"Moving On Up" lyrics

Okay, now, let's go, take it slow now, tie him, tie him
Yo, yo, yo, what y'all hanging at the back of the court for?
Man almost made a shot, alright, let's go, alright, hit Vaughn
There you go, all the way, boy, shoot it, shoot it, shoot it

I wrote this on an Amsterdam canal
I rode a wave and left the ocean dry without a towel
Ghetto bastard, ain't no father to this style
Father figure, fight the devil like the Golden Child
They told me, "Ev, you gon' smell your roses"
I told them, "We don't smell the flowers, we just hold our noses"
Walking freely, I don't go where I'm supposed to
I got my friends, got my enemies, but foes are closer
No energy, no maintenance
Some are in between, I call those ones acquaintances
In life there's some things you can't get over quietly
Making shit that's notable, but not for notoriety
My hunger never left, my ribs are touching my chest
I'm at my best, dictionary definition of fresh
A picture of E, place in pole position is me
Hit the throttle then decide where I'm intended to be
So what the fuck?

Ayo, we moving on up
We rappers is role models, we rap, we don't think
We rap— We— We— We—
We rappers is role models, we rap, we don't think
Ayo, we moving on up
We rappers is role models, another day another buck
It never stops, so I never stop chasing my dream
As the world keep turning, only say what I mean

That's a good destiny (Hahaha)
Yeah, right, okay
This looks like a big joint, lick it and smoke it (Hahahaha)
I think there was two of these and you smoked the other one

I wrote this on the first thing I could find to write it
On an envelope, I never opened up inside it
I'm a writer, so my hand is guided
I don't fight it, attract the company that I invited
It's from a higher source and I of course am enlightened
Bringing all the thunder and the lightning
Wondering about the moves I made and all the shade I curved
It's like they don't react to actions, they relate to words
Learned my patterns and my habits, made adjustments
Just enough so I can say I trust them
I'm a drummer, so I make percussion
Never hurry, so I'm never rushing
Except my blood, different discussion
Always into something, no stopping when I'm emptying
And always into something like Dr. Dre and MC Ren
Never at the function, they know just where I'm going to
An open book, I'd like to tell you what I'm going through

Ayo, we moving on up
We rappers is role models, we rap, we don't think
We rap— We— We— We— We—
We rappers is role models, we rap, we don't think
Ayo, we moving on up
We rappers is role models, another day another buck
It never stops, so I never stop chasing my dream
As the world keep turning, always say what I mean

And what about my dreams?
City of the angels
Rescued by a man who is no angel
And who's that?
You (E-V)

Look, I wrote this in my basement, smokin', facin' (Ha)
Drinking this Henny straight, I don't do chasers (Not at all)
In many states I still got open cases
In any case, have your shit straight when you approach a gangster (Uh-huh)
We broke in places, pistol-whip Lyor with broken faces (Hold up)
Teeth fucked up, you gon' need braces (Ha)
Prolly a few missing, there's gon' be spaces (Hahahaha)
I go to places where you need your toast and drove a spaceship (Uh-huh)
Your flow is basic, think you're fucking with me, you smokin', basin'
I've been low on patience with these rappers, yeah, I've grown impatient (Yeah)
The pole is blazin', I slide on niggas like stolen bases (Boom, boom, boom, boom)
God blessed me with opportunity, they hope I waste it
I don't know why niggas be so focused on hopeless hatin' (Ha)
Niggas ain't even relevant, me and Evidence most prevalent (Uh-huh)
The flow is heaven sent, it's evident
The most benevolent, rocking my Fashion Rebel lettermen (Woo)
Got duct tape and rope in the same trunk I keep a shovel in (Talk to 'em)

Yeah, and now we movin' on up
We rappers is role models, we rap, we don't think
We— We rap— We— We—
We rappers is role models, we rap, we don't think
We— We rap— We— We—
We rappers is role models— We— We—
We rappers is role mod— models—
We rap— We rap— We rap, we don't think

We— We rap— We— We rap— rap—
We— We— We— We— We don't think
We— We rap— rap— We don't—
We— We— We— We don't think
We— We rap— We rap—
Rappers is role— role— role— role models—
We rap— rap— rap— We rap— rap— rap—
We don't— We don't— We— We don't think

With where we're going, you know, with the sound
The actual sound
Um, and what I wanted to do was, was to develop a sound
Again, I come from the belief
Knowing who you are and having your own signature
Is the most important thing to do as an artist