[Verse 1]
I'm live and direct from the city that built the definitive skyline
Of highrises and bright lights that are liable to diminish your eyesight

And where time flies so quick that even the minute is named after it
Where change happens so fast, that all of your memories ain't accurate
Spray cans depict these images in the same fashion as stained glass

And you gotta scrape cash together to pay half of the state tax
Where the main transportation remains fastened to train tracks
Where rich kids try to look broke and the broke aim to be Dame Dash

It's a place battered and bruised that's been blackened and blued as days passed
Abused, shattered, entombed and exhumed after them planes crashed
And came back swinging, with a renewed passion and faith gathered

To face facts and to move on, knowing this place matters
A Babylon and Utopia wrapped in one
Don't lose hope or you'll have to run to new slower coasts where the pace staggers

This transplanted inhabitant never brags of a native status
But I'm glad that at least a piece of the Big Apple, I've had it


[Hook]
Cause it don't matter where you're from
Only if you're reppin lovely

Come on, hey hey hey
It doesn't matter where you're at
Only if you're reppin lovely

Come on, what ya say now
Cause you can say what you want, you can do what you need
But you gotta put it down right now

It doesn't matter where you're at
Only if you're reppin lovely
Come on, hey hey hey