes

Of your time, Mr. Jay, could you—"

But that ain't gon' work

Fuck it though, I know there's gotta be another way

I snuck past security and made it backstage

Demo in my hand, hopin' he gon' press play when he see me

But when the show was all over, I was tryna walk fast

Catch him when he leaves, hopin' we can cross paths

But he ain't see me and I was feelin' all bad (Feelin' all bad)

And then security approached me, he was wearin' all black

I passed him my CD with my house number on it sayin'

"If you listen to it, could you please call back, please?"

Please listen to my demo (To my demo)

Please listen to my demo (To my demo)

Please listen to my demo

P-P-P-Please listen to my demo (To my demo)

Listen to my demo (To my demo)

Please listen to my demo (To my demo)

Please listen to my demo (To my demo)

Please (Please)

It's 2001

I'm thirteen now, but I'm better than I was

Rappin' in my class when I should be doin' work

But I'm thinkin' 'bout this beat I was hearin' on the bus

I heard Dre and Snoop Dogg was in town

Up In Smoke tour, Eminem comin' out

You should've seen the way my eyes popped out

You'd have thought that Heavens opened up and God popped out

I wish that I could vibe with 'em

If I give 'em my demo, maybe I could ride with 'em

Maybe Em'll listen if I get some time with 'em

Maybe Dre's lookin' for a kid that could sign with him

I don't know (I don't know)

All I know is that I gotta go, hopefully it all pans out

Tryna get tickets, so I get the plan down

If I get front row, then I'll probably stand out (Stand out)

Then my pops came home with two VIP passes and clutch

And at that very moment, I was happy as fuck

So I started gettin' dressed all fast in a rush

Demo in my hand had a rich man glow

He walked in my room and said, "Kid, you can't go" (Damn)

And so he brought his girl with him

Man, I can't believe I let another big chance go, damn

Please listen to my demo (To my demo)

Please listen to my demo (To my demo)

Please listen to my demo

P-P-P-Please listen to my—, uh

Please listen to my demo (To my demo)

Can you listen to my demo? (To my demo)

Please listen to my demo

P-P-P-Please, uh

A lot of years went by

I'm twenty-five now and the tears went dry

2015 And I still got a dream

But reality is lookin' kinda real this time

I'm in the booth with the grunge on my face

Tryna make a demo with no funds in the bank

I don't wanna quit 'fore I make it out the bricks

And my girl told me that we got a

Son on the way, what the fuck? (Damn)

I gotta push the go button, I ain't got a bit of time

'Cause it ain't 'bout me no more, I gotta just provide

If I don't make it when he born, then I gotta get a job

I hit the ground runnin' with a plan

Make a mixtape and build somethin' with the fans

If I don't do it now, then I never get a chance

Got a certain way of thinkin' some will never understand

So now I'm sittin' on the block

Vibin' out, bumpin' instrumentals in the drop

Writin' every day like my pen don't wanna stop

And my baby mom packagin' my demos in a box

I was pullin' up to schools in a rental

CD in my hand, put my arm out the window

Nobody took it and I didn't get the memo

And all I kept sayin' was, "Please listen to my demo"

Please listen to my demo (To my demo)

Please listen to my demo (To my demo)

Please listen to my demo

P-P-P-Please listen to my demo (To my demo)

Listen to my demo (To my demo)

Please listen to my demo (To my demo)

Please listen to my demo (To my demo)

Please

It's 2025 and some change

I think I finally made it to a household name

Moved my whole family out the hood, what a change

Told my momma quit her job, she won't work another day

I got platinum plaques now

Couple hit singles and I'm back-to-back now

Couple big cribs I might have to pass down

When I put my demos out, I don't have to ask now if you can listen

I'm sayin' what I want

All your favorite rappers keep sayin' I'm the one

And if I died now, then I'm grateful what I've done

'Cause a lot of niggas never really made it where I'm from

I'm on tour and they waitin' in the front

Campin' outside while they bakin' in the sun

Pull up in your city and they wavin' to the bus

Got my songs on the speaker and they singin' every one

And so I hit the stage

It's the same book, just a different page

Crowd goin' crazy, but I notice one kid starin'

At me with a glow like he was in a daze

I'm lookin' at him in the crowd, I can see his face

And he lookin' back at me and I wonder what he thinkin'

It remind me of how I used to look at Jay

When all I wanted was someone to give my shit a play

And when the show was all over, they was tryna get me back in the cut

Security was walkin' off faster than us

Tryna get me out the building, get me back to the bus

Standin' by the bus was the kid that I seen

From the crowd, nigga, how coincidental

Handed me a CD with his number on the pillow

Looked at me and said, "Please listen to my demo"