Here to stay Even when I'm gone When I close my eyes Through the passage of time Kings never die I can hear the drummer drumming And the trumpets, someone's tryna summon someone, I know something's coming But I'm running from it to be standing at the summit And plummet, how come it wasn't what I thought it was, was it Too good to be true? Have nothing, get it all but too much of it then lose it again Did I swallow hallucinogens, 'cause if not, where the hell did it go? 'Cause here I sit in Lucifer’s den by the dutch oven just choosing to sin Even if it means I'm selling my soul, just to be the undisputed again Do whatever I gotta do just to win 'Cause I got this motherfucking cloud over my head Crown around it, thorns on it Cracks in it, bet you morons didn't Think I'd be back, did ya? How 'bout that I’m somehow now back to the underdog But no matter how loud that I bark, this sport is something I never bow-wow'd at I complain about the game, I shout and I pout, it's a love-hate But I found out that I can move a mountain of doubt Even when you bitches are counting me out, and I appear to be down for the count Only time I ever been out and about is Driving around town with my fucking whereabouts in a doubt 'Cause I been lost tryna think of what I did to get here but I'm not a quitter Gotta get up, give it all I got or give up Spit on, shit on, stepped on, but kept going I'm tryna be headstrong But it feels like I slept on my neck wrong 'Cause you're moving onto the next, but is the respect gone? 'Cause someone told me that (Kings never die) Don't give me that sob story liar, don't preach to the choir You ain't never even had to reach in the fire to dig deep Nobody ever handed me shit in life, not even a flyer Wouldn't even take shit into consideration Obliterate anyone in the way I think I see why a lot of rappers get on these features and try to Show out on a track with me but it'd actually Have to be a fucking blowout to get me to retire Tell these new artists that kings never die I know shit has changed in this age, fuck a Twitter page Did it just say I've been upstaged? Why am I online? It's driving me crazy I'm riding shotgun tryna get a gauge On what's hot, but I'm not gonna' conform But as days pass in this shit And opinions sway, I can hear them say If I stay passionate maybe I can stay Jay miraculous Comeback as if I went away But detractors just say (so much) for the Renegade Someone's gonna make me blow my composure Here I go again, center stage and I feel like I'm in a cage (Some want a champion to fall I still wonder why I laugh at 'em 'Cause why care when I'm awesome?) Fuck what these cynics say (Just goes to show that when my back's against the wall And I'm under attack again, that I'll act as if I'm posted up) With this pent-up rage, 'cause all these plaques in my office On the floor stacked against the door Are they just metaphors for the odds of me comin' back again? 'Cause all the accomplishments, accolades, awards And trophies just don't mean jack anymore If I'm here today and gone tomorrow And I'm not gonna be Here to stay Even when I'm gone When I close my eyes Through the passage of time Kings never die I want it, I'm coming to get it So you son of a bitches don't duck you’re gonna get Riddick Bowe’d Critics'll end up in critical Think your shit is dope all you're gonna get is smoked then And I ain't stopping 'till I'm on top again, all alone and on a throne Like a token of respect, or a homage poem, or an ode I've been owed Tossed in the air by my own arm, and launched so hard I broke my collarbone (And when it's my time to go, I'm still not leaving) Stop for no one, I don't know but I've been told an obstacle that Blocks your road, knock it over, time to go for that pot of gold, 'cause (They say kings never die Just ask Jam Master Jay, they Just grow wings and they fly, so Hands up, reach for the sky Try to hold up and prolong these moments 'Cause in a blink of an eye They'll be over) Tryna secure your legacy like Shakur and ensure Nobody's ever gonna be what you were So before you're leaving this Earth You want people to feel the fury of a pure evil cerebral berserk Deacon of words, syllable genius at work Plus I'm thinking that they're mistaking my kindness for weakness Kill 'em with meanness I went from powdered milk and Farina To flipping burgers on the grill for some peanuts From Gilbert's to arenas, call me Gilbert Arenas, still appeal to the dreamers I made it to the silver screen where Rocky's still what the theme is Khalil on the beat 'cause making the beat ain’t the same Feeling to me as killing the beat is So fulfilling to me is what filling a seat is That sound, vomit, thirst and how common underground commons eat Outsider stomach growl, throbbing hunger Out-rhyming everyone, God just give me one shot I swear that I won't let you down I'ma be around forever, entertain even in the ground You ain't never ever gonna hear me say I ain't Here to stay Even when I'm gone When I close my eyes Through the passage of time Kings never die