Welcome to Forever

This is real life
The only one we get to live
I remember being broke and
Thinking something gotta give
This is real life
Everything we do is legendary
And we gon' do it to the
Day we in the cemetery
Real life, it feel like I'm dreaming
Used to feel like I was nothin'
Now my life has meaning
Said this is real life, goddamn
This is real life

Uh, yeah, I've been fiending for this moment
I've been dreaming 'bout this moment
I guess this is how it feel
To have everything you ever wanted
Writin' these records like a dissertation
While the fans goin' crazy from anticipation
Damn, nine years that's a lot of patience
And now I'm lookin' at my
Idols and feeling adjacent
It's hell of a long way
From back in the basement
Lookin' at hip-hop tryna find my placement
I bought my first pair
Of Jordans at twenty-two, huh
Same year I bought a crib too
Now my face in magazines I
Used to flip through
And my music on all the sites
I used to sift through
Remember meetin' Nas for the first time
Shook his hand and he
Started quotin' my lines?
Said he a fan, goddamn, this is my time
I'ma get it, I'ma do it 'til we prime time
Yeah, I told him every single day
That I be at it
In the studio recording like an addict
He said that real hip-hop shit I had it
Thinkin' to myself, "Damn, man
You made Illmatic"

This is real life
The only one we get to live
I remember being broke and
Thinking somethin's gotta give
This is real life
Everything we do is legendary
And we gon' do it to the
Day we in the cemetery
Real life, it feel like I'm dreaming
Used to feel like I was nothin'
Now my life has meanin'
Said this is real life
Goddamn this is real life
I used to wonder what it feel like

Aight, I guess we back again
With another verse about how
Much I'm black again
You don't like it? Blame
God for the packaging bringin' up my race
Don't call me a white rapper then
Damn, they judgin' me by my skin tone
Instead of my talent, man
These motherfuckers been wrong
But it's all good
I just thought I'd address it
And spell it out for people so
They can finally assess it
This is dedicated to anyone wit' a dream
And a realization of what followin' it means
Breakin' the cycle and not
Following your genes
That perfect moment when
Your logic intervenes
And let you know that everything
Ain't always what it seems
But if you really lookin'
I promise you'll find your dreams
This is everything I ever wanted
Half of y'all won't get it
The other half will probably laugh and
Wonder how I did it
I just spit it from my mind
One word at the time
Take everything I'm going through and
Put it in a rhyme
I'd be lying if I said I didn't have
A lot of weight upon my shoulders
But this is my therapy as I flow this
Spilling out my heart
I just hope somebody notice
I've been real from the start
And you motherfuckers know this
Once my name elevated that's
When the fame escalated but on the real
I've grown accustomed to the stares
People watching every move I make
Like it was theirs all up in my business
And even in my personal affairs
Now, I know I talk a lot of game
But I ain't tryna sell you 'Cause honestly
I could show you better than I could tell you
And even though there's been moments
When everything have fell through
We kept it moving
Assumin' even the greatest fail too
I swear this business shit is do or die
I never contemplated suicide, I'm too alive
In front of thousands
But I'm talking like it's you and I
And everyday
Fewer find their dreams because fewer try

This is real life
The only one we get to live
I remember being broke and
Thinking somethin's gotta give
This is real life
Everything we do is legendary
And we gon' do it to the
Day we in the cemetery
Real life, it feel like I'm dreaming
Used to feel like I was nothin'
Now my life has meaning
Said this is real life
Goddamn this is real life
I used to wonder what it feel like

Everything I seen, made me everything I am
Everything I do, I'm a man behind mine
Throw your hands in the air
Stand behind mine
Everything I seen, made me everything I am
Stand behind mine
Everything I do, I'm a man behind mine

Said, welcome to forever welcome to forever
Welcome to forever